We have decided that Waikiki may not be our favorite place for morning coffee. I don’t think we would have a problem waking up in Kaua’i every morning. Although, a couple of us really aren’t interested in the view quite yet.

We don’t need to head out for today’s activity until 11:30 or so, so we took our time getting ready. We grabbed a light breakfast at the hotel and just enjoyed this view for a while.

Then it was off to the Koloa Zipline!! I booked this activity a few months ago, and Mike said then that he would give this a try. However, since we got to Kaua’i and in light of the prior motion sickness issues, he said this was going to be a game time decision. So, we arrived at Koloa Zipline, and after using the last bathroom before we took off, we headed to check-in. Koloa ZipLine is on the old Koloa Sugar Mill, so lots of old sugar cane fields, a hand-dug reservoir, and gorgeous views.

We got all of our gear, and of course had to love on their puppy named Napoleon. He’s suited up, still deciding…

We loaded the truck to head to the first line, and Michael go tickled different at all the different skins tones of our family.

Last chance – Gotta decide to jump off or head back…

Leo and Michael jumped on and were on their way. I followed for a quick line. We got to the other side, and waited…

HE DID IT! And more importantly, he liked it!

Line 2 got a little longer and faster so we snagged a video for evidence, that Mike not only ziplined, but loved it!

Every line got longer or faster or higher – it was so much fun! And we met the nicest families: one from Chicago and one from Los Angeles.

By the time we hit Line 4, we were flying like superman (which made you go even faster). But it was a little more uncomfortable for the men versus the women because of how the harness fit.

First, he’s not sure if he going to zipline and now he’s switching up positions?!?! Who is the Hawaiian version of Mike?!?!?!

This may be one of the coolest things we have learned ever… This is a Hala Tree, also called a walking tree because they will move 10-15 feet over their lifetime. The male and female versions will move toward each other. The roots are above ground and will grow, die, and grow in different directions taking the tree with it as it searches for a mate. The fruit looks a little like pineapple but it is definitely not – extremely bitter and quite the laxative 😬

At line 6, we could go upside down if we wanted to try. Micheal said “absolutely!” Leo said “if he can do it, I can do it.” And I said “when am I ever going to get this chance again?” and Mike said “yall are nuts!” 🤣

We took a break on top of one of the hills for water and some of the best granola bars I’ve had. One of our guides assured me that I could find these on Amazon. (I hope so since I have become addicted to Maui Chips which you can’t get on Amazon unless you want to pay $12 per bag??? Maybe Santa has a connection 🤪)

Before we started Ziplining again, our guide, Jaidan, asked if we wanted a dinosaur picture? We are on the island where they did film shots for Jurassic Park, of course we want the dinosaur picture! So Jaidan grabs a nearby plastic dinosaur and says look at the top of that tree and look scared…

Some people are getting tired… or maybe tired of my picture taking?

We made it to line 8, the longest (almost half a mile) and fastest (54 miles per hour). This has to be the longest zip line I have ever seen!

We jumped on, going Superman style to go the fastest way possible! Because why not?

BEST DAY!

After all that, we were starving, so we headed first to a little place Mike found online and our guides said was great! But they were closed on Wednesdays ☹️. So we tried another place they recommended that made Michael’s heart smile – Mexican food 🇲🇽 and the name… Da Crack 🤣.

Everything smelled delicious! Da Crack offers no seating, so we headed back to the hotel with our box of Mexican food and had lunch on the balcony. (We could have sold that food for 5x what we paid because it smelled so good on the elevator).

We decided to spend the rest of today being lazy at the pool and ocean. However since we were running out of clothes, we did do a few loads of laundry in between pool/lounge chair times. We dropped a load in the washer, set the timer on my phone, and scooted in every 43 minutes from the pool.

These two ♥️

Since we were still sort-of full from our late lunch, we decided to head back to restaurant at the hotel and have appetizers and desserts.

And of course, another astrophotograph 😊

Tomorrow is our last no travel day, so we are going to be as lazy as possible and enjoy every minute. It is starting to hit me that once this trip is finished, we only have one more state before we can check off all 50!?! And then we will have college boys.

I suppose we better start thinking of our next goal 😉

One last morning with this view and our little coffee shop, and then we said goodbye to Oahu.

We went right by what has become my new favorite road: Do you like it or do you likelike it? 🤣

Car returned, traversed the TSA line (and met the nicest lady from Lexington, NC who works there – she told us what’s been going wrong with Mike’s tickets that has forced him to go back through ticketing twice at every Hawaiian Airlines flight.) and were at our gate ready to go

We made it to Kaua’i, the oldest island in the Hawaiian island chain.

Rental car picked up… this one took a little maneuvering since it is technically an SUV but a smaller SUV. Smaller suitcase in the backseat, and we were off. We headed into Kaua’i and grabbed lunch at the Kaua’i Beer Company. The food was outstanding, and the service was … adequate. Honestly, I think we arrived at a time when most folks were just there to drink beer, so we will give them a break on being slow on service

Kaua’i is the green island and now we know why. There is vegetation/greenery everywhere! Yesterday we saw the area where they filmed a lot of Jurassic, but the scene with the waterfall was filmed here in Kaua’i. Despite those big mountains, Kaua’i is also the flatest island.

It may be the flatest and greenest, but it may also be the most beautiful. Or at the least the Grand Hyatt Resort is the most beautiful resort we have ever seen! We arrived and were greeted with leis and “alohas” all around. They definitely have it figured because you walk into the hotel and are greeted with this view: Ever seen anything more Hawaii than this?

And this place is HUGE! The resort covers over 50 acres including multiple pools, hot tubs, water slides, a lazy river and golf course. We decided we are glad we didn’t come here first, because we may never have left. For all the hustle and bustle of Honolulu and O’ahu, Kauai is just peaceful.

We got settled in our room, and then headed out to check out the beach. Again, it looks like a postcard. But these are definitely more the waves you would expect in Hawaii. Boys decided to go check out the pools, and Mike and I stayed at beach.

We finally found the boys in the pools and had to check out the fruity-drinks on this island too – the virgin daiquiris are delicious! Then we spent a few hours swimming floating and checking out the waterfalls and rocks.

We watched another gorgeous sunset… we gotten a bit addicted to watching the progression of the sunset – so if you see me standing in my backyard watching it at home, just keep walking 🤪

We had dinner at the resort and our waiter, who was nice but the fastest talker I’ve ever met, told us that astrophotography worked really well here since there very few overhead lights. (To save you the Google search, because I already had to do it, astrophotography is taking pictures of stars) Leo gave it a try and looks like the next few days of posts will now end with astrophotographic shots 🤣

Tomorrow we heading off resort for an activity 😏 and to check out the Grand Canyon of the Pacific 😊

We have done so well on this vacation only having one activity per day. Today’s activity was the Polynesian Cultural Center on the northeast side of O’ahu. But that activity wasn’t until later today so we enjoyed a nice slow morning. I think I could have coffee here every morning for the rest of my life

The bottom 2 floors of our hotel are filled with shops, an arcade and restaurants so we slept in and had brunch at the coffee/pastry shop.

Then we picked up beach chairs and towels and spent a few hours on the beach – with everyone else in Waikiki 🤣

After the beach, we changed and grabbed snacks since we are having a huge buffet for dinner and headed off to the opposite side of the island. We took a different route than yesterday so we could see other parts of O’ahu and so glad we did. We passed the ranch that was used for scenes in Jurassic Park, and saw some of the most gorgeous coastline!

The drive was gorgeous and even though there were a few twists and turns, it was nothing compared to the Road to Hana 🤣

The Polynesian Cultural Center is on every “must do” list on O’ahu. Honestly, I was a little worried that it was going to be another Pink Jeep Tour (see the blog post from Grand Canyon). But it was AWESOME! It’s like Epcot Center for the Polynesian Islands, with areas for the islands of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Tahiti. Each area had some kind of show, and lots of hands on activities and games. It has been open for over 50 years and covers 40+ acres.

The first section we checked out was the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Junior Seau, Marcus Mariotta, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Troy Palomalu are all Polynesian and in the Hall of Fame.

Then we began our visit to the islands. First up was Samoa. Their chief was hilarious! One of the ladies at dinner said he had worked here for 20+ years and was always one of the favorites. We learned to split a coconut, make fire and climb a coconut tree, the Samoan way.

After Samoa, we headed to Aotearoa. The boys competed in a stick game… basically, you stand in a circle with sticks. As you let go of your stick, and slide to another players spot/stick, other players grab your stick.You get eliminated when don’t catch a stick.

Then we tried our hand at spinning Poi bags… you swing these in a circle which seems easy enough until each hang is supposed to go a different direction. 🤣 The instructor told us they learned to do this when they were young and continued because it would strengthen their wrists for spear and stick fighting.

Each island also had a tribal tattoo you could get… so of course, we did.

Then we headed over to Fiji for lessons in music and coconut splitting.

Next up was Tahiti. We checked out the Men’s Eating hut and tried poi for the first time. Poi is made from the root of the taro plant and full of vitamin C and D. It is one of the main reason Tahitians didn’t suffer from scurvy like Englishmen did. And once you peel and mash the root, it begins to ferment and is good for a month. It really had no taste so Tahitians mix with things like dried fish. Boys also tried their hand at a game sort of like bowling. You rolled a puck on its side through 2 sticks. Then they also tried their hand at casting nets.

At the Hawaiian section, we tried a game similar to cup & ball, except they added an extra step of start in the cup, flip to touch the back of the cup, and then get it back in the cup… it almost made me cuss, so I quit 🤣

We briefly checked at the Tongan island but honestly we were right up against their closing time so missed most of their activities.

We then headed over to the Mission Settlement. This showed the influence of settlers to the island through Churches, schools and technology like the printing press.

(Pro Tip: we really needed a little more time, so I would give about 3-4 hours for all the islands in order to see all the exhibitions and activities in each area)

Next stop was the buffet. You never really know what to expect at a buffet… could be good, could be nauseating. So, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best – and we were NOT disappointed! First, the building is HUGE!

Then the food: they had everything! A beef sirloin carving station, a whole roast chicken carving station, a tuna (sushi) carving station, Chinese food, Korean food, chicken tenders, fresh fruit, salad bar, sushi, seafood, ice cream… other than sweet tea, they had it all!!!

It was fantastic and we ate and ate and ate! Finally, we waddled out but not before seeing the smartphone charging station

We headed into the Pacific Theater for the show, Ha: Breath of Life. It told the story of little boy who was born on one island and then traveled to different islands for different events in his life.

They had dancing and story telling from each island as well as finger dancing and hula dancers, along with cool special effects with fire and water. It was so so good! We really didn’t know what to expect, but we all loved it! (Sorry, no pictures or cell phone use during the show)

We had the best time!

Tomorrow we say goodbye to O’ahu and head to our last island, Kaua’i. The scores in the favorite island contest have changed a bit: O’ahu is now the favorite of all four Browns! (No pressure Kaua’i but it’s going to take a lot to upset O’ahu.)

Today, we headed to the famous North Shore to see how North Carolinians could handle the Hawaiian waves… Turns out we aren’t too shabby!

We loaded up with towels and beach chairs in Waikiki and drove through the center of Oahu. We passed the University of Hawaii (thankfully no Brown boys want to apply), and grabbed breakfast inside L’ami Bakery, a Korean Bakery located inside H Mart, a Korean grocery store. The bakery was pretty good and the grocery store was just fascinating. Almost everything was written in Korean, and the products were completely foreign to us. Anyone for a glass of cabbage and broccoli juice?

Again, the changes in the landscape were crazy – these jagged hills were so cool to see – hopefully the picture does them justice. They were so pretty, they almost looked fake.

We headed on to Hale’lwa, and passed by the Dole Plantation. Apparently that red dirt that we were covered in while riding ATVs is also great for growing pineapples. There had to be 1,000 acres of pineapple plants!

Nothing like spending your day in a Tsunami zone! 🤪

We met up with our surfing coaches, Brandon and Michaela from North Shore Surf Girls. The Company was started by Bonzi Betty, who was our photographer today. 72-years old and she still surfs every day! 🏄‍♀️ After we got our rash guard shirts, we headed to the beach to do the dry part of our lesson – learning the steps to get on the board.

While we were getting our land lesson, Brandon swam out into the ocean to drop of buoy for use when waiting our turn but also to know where to paddle back to. Then we headed into the water. Let’s start with the paddling out… Oh. My. Word. Our arms were on fire! When you see people surfing on television and movies, they just paddle out like it’s on glass… zipping right along. Oh heck no, that is so not reality! We were all exhausted – even the boys who are in great shape! When our arms stopped being jelly, we were ready to surf!

Some of us, fell a couple of time and then were naturals… others of us, just kept falling. BUT everyone got up a few times which our coaches said was great for the whole group to stand up.

We even had a little seal swimming along with us. He was so cute and it was amazing to see a seal, right there in the water with us, not in a cage, or a zoo, just swimming along!

After an hour, Mike headed into shore. He said he would rather watch up than drown in the water. An hour later, the boys and I headed in as well. It was an incredible day!

We dryed off and wiped as much of the sand off as possible, and headed to the food trucks of the North Shore. It is literally a lot, where 10 food trucks made an outside edge, charge $2 for parking, and set up shop with a few picnic tables. There are chickens and birds and a few lizards walking around (not inside the food trucks 😉) We heard from at least 4 people, and our surf coaches, that Giovanni’s is absolutely amazing… and they were all correct! Best shrimp of our lives… even the vacation contrarian agreed!

Then we headed over to the Haleiwa Fruit Shack for dessert. We decided to get smoothies, each a little different. They were amazing, using fresh sugar cane that they cut and pressed right in front of us. The owner would ask you to hand him fruit from the front counter, which he peeled and put in your smoothie. The owner’s dad was there working with him too. He was hilarious and may or may not have been as high as a kite, but he was working and kept us entertained.

Absolutely stuffed, we explored the North Shore and did a little shopping.

Boys decided they were still wiped from surfing and just wanted to hang out of the beach in Waikiki, so off we went… Leo said some of Hawaii reminded him of Montana. We agreed, except for the pineapple plants 😀

We saw another rainbow – no wonder Hawaii has a rainbow on their license plates. We have seen a rainbow on every island so far, and sometime more that one.

Back at the hotel, Mike volunteered to take shopping bags and backpacks back to the room for us… which included Michael new giant hat. Bless him!

We all finally made it to the beach, and after sitting for a couple of minutes, the boys headed back over to the giant sand bag barriers and the wrestling began 🤪 I wonder if when they are married and we all travel together they’ll still wrestle like this? (I hope so ♥️)

Another gorgeous sunset ☀️

Mike found 3 restaurants for dinner and the boys had to choose, so off we went to Sensai Seafood Restaurant. Turns out it is Sensai Seafood House and D&T’s steak house combined (which seemed weird at first, but whatever). Everything was delicious! and they have a photographer walking around – we liked a few of her poses, but we had to politely decline the heart-hands photo she wanted Mike and I to take and boys said no thank you to the pose that looked like StepBrothers movie poster 🤣

A ten-minute walk home and we were lights out by 11pm, which is 5am EST. We have finally adjusted to Hawaii-time, so readjusting in a week to EST is going to be a beast!

Before today’s adventures…

We started our day fueled up on coffee, frappes and pastries, and then hit the road for a 20-minute drive to Pearl Harbor. (Pro tip: bring a clear bag or only carry a wrist-size bag, and refillable water bottle. Leave everything else in the car). Of all the historic sites we have visited, Pearl Harbor may have been one of the most solemn. We have all heard our parents tell their tale of where they were when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, but to be here was incredibly serene.

We arrived around 9am and decided to watch the USS Arizona movie before our timed tickets out to the Arizona. The movie gave the details leading up to December 7, 1941 and did a great job (especially for some of my non-history people). We headed into another theater before loading the shuttle boat to the Arizona. This Park Ranger should be in Hollywood. He was awesome telling about the history and reverence of the Arizona (think a Morgan Freeman voice).

The sailors and Marines on the shuttles again made sure to remind everyone of the expected reverence of the Arizona. The best advice was to treat it like a national cemetery because for these hundreds of men, it is.

The concave design is to reflect the defeat and horror of the attack in the middle and then the rise of hope on the ends. Along the outside edge is the tree of life reflected in the missing stones.

The Arizona itself lays perpendicular to the Memorial. When the bombing began, a bomb from a Japanese plane went through the ship and ignited all of the ammunition and powder carried on the Arizona. The resulting explosions blew the entire USS Arizona 30 feet into the air. The large part sticking out is the third turret from the deck of the Arizona.

The back wall of the Arizona Memorial is a wall commemorating the names of all the men lost on the Arizona. It’s not flashy or show. Just a simple white wall with their names etched in black. There is also a section where those that survived the bombing may have their remains returned to the Arizona. When crew member is returned, one of the divers who takes the remains said that there seems to be a notable release as the remains are accepted back into the Arizona.

We were amazed that one of the three anchors from the Arizona, weighing over 19,000 pounds, was blown hundreds of feet away, and found in the harbor!

After we visited the USS Arizona, we picked up our audio tour equipment and started through the park. Stops along the way, gave the background, state of the world and espionage of the Japanese leading up to December 7th.

After the inside portion of the audio tour, we continued on the Walk of Remembrance around the perimeter of the park with views of the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri. The setting is beautiful, and we could easily imagine being here on a Sunday morning, and suddenly seeing those bombers coming over the mountains.

We had lunch by the water and then made our way to the USS Missouri, where the Japanese signed the letter of surrender to mark the end of the war.

The USS Missouri was very similar to the USS North Carolina in Wilmington. Our tour guide was retired Honor Guard from the Coast Guard and loved his job and history. And this guy was LOVING every minute of today and the tour.

The Missouri was truly impressive not just in sheer size but in their commemoration of the place of surrender. There were lots of extras that our tour guide pointed out along the way. For instance, up until this point, Japan had never surrendered so there was concern about what would happen. To ease tensions, General McArthur never told the Japanese to sign the documents, he invited them to sign – a sign of respect to the Japanese representatives. The Representative from Canada was blind in one eye, and accidentally signed under his signature line, instead of on the line. The 2 men standing behind General McArthur were POWs. Number 4 in the photo is John S. McCain – the father of Senator John McCain. Lots of subtle notes that you never learn in history but are just cool to discover.

This ship is kid-friendly (both big and small) so the boys loved exploring not just in decks but the inside including sleeping quarters, galleys, library, and even a dentist office. (Could you imagine getting a cavity filled while been thrown about at sea?!?!) There was even a law office and computer lab on board.

One of the coolest things we learned today was that to this day 60 enlisted Marines still reside on the Missouri ready to handle any issues or threats that may arise.

We treated ourselves to a few cold treats (it was hot on the ship), and goofed around with some cutout before heading back to the hotel.

We walked around Honolulu for a bit tonight trying to decide about dinner… no one wanted anything but everyone had something they didn’t want. 🤣 We ended up grabbing dinner at Maui Brewery where Leo and Mike had the greatest cheeseburgers of their lives! (or maybe they were just hungry from the walk around downtown.)

Tomorrow we are headed up to the North Shore for a little surfing and exploring, so feel free to say a prayer we don’t get rolled up in a wave!

We grabbed breakfast at the hotel coffee shop, and headed off to the airport.

But not before stopping to fill up the rental car… at $4.97 a gallon!!! Gulp! The Kona Airport is great – about the size of the Greensboro airport. It is incredibly easy to navigate. Plus, we liked the open air waiting and gift/snack shops.

The inter-island flights are really short, 30 to 45 minutes, so they only do beverage service. Your options are water or passionfruit juice and both come in these like containers like a lunchbox cup of peaches.

Only in Honolulu would they have an oasis in the middle of the open air airport.

Honolulu is a relatively large city, about the size of Greensboro, but it is really big considering the size cities we have seen over the last week. The highway system though could rival most major metro areas. We all really liked the mix of old and new architecture.

And of course, when we went by the courthouse, Mike and I started humming the Hawaii-5 0 theme song 🏄🏻🌺🎶 The boys were clueless when I said “Book ’em Danno” but we laughed any way 🤣

We are staying at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki for the next four days. Shameless plug: Usually, we are Hilton/Marriott people. However we have to have queen size beds, which weren’t available at any Westin or Marriott on our dates. Plus, a rollaway bed or pullout couch would really be fantastic so boys would both get good sleep at this point in the trip. So, we decided to try out the Hyatt Regency. This is BY FAR our favorite so far… and BONUS, it is the least we have paid for a hotel so far! The hotel is shopping/stores and restaurants on first 2 floors, and pool, hot tub and gym on the third. And they have the best perks (in addition to a rollaway bed): lei making classes; jewelry making classes; yoga classes; and beach chairs that you can borrow and return. Plus, sand toys and boogie board for free use as well. Every other hotel we have stayed had these things for always for a fee… And this view is just about perfect!

We decided to check out Duke’s Waikiki for lunch – it was right on the beach and since we caught it at 2:45, we were able to walk right in. The cajun fish tacos were delicious… if we do nothing else well, we always eat well. 😁

We wanted a little something sweet after lunch, and what luck! There is a Haagan Daz store on the way back to the hotel 😀

After our late lunch, we hit the beach to relax.

Another Hawaii Sunset… seriously wondering if I am ever going home?

After the beach, the boys went to the gym for another soccer workout, and then we headed out for sushi, because when will it ever be fresher that right beside the ocean???

Tomorrow we are spending the day at Pearl Harbor, which should be amazing. But so far, I’m just loving this time together ♥️

We headed out this morning around 9am to spend the day over at Volcano National Park. We walked back in our room tonight a little after 9pm. Absolutely got our money’s worth out of today! (Jimmy Maske is smiling down on this day!)

We took the southern route to see a different part of Hawai’i, and again, it was crazy to see the differences from one region to another. We also got to see what we thought was a “flat” squirrels with really short legs scurrying across the street. But it turns out there are no squirrels in Hawai’i (there are also no snakes). What we thought was a squirrel was actually mongoose. The sugar cane plantation owners brought in mongooses in to control the rat population, and now they’re everywhere! I tried to get a picture but those suckers are fast!

The pictures really don’t do justice to the lava flows. It was so cool to see where a lava flow went right into the treeline.

We made it! Our furthest National Park yet!

The visitors center was being remodeled so they’ve set up a temporary visitor center in an old military outpost. (I could think of worse places to be stationed.)

Due to the remodeling, we had limited food options. Since Mom’s Cafe is not operating in Hawaii, we grabbed sandwiches at the Volcano House and enjoyed the view of the Kilauea Caldera before we headed into the park to find a place for a picnic. It is just crazy to see steam and smoke rising from under the earth 😬

Picnic in hand, we headed into the park. Again with the massive landscape shifts: you’re in a rainforest and then suddenly, sitting beside a lava field. Each area was marked with signs showing the date of the eruption that caused this particular lava flow. We had our picnic beside the July 1974 Lava Flow (Pro tip, you lift up to move on lava walls – don’t slide unless you want to rip your shorts.)

Across the road was an entire lava field that you could hike across/explore. The rocks were light and totally porous (tiny holes all in it). We were still amazed by the vegetation that was desperately trying grow from any crevices.

We traveled all the way down the Chain of Craters Road: next stop was the Pauahi Crater – last eruption here was November of 1979. This thing was massive… or so we thought.

We traveled on and honestly skipped a few baby craters because they just paled in comparison to Pauahi Crater and Kilauea Caldera. What’s the difference? Well thanks to our friendly park ranger, we learned that a crater is usually a smaller eruption and a caldera is the BIG one that blows a big chunk out of the earth.

The lava fields from the Pauahi eruption of November of 1979 continued for miles. They were so large, you could hike and camp on these – although I could not think of anything hotter or less comfortable than sleeping on hardened lava rock.

Further down the Chain of Craters Road, the lava started to become all you saw. It was amazing to see the differences. The lighter lava came first and then a second flow will come on top, which is darker. Everything flowed right out into the ocean creating more and more land. FYI: if you own land that is extended by cooled lava, you don’t just get more acreage. Sorry. That new land belongs to the state of Hawaii.

We continued all the way to the bottom of the Chain of Craters Road where all the lava flows eventually end… the ocean. And even if new cliffs are created, they are almost immediately subject to incredible erosion forces as the waves crash in over and over.

As we started back up a 19-mile road that takes 1 hour due to the hills and turns, we were amazed by an older couple that were biking up the same hill!!! Forget the level of strenuousness this would take, but there was barely a shoulder on some of the curves!

Up up up we went… passing more markers for lava flows and what the signs called “Earth Cracks”

We passed a sign for Devastation Trail and decided since we have also visited the Doomsday Clock, we needed to see this too! It was about a mile hike to see part of the Kilauea Ike Crater (neighboring the Kilauea Caldera) that erupted in 1959 for over 5 weeks. The hot embers traveled for over six miles! The devastation trail covers a portion of this devastation.

Next stop: a lava tube! To avoid parking issues, we parked in an overlook and hiked back to the tube. It ended up being a really cool hike said that we could get to appreciate the size of the Kilauea Ike Crater. This lava tube was much simpler than the last one we traveled through on Maui. It was also much wetter, but that was likely due to rain forest feel of the area versus Maui’s weather.

These steam vents were all along the road just to remind you that we were driving along a chain of volcanoes

We stopped again to get another view of Mount Kilauea Caldera… honestly, we were hoping to see a little lava, but no such luck. It was still amazing to see all the smoke coming up, and to see how much of the land had already ready been taken by fiery eruptions. Plus, the cracks in the earth gave a pretty good indication of what section would be falling into the caldera next.

Then for some reason everyone started doing these hops… Michael did one and then not to be outdone, Leo did one and then I looked and Mike was doing them too 🤣🤣 (They must have gotten the happy hops like Scarlett does.)

One last stop to actually feel the steam coming up. It was hard to believe this blast of hot air was coming up from the ground.

Volcano National Park: ✔️

Since we were closer to Hilo than Kona, we decided to try another local place for dinner, Pineapples. It was fantastic! Fresh caught Ono (Wahoo) and pineapple drinks 🍍 These folks are brilliant. They need fresh pineapple for dishes, so instead of tossing the “hull” into the trash, they hollow out the pineapples and serve drinks in them… for a small fee 😉 They are known for their Pineapple Pow (alcoholic) or the Pineapple No-Pow (without alcohol). I got the No-Pow and the pineapple hull was frozen which made the drink inside like an orange-pineapple icee – a dessert more than drink. The boys both got a tropical fruit punch served in a pineapple and Mike tried one of their locally brewed beer. It was a little pricey for the pineapples but when are you ever going to drink out a pineapple again?!?

We started our drive back across Hawai’i and I have to say, this road is a little creepy at night… especially when you got the intermittent fog as you went over the hills. And even creepier when someone made us stop for a potty break on the side of a creepy road (sorry Hawai’i)

We made it back in time to fight the gnats (ugh – long story), grab showers and crash! Tomorrow, we leave Hawai’i and head to Oahu.

So far, the Browns are split on favorite islands: Maui: 2 and Hawai’i: 2

Since we discovered that snorkeling and curvy roads are not our favorite pastimes, we readjusted and decided to head over to Hilo on eastern side of the island to try our hand at ATV-ing. Driving across Hawai’i (because we’ve learned that you pronounce the actual island differently than the state), we saw a totally different part of Hawai’i.

Going straight across you would think you were in South Dakota.

Then as you drive along the coast, on one side of the road, theres the coastline and on the other side, there are rolling hills and pastures like in Montana.

The cooled lava fields were so cool You could see along the coast line exactly how the lava flowed into the sea. We learned that that island is separated into lava zones ranging from 1-9 (one being most severe). Think of it like the Flood zones we have in North Carolina.

All of Hawai’i was gorgeous. If you categorized Maui as “resort-y”, I’d put Hawai’i in the laid back relaxed category.

We arrived at Umauma Experience right on time and ready to ride.

The Umauma Experience is on a 230 acres plot of land that was an old sugar cane farm. After the sugar cane stopped they tried to grow eucalyptus trees until they realized that when they are dry they are crazy-flammable. So they started the Umauma Experience. You can chose from horseback riding, ziplining, ATV trails or waterfall repelling.

When we dropped snorkeling on Sunday, we threw in the ATV tour since the worst review online was that “the guides went too fast and let us get too dirty” 🤦🏻‍♀️ seriously? We wore bathing suits and old clothes, and had our fingers crossed that we would be filthy by the end. (Spoiler alert: our wish comes true). We checked in and then explored the grounds a bit while we waited for the others in our group.

We had the BEST guides today! 2 were Midwest transplants and 1 was born and raised in Hawai’i. After a little snafu with our first ATV, we were off.

Nick (one of our guides) said they had a little rain overnight so should be great muddy ride. 🎉 It started off pretty easy…

And then we started hitting it big time!

Passed a few cows (not even letting my brain think about the contributions that the cows may have made to the mud), and just kept up the muddy fun!

Leo and I switched places because no way was I going to be the messiest!

We stopped for a few pictures, and a chance for Michael to take the front seat.

Our faces were hurting from laughing when we made it to the waterfall for a snack and swimming. Thankfully there was also a restroom with a sink to wash off at least our hands and faces 🤪

We headed down to the waterfall and pool area. We have never been so excited to swim in a pond!

Even Mike and I got in on the fun!

Nick showed the boys were to climb up and jump for higher spots while Mike and I were happy to stay in our easy spot.

We even swam across (holy cow, that current was no joke!) and went under and behind the waterfall. The guides stayed right with us just in case.

A Fantastic Day we will always remember!

Then it was back in the ATV to finish our ride and head back, and of course a little more mud!

Thankfully they had showers on site so after some scrubbing, we were presentable enough to head into Hilo for lunch at a place our guides Chloe and Alicia recommended for “real” Hawaiian food.

Hilo is cute town – lots of shops in the waterfront area and with the hills, it reminded us of Asheville.

We made it to the “Hawaiian Style Cafe” and WOW! We met the nicest older gentleman while we waiting who said he hoped we were hungry. (Um sir, we have teenage boys. They are always hungry!) but we loved that the menu said all food scraps are donated to a local pig farm 🐽

We decided to check out another spot we read about… the Dooms Day Clock. It sounded really ominous. The clock was hit by a tsunami in 1960 and is frozen in time. There have been several tsunamis that hit so much so that they commemorate them on a pillar by the ocean.

Our guides also recommended we check out Rainbow Falls and the boiling pots. So glad we took their advice! The falls and boiling pots were really beautiful

One thing I love about Hawai’i is the stories around everything. For instance the Falls were created for the mother of Maui, the demigod (remember in Moana?). And the boiling pots and falls have claimed the lives of 27 people since 1995… but seriously what kind of idiot would go beyond the railing to a waterfall?!?

Our favorite part however was this incredible Banyan tree!

Banyan trees have a crazy root system where the roots grow down from branches and create a new trunk. This banyan tree is estimated at 600 years old, and in Hawaiian culture are places of spirituality and symbols of wisdom, endurance, and protection. It was just incredible!

We decided to head back to our side of the island and took a slightly different route so we could see a little bit more of the island. We’ve covered the middle, northern and eastern side of the island and every part looked like a mix of other states.

Back at the hotel, we took long showers (with soap and washcloths) and decided to grab pizza for dinner. The best pizza (according to online reviews) was about 4 minutes away, so we thought we would see if the reviews were true… they absolutely were!

We stopped in at Target to grab bandaids (Leo got a blister) and detergent, and made it back to hotel in time to do a couple of loads of laundry before we crashed!

Tomorrow we head to Volcano National Park – fingers crossed that Mount Kilauea decides to put on a lava show while we are there 🌋

Having covered the northwest, west, and southeast sides of Maui, we checked of our hotel and headed to our next Island, Hawaii – the Big Island. We flew out of Maui and learned quickly that the Hawaiian Airlines Maui airport folks aren’t known for the friendly disposition. Yikes, think of it this way, if the two guys from grumpy old men were looking for jobs, the Hawaiian Airlines Maui airport folks would be their people!

We decided not to let them ruin our mood, so we just smiled and headed to our gate. We took off and landed on time, so I’ll take a little grumpy as a trade off anytime.

We landed on the Big island and immediately saw all the differences… everything seems to have come from volcanic rock!

The Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest island in the Hawaiian chain. This makes perfect sense since the Big Island has the most active volcanos. We were able to check in a bit early so we dropped off our bags and headed to the Big Kahuna Grill for lunch. The food was great and the atmosphere was so relaxing from the open deck.

Everyone was ready for a nap, but we can sleep inside at home, so the boys and I headed down for a little pool time, and Mike joined us a little later.

The Big Island is very different than Maui. We are staying in Kona which is much more densely populated – based on what we have seen. It is definitely a tourist area like our NC Beach towns. (Tomorrow we are exploring more of island and I’m interested to see how it looks.)

The boys went to the gym to complete their soccer runs (because their parents wouldn’t let them go run on the street). Mike found (and hotel staff agreed) a restaurant for us to try that has fresh seafood grill and market, Umekes. It was delicious! Mike and Michael had the Ahi Tuna steak special, Leo went with the seafood pasta, and I had the fish tacos made with Ono fish (which the waitress told me on mainland it’s called Wahoo). Everything was fantastic, especially the lava cake at the end ♥️

Tomorrow we were supposed to snorkel on the Kona (west) side of the island. However after the multi-level motion sickness on Maui, we pivoted and are now headed for a non-curvy road land adventure on the Hilo (east) side the island 😊

Today’s goal was to travel the famous Road to Hana. The Road to Hana is a 64-mile stretch of road that covers almost the entire east/southeast side of the island of Maui. There are signs everywhere that say it includes 620 curves and 59 bridges… and what they don’t mention is that these curves aren’t a slight deviation from a straight line – no, they are 180° switchbacks AND almost every single one of those bridges are one lane.

The Road to Hana is famous not just because of the views but famous for the quirky stops along the way. Our plan was to conquer as much of it as we could, but there was absolutely no way we could have anticipated the number of twists and turns that awaited us. (Today’s travel taught me one important lesson… all the boys are going to have to be more involved in the planning of activities, because while I don’t suffer from motion sickness, I planned 2 activities back-to-back that made my guys feel terrible.)

Choosing to focusing on the positive: We definitely saw a different side of the island.  When you move away from the coast, Hawaii looks a lot like the eastern side of California. But as you started making your way to the eastern coast, the tropical views returned.

Our first spot of the map was the cute little town of Pa’ia.  It was like Key West (without the drunks) meets small town America. Really cute town with lots of shops and restaurants. Our first actual get-out-the-car stop was at the Twin Falls. So far the road hasn’t been too bad, but these guys were ready to explore.

One of the falls was closed due to too much water, so we made the best of the smaller falls.

Frankly, the upper falls being closed was probably the good Lord looking after my boys because as soon as we got to the falls, they saw some locals guys cliff jumping, and guess who had to join in? 🤪 At least they did come ask permissions first… and then proceed to climb one foot higher with each jump!

Back on the Road… the curves 🤢and the views 🌺 continued… It was really becoming a trade off… we wanted to see the views but these roads and bridges were rough on my guys.

All along the Road, there were several spots called “Wayside Stops” with not a whole lot there other than restrooms and a small trail or two. But in hindsight, I think they are stops to allow your equilibrium to get settled on solid ground…

The views again were picture perfect. We felt like we were in the opening scenes of Jurassic Park so much so that if a pterodactyl had flown out, we wouldn’t have been surprised.

Our next stop was the Hana Lava Tube. What’s a Lava Tube you ask? Well, lava tubes are formed when the hot lava flows underground and creates a roof and walls in the earth. The crust on the outside cools, and hot lava continues to flow in the center through the tube. The Hana Tube is the largest one on the islands and the 18th largest one in the world. The official name is Ka’eleku Caverns… and you know I love to find some caverns to explore.

At one time, the tubes were going to be used as a fallout shelter, although with only space and supplies for up to 16 people, that plan was abandoned pretty quickly.

They gave us each a strong flashlight and off we went…

The Lava Tube is privately owned, and you can explore right up to the property line… well, technically underneath the property line of the owners. Everything beyond this fence is owned by US government, and we could go no further. Gotta admit, I’m a little curious what going on on the government side of the fence.

Next (and final) stop was only 5 miles away, and thankfully it was well worth the journey. Welcome to the black sand beaches of Wai’anapanapa State Park. It was gorgeous!!!

A friend of ours suggested we get water shoes before coming on this trip, and I will never be able to thank him enough! What Hawaiians call “black sand” is really rocks – extremely smooth jet black rocks. I am hoping the sound comes through when the waves crash into the shore.

These waves were crazy and the seas were rough and crashing against the rocks along the sides. It was so rough that the boys said they thought they’d skip a swim here. As we walked down the beach and toward the cliffs the “sand” changed a bit, but it was still little tiny rocks.

We walked up to one of peaks surrounding the beach. The waves were slamming into the rocks and creating some awesome spray! It looked like fireworks made of water!

We stayed up there forever just watching the waves and trying to catch the perfect photos ♥️

We scooted over to the other side and snapped a few more pictures.

Leo found a heart shaped rock for me ♥️ but Mike convinced us we might get some bad voodoo from the Wai’anapanapa tribe so I snapped a picture instead.

As cool as Wai’anapanapa State Park was, we were anxious about the return trek back on the Road to Hana. Michael kept saying “surely there is another road?” And technically there is, BUT its a road considered sacred and they do not want tourists on it. So no, there isn’t any other way home. We took it nice and slow, and thankfully the sun put on a show to distract us.

We can mark Road to Hana ✔️ with a promise from mom to not make them get on any boats or crazy roads tomorrow 🤭