There’s a scene in Ms. Congeniality where Sandra Bullock brings up the fact that Aloha means hello and goodbye to break an awkward silence. That was the first time I learned that. So we said goodbye to Oahu and Hello to the Big Island. And although there are a lot of Hawaiian islands the big island is the only one that is actually called Hawaii. It’s so much bigger then Oahu that the week required a lot of driving. All of it was worth it though. We got to experience the warm, sunny Kona side and the rainforest side as well as the Volcano National Park. Jaren got his fill of sand and sun, I got my two top picks for hikes in and the boys enjoyed both so I would call the trip an overall success.
For the boys I would say one of the best parts of the trip was the boogie boarding. We went on three different days, always to Hapuna Beach and each day was totally different. Monday was insane! Seriously … INSANE! To say that I was a worry wort is a huge understatement. I was terrified and silently praying that my children would be okay. Here’s the background; before we left on this trip I was at the school chatting with some folks and our spring break travels got brought up, I told them we were going to Hawaii. One lady says to me that she is excited for us but to please be careful, the waves have been known to cause serious injury to people and in fact she knows a man from Utah who had just been paralyzed from the neck down from playing in the waves. I thought to myself yeah, were comfortable in the ocean, we’ll be fine! But then I showed up at Hapuna Beach that day and I was in for a rude awakening. The waves were huge and they were curling late and smashing down directly onto the sand. Which means that if one of those bad boys picks you up and you curl when it does, it will throw you onto the beach and you’re in major trouble. And as I am standing there in shock and awe the life guards come over a PA system and announces, “Please be careful on the beach today! These waves are large and are breaking on the sand. Hapuna has the highest rate of spinal and neck injuries. I repeat, please be careful. Parents please watch your children. If you are not an experienced boogie boarder you need to stay shallow.” I go to my phone and google Utah man who breaks neck in Hawaii and sure enough, he was on Hapuna beach. I thought I was comfortable in the ocean but there was no way in you know what that I was going out there in those waves! But Jaren and the boys ran on out with their boogie boards while I stood on the beach almost in tears begging and pleading Jaren to come in to shallower waters. He did and although I was grateful I was not at ease. Thankfully Jaren and his family have grown up coming to Hawaii and they knew how to dive under the waves when they were coming towards you (think surfing movies) so Ron and Jaren took the boys out as far as I would let them and they were able to have a good time while I stood watching from the beach and taking pictures.
My favorite part of the trip were the hikes we did. I had done some research before we went and picked out four hikes I wanted to do and I had them rated from my top pick on down. Monday after boogie boarding we showered off at the beach, threw on some dry clothes and drove to the other side of the island to do our first hike (Number 2 on my list). This was an interesting drive. The Kona side of the island is not what people picture when they think of Hawaii. It was more recently formed by solidified volcanic lava and is very black and dry. This side of the island gets about 15 inches of rain a year while the other side gets about 150 inches of rain a year. The weird thing was that on this drive you could tell instantly when you got to the rainier side of the island. I thought the change would be gradual like maybe a few trees and shrubs and then a few more until eventually you were in the middle of lush canopying trees and flowing streams but it wasn’t that way at all. It was like a border, a clear and distinct line that separated the two sides. One second we were on the black and dry side and the next second we were in the middle of the rainforest. It was crazy and it was so beautiful!
The hike started at an overlook and dropped down to the valley floor where there was a beautiful black sand beach. I loved this hike. It was perfect for our family. It wasn’t too long and there were fun things for my boys to do once we were at the valley floor. The actual hike down was amazing, I took so many pictures because it was beautiful. I would highly recommend this hike if you’re thinking of going to the big island! I give it five stars. Keep in mind that I am a mom and part of my rating comes from wether or not my children enjoyed the hike and they loved it!
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| The view from the top as well as Austin's reactions to the warning signs on the trail. |
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| The Valley Floor |
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| The Black Sand Beach |
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