March 2021 - Hawaii trip

 We were able to go on a trip to Hawaii with the Oleson’s this month. We have been waiting for Hawaii to open back up from Covid restrictions. We had to take multiple Covid tests and spaced out when we were going to go to the islands. We went to the big Island first and stayed a few days. We had never been there before and enjoyed exploring. It was a lot of driving and a lot of lava. 

 

Joel and I hiked to a place with pictographs in the lava fields.

We enjoyed our time exploring the top of the volcano (which was very cold and we had to buy long sleeve shirts) and some of the local beaches.I liked the glass Sand Beach, and the Blacksand Beach and the beach that was right next to the airport. Otherwise there isn’t a lot of sandy beaches on the big island.

One of the things that we did that we never experienced before was swimming with Manta Rays. We had to do it at night and they take you out in a boat and have lighted surfboard and you put your head under the water and watched them eat right next to you. They would circle around and around coming so close they thought that they were going to hit you. It was a little freaky but I’m glad I did it.

 My spring break and Dean spring break were on weeks right next to each other so part of the time I would teach online from our hotel room. And part of the time Dean will take his classes from the hotel room. Jeff and Joel were able to work as well so it worked out.

After a few days on the big island we took Covid tests and flew over to a Kuai. Joel and Virginia had never been there and we were able to explore the beauty of the island in a helicopter and driving all around.

Of Course we found good places to eat.

One of this Sundays we got all dressed up and headed out to find a church. We found out that our local congregation was having stake conference on zoom and so we ended up going to a historic chapel for Palm Sunday. It was the littlest church I’ve ever been to and they were very friendly and happy to see us. It was a nice service and it helped us get in the spirit of the Easter season. 

After church we hit a nearby place for lunch and they has some interesting snack choices...

Our trip included lots of waterfalls, lots of good food and nice memories with the Oleson’s. 

The blowhole was impressive and it was easy to get to. 

A monk seal was just chilling on the beach outside of hotel for most of the day. They put signs up not to bother him so we just walked around. It was amazing how relaxed he was around all the people. 

We did a lot of exploring and saw a lot of chickens!

Exploring Ke'e Beach and the caves