Hawaii Trip 2014 Week 1

We were fortunate enough to get to go to Hawaii for our vacation this year.  We had gone once before in 2009 for my 30th birthday.  This year Chad turns 40 so we figured what better way to celebrate his milestone birthday than in Hawaii!  Thankfully we stayed with my Mom and step-father Mike so we had free room and board and most of our meals were at home too - that helped make the trip MUCH more affordable.  When we came to Hawaii the first time we did a few days in Oahu and then kind of did a tour of the whole Big Island - we drove all the way around the island.  This time we did more farm tours since that's something we've become very interested in.  It was really interesting to see all the different farms that we did and what was so cool was how ALL of them were working toward being self-sufficient and sustainable.  All of them had solar power and really tried to use the Island's resources instead of having things shipped in.  We also did lots of water sports - stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, and my favorite - snorkeling.  We had a really great trip and Chad had a great 40th birthday.  On his actual birthday we got to tour the Kona Brewing Company and had dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Kona.  He also got to pick out an ukulele from Hawaii as part of his birthday gift from me.  Here are just a sampling of the pictures we took on this trip - we took over 600 pictures total!  The only thing I didn't realize until we got home and I loaded the pictures on the computer was that I somehow turned on the date stamp on the pictures and didn't realize it.  So ALL the pictures have a date stamp on them - I really wish I hadn't done that, but oh well.  The pictures are still awesome and we had a great time!

These pictures are from our first 2 days in Hawaii - we had a longer layover in Honolulu so we were able to check out the garden in the airport there.  And our first full day we just slept in and relaxed to get over our jet lag.




Once we'd adjusted to the time difference, we started doing more activities. We went stand up paddle boarding and then did a 5 mile hike to the Kilauea Iki crater. It was a pretty strenuous hike, but it was really cool and we had some amazing views. Here are the pictures of our first few days of activities.



One of the unique things about Hawaii is how many wild chickens there are everywhere! My Mom and Mike feed some of the wild chickens around their house and get eggs from them almost daily. They have about 15-20 wild chickens that live around their house. Our first farm tour was to the Hilo Coffee Mill. Unfortunately it rained that day, but we still did the tour with umbrellas. I was really impressed with how self-sufficient and sustainable the farm was. And they had the BEST vanilla milkshake I've ever had!



Towards the end of our first week in Hawaii we drove over to the Kona side of the island. Last time we drove around the island, but now they have the Saddle Road open which goes across the island and cuts the driving time down significantly. The ride on Saddle road was very unique and the elevation went up to 6000 feet. We got some really great pictures and even saw a bunch of wild goats and turkeys!



We were in Kona on Chad's birthday and it worked out that we did a tour of the Kona Brewing Company that day and snorkeling in the afternoon. I was really impressed with the Kona Brewing Co. - they give the used grain from brewing to local farmers, then buy meat from those farmers to serve in their restaurant. We ate lunch at the restaurant and it was really good. On the way home from Kona we toured the Hawaiian Vanilla Company. I didn't know until recently that vanilla is in the orchid family and must be hand pollinated, so it's a VERY time consuming crop and that's why good quality vanilla is so expensive. The tour was very informative and we got to sample lots of vanilla treats too. Here are the pictures wrapping up our first week in Hawaii.