Hawaii: Tuesday & Wednesday

After spending so much time at Hapuna on Monday we all looked a little like cherry tomatoes so Jaren and I decided a day out of the sun was probably a good idea. We got in the car and drove the 2 hours to Volcano National Park where the boys were pumped to see an active volcano and I was excited because this was where my number one hike was located. 

Volcano National Park is huge and if you’re planning on coming you’re going to want to do some research first on what you want to do while there because it’s a full day! The hike I had picked out was a 5 mile hike and it covered a lot of things that we wanted to see while at the park so we applied our sun screen, loaded up on water and a few snacks and headed out for the 5 mile hike. This hike was so unique and different from any other hiking most people would probably do. We went through rain forests

and lava tubes, 

we crossed the black “lava lake”

and steam holes, we peered into the hole of where the lava once came shooting out. Austin and Caleb were fascinated with all of it. They loved the steam vents and each had their own idea of where the steam was coming from.

They liked stomping through the rain forest and picking up the new types of plants to see what they felt like. They were the first to notice the huge cracks in the earth formed from past earthquakes. I liked this hike as well and I would recommend this one although I would only give this one a four star rating. The last half mile or so my kids were done, Caleb especially! Honestly I was really proud of them. Five miles is a long way and there was a ton of altitude change in this hike and they were troopers. No complaining, not even at the end. Jaren and I knew how badly they wanted to see the active volcano so after the hike we drove them a few miles up the road to where you could see the opening to the still active, still lava producing volcano.

Unfortunately most of the lava flows underground so all we could see was the steam rising out of the top of it. When the boys got back to the car they basically collapsed and they welcomed the two hour car ride back so they could relax. 

Wednesday morning before we went to Hapuna we decided to do some snorkeling at the little snorkel beach right by the condo.

The boys snorkeled for a while and then decided to play in the sand while Jaren and I kept snorkeling. It was after the boys headed back that we came across these two turtles interacting.

When we came out of the water I asked Jaren if he saw the kissing turtles and he told me they were actually fighting. I liked my interpretation  better! The real highlight of this stop for the boys were the snow cones we got. They were huge and super delicious! We got two, both rootbeer flavored with ice cream and they were a huge hit. Ron and Lisa even got one to share. 

On Wednesday when we went back to Hapuna in the afternoon the waves were WAY more manageable. I was even willing to go out in them that day although I have to admit I was still really scared. Jaren kept trying to get a picture of me with a huge wave behind us. He wanted me to stand in the water with him and let the wave get really big behind us and then just before it curled we would dive underneath it. I could envision the picture in my head and it would have been an awesome one but we weren’t ever able to get it. I was too scared and I would dive in the water way before I needed to just to be safe.

For me Wednesday was the best of the boogie boarding days. The waves were big enough that the boys could ride but not so huge that the lifeguards had to make their announcement or I felt the need to pray. I was glad that they were small enough for me to feel okay getting in the water.