Spring Break Week #2- BIG Island "Murray Style"

WARNING: If you don't like travelogues, skip this post. I had some requests for a post about our vacation. We had SO much fun and took so many pictures I wasn't sure where to begin...so I didn't. It's taken me a while to get around to posting and it's a little long, but I really tried to be selective about what I shared. I hope those who have asked at least get an idea of the fun we experienced and get excited to take your own trip to the Big Island...it's a trip worth taking!

Big Island "Murray Style" means roughing it. It means camping four nights in a row, cooking over a fire, getting kicked out of a beach park for not having a camping permit, and staying in one of the cheapest condos in Kona. However, roughing it isn't always a bad thing. Our kids love roughing it. They all love camping and hiking and being outside to enjoy our beautiful world. Our trip was full of fun, adventure, and memorable experiences. Jason took good care of us and made the trip easy and comfortable for the kids and big, fat, pregnant me.

Aidan and Cole were always helping. Here they are getting airbeds ready at Volcanoes National Park campground which was a beautiful, pleasant place to stay. It did get cold at night, but we were able to get hot showers in the campground...a definate plus! We stayed here our first three nights while we explored volcanoes and some truly amazing sights.

Hiking through a lava tube

The ferns on the Big Island were huge...bigger than those we find on Kauai. We were so impressed by the beauty of the tropical forest. We enjoyed hiking across this crater.
Aidan was excited to find the beginnings of plant life in the desolate crater.
One of the highlights for me, was having one on one time with the kids as we hiked and hiked around the park. Sadie never ran out of things to say. She has the gift of gab. She talked with me about everything under the sun and above. She talked about silly stuff. She talked of animals and she knows a lot about animals. She told me of her dreams of one day having a farm with horses, cows, pigs, hens, a rooster, ducks, a sheep dog and even a hampster and a mouse. She plans to take care of all of her animals in the morning and then she will walk next door to her office where she will work as a veterinarian...pretty ambitious dreams I must say. She talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus and how much they love her and want her to be happy. She talked and talked and then she sang her own made up songs about her testimony. It is so fun to hear the many things going on in that bright mind of hers. Sometimes I can't believe she is only five...she is teaching me so much!
The boys have no trouble finding their own fun no matter where they are. As we walked across the desolate crater they had fun running and jumping to see how high in the air they could get. They got pretty high!

Checking out some of the steam vents in the crater.

Taking a break before hiking out of the crater....the most challenging part.

We found Aidan and Sadie often holding hands and skipping happily along the many trails in the park.

Sadie and Daddy relaxing in the tent

We hiked down to the lava flow. The big cloud of smoke is the hot lava hitting the ocean and forming land...pretty awesome!

A little volcano action

Unfortunately, our camera didn't capture the scene as we saw it, but it was an amazing sight.

After discovering the Volcano skate park the boys were VERY disappointed that we didn't bring their skateboards.

Before we could stop them and while waiting for dinner after a long hike, Cole and Sadie were hungry enough to eat some noodles that Jason spilled on the ground. Who taught them they could do that?

We left Volcano National Park a day early to get out of the rain and clouds...we were ready for the beach and some sunshine again. We stopped in Hilo long enough to tour the Lyman Musuem which had an incredible rock and mineral collection...which was impressive to us all and especially to our little geologist, Aidan.

At the musuem they let the kids dress up in authentic Korean clothing before touring a Korean village.

Sadie in her beautiful Korean dress.

The boys taking a moment for meditation.

Here we are enjoying some dinner and a beautiful sunset at Spencer Beach Park before being told to leave because we didn't have a camping permit. (short version of a long story)

Jason and the boys drove to the top of Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in Hawaii, while Sadie and I hung out at the visitor's center. Children and pregnant women were advised not to go to the summit because of the quick altitude change. Two dozen of the world's finest telescopes are sprinkled at the almost 14,000 foot summit.

Mauna Kea last erupted 4,500 years ago and is considered dormant.

Our rock and mineral loving, Aidan, has hiked up the steep Wellsville mountains of Cache Valley twice with a determination to find crystals just like his Grandpa Murray has. He was successful once, last summer. He had no idea that he would find the same such treasure at the top of Mauna Kea. We aren't sure how that crystal made it up there, someone must have left it behind. But in a way, we weren't surprised that Aidan found the crystal since he seems to have a way of finding unexpected treasures. I think he has a gift or at least REALLY good eyes.

We didn't have our tubes or boogie boards, but some big black trash bags worked great for sliding down Mauna Kea. They climbed up that hill so many times Cole said he almost passed out. I'm sure the altitude had something to do with it too.

Jason and I were very grateful to have the opportunity to attend a session at the Kona temple. After all of our planning, we wondered if we would be able to attend. Aidan got a terrible earache on our drive down from Mauna Kea. He was so miserable that I didn't think we should leave him to go to the temple. Then, right before it was time for us to go he calmed down and felt better. So we went and felt okay about leaving him. His earache returned, but not until after our session. We were blessed.

We discovered an amazing beach called Makalawena....VERY ROMANTIC. I am determined to make it back to this beach again someday. You either have to walk down a long, rough lava trail to get there or you take a very rough four wheel drive road. We were smart enough to rent a jeep with four wheel drive for our trip so we were able to drive. The road was so rough that we almost turned around a couple of times, but boy were we glad that we didn't!

We didn't have to share the beach with ANYONE....just a few turtles, they even left to go swim in the water after a while.

It is against the law to touch the sea turtles in Hawaii and you are supposed to keep your distance, especially when they are on the beach. It was very hard for Sadie to keep her distance.

Sadie enjoyed the Wana too.

Not only was the beach amazing, but the tidepools were filled with creatures, some that we have never seen before.

Another beautiful Hawaiian sunset.

We didn't bring our boogie boards, but the boys were happy body surfing at Hapuna Beach.

We drove to the see the view at the end of the road on the north side and found a nice surprise as we enjoyed the scenery....

Horses for the kids to pet and feed a few carrots.

This was our favorite black sand. Again, we had to take a four wheel drive road to find it, but sometimes the extra time and effort to get someplace a little more secluded really pays off.

General Conference was shown live at the stake center just next to the temple. 6am was early for us, but the beautiful messages were worth getting up for. Conference was wonderful!

Goodbye, Big Island, We loved you! We will be back!