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!

Toxic Crab

The day before our Big Island vacation I went shopping for our trip while Jason took the kids to the beach. As usual, they found some cool stuff in the ocean and ended up bringing a crab home to cook up and eat. I talked to Jason on the phone soon after they got home. They had a great time at the beach. I was still shopping and NO mention was made of the crab. I returned soon after our conversation to an empty house. I was a little puzzled to find the truck gone and no one home since Jason said, " see you soon!" before we hung up.

I started putting stuff away, cleaning up, etc. That's when I saw big pieces of pink crab shell in the kitchen garbage. From what I could tell the shell looked pretty big. I also found the pot the creature was cooked in sitting in the sink with a strainer inside. I began to get a little curious...I wondered if the crab had tasted good...and if so, if they had saved any for me. Then I wondered again, "Where are they?" I got my phone and called. I heard Jason's phone ring. He had left it behind and it was sitting on our bed. It's not like Jason to leave his cell phone behind. Then I went to the computer. On the screen was the phone number and address to Papalina pharmacy. I pressed the back button. Jason had googled the pharmacies in our area. "Uh-Oh," I thought. Then I continued to follow his internet trail which led to a search of crabs and resulted in a page which said. "TOXIC CRAB." with a picture similar to the one below that Jason took.

Now I am worried and I get more worried as I read things like...may result in death. I looked at his phone and could tell he had called a couple of the pharmacies. I pressed redial...no answer. It was late Saturday afternoon. The pharmacies in our town most likely are closed. I looked in the bathroom...he had been looking through the medicine. I called our pediatritian....closed. I went back to the computer and read more. I get more worried the more I read. I wonder if he left in such a hurry that he didn't have time to grab his phone. Was one of the kids having a severe allergic reaction? I call both hospitals on Kauai. No Murrays in the ER at either one. Then I start wondering how he can help one of the kids with a reaction WHILE he is driving to the hospital or pharmacy or wherever he went. Then I start getting mad that he didn't call the paramedics. I am pacing. I don't know what to do, I don't know who to call or where to go. I begin praying. After what seems like FOREVER, the truck pulls up. I RUN downstairs to meet my family. They are okay! After I have been having a nervous break down they casually get out of the truck. Questions come flying out of my mouth. And the answers come.

After boiling and taking pictures of the crab. Jason fed the meat to the kids...he didn't eat any of it himself for some reason. The crab tasted good and the kids enjoyed it. AFTER the crab has been eaten Jason decides to look it up on the internet to see what kind of crab the kids have devoured. After discovering that they have eaten a crab that is toxic and can cause severe reactions he tells all three of the kids to make themselves throw up. This is something they do not know how to do. My kids have been fortunate to have not been sick very much in their lives...they have only thrown up once. Jason is unsuccessful in trying to instruct the kids in making themselves barf. So he searches through our medicine collection for ipecac, which I no longer keep on hand. He calls the pharmacies finding all those nearby closed. So they all get in the truck and drive to the nearest hospital, which is about 20 minutes away. Upon arriving at the hospital Jason asks a nurse about the reaction. The nurse reassures Jason that the kids are okay...that they would have had some reaction by now and that they don't even have Ipecac at the hospital pharmacy anymore. After which they all get back in the truck and drive home to meet an anxious mother.

The next time Jason gives me a hard time for doing something dumb I will have the crab story to remind him of.

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A note from the editor:

BY THE WAY, This is one of the websites that I found while looking to identify our crabby friend. The spots, color, etc, were an exact match... unfortunatly. Reading this put me into ACTION!!!

http://www.ird.fr/recherche/santo2006/blog/6oct/6oct_2_cru.htm

It has an exact picture of our Mr. Crab.

Here is the descripiton. Exellent to read wilst dipping your crab in melted butter...

October 6th, 2006
Poison crabs Some tropical crabs or « poison crabs »are known for their toxicity ; mortal poisonings due to their eating were reported from many different indo pacific regions, including Vanuatu.The more frequent incriminated species belong, for most of them, to the big family of the Xanthidae, wich lived in coral recifs. However, other families are also reported (Majidae, Portunidae) and the list is growing every year, with approximately 80 species registered at this time.The « Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning » or PSP, appears within 30 minutes following consumption. The poison attacks the nervous system and death may occur within a few hours by paralysis of the breathing muscles.The liable toxins, first isolated from the crabs meat are molecules of the saxitonine family. This is the strongest neurotoxin known, similar to cyanide in that it stops the nervous message progression, but it is one thousand times more powerful than cyanide. These thermically stable toxins are synthetised by marine and fresh water mirco-algae and incorporated intothe food chain, probably accumulating in the fish and mollusc meat, which are subsequently eaten by the crabs.

It is my recommendation to first identify, then enjoy. Anyway, that's what I am going to try next time. --Jason

Spring Break Week #1

We had an incredible Spring Break which began with a camping trip to Kokee Park. We were able to go on a beautiful hike for a view of our favorite beach on Kauai. The kids have never been to this beach and Jason and I have only been once. Honopu is a sacred beach for Hawaiians and no boats are allowed. Since it is located along the Napali cliffs you have to swim to it in order to explore it. People rarely visit because of it's remote location. Jason and I were lucky enough to have it to ourselves after swimming to it from our kayaks a few years ago. It is definately a special place...very romantic. This spectacular beach includes an amazing waterfall and pool, a massive arch connecting two sections of the beach, huge sand dunes to play on, and beautiful rock formations to explore. We have wanted to return since our first visit, but that is yet to happen...someday!

Honopu Beach looks so small from up so high, but it's actually a good sized beautiful beach. It was fun to look down on it...and remember.

Views of the cliffs
Sadie got blisters along the way...we realized a little too late that her shoes are too small. She's growing too fast! She prefered hiking barefoot on the way back and did for several miles without complaint. What a trooper!

Aidan woke up smiling each morning....he absolutely LOVES camping!

Sadie enjoyed swinging from this tree.

We camped with our friends, the Klindts, the first night. The kids had so much fun playing with Nianoa and Branden.

Kalalau Lookout