In the lifetime before children Dave and I travelled at every opportunity. I love exploring new places and am anxious to pass that passion on to my girls. I was so excited to plan our family trip to Hawaii. I have been there two times before and have to say that it is one of my all-time favourite places on Earth. Not because I am a suntanning goddess (spf 85 here – burn, freckle, burn explains my relationship with the sun) but because it is one of those hidden gems on Earth where you can feel like it felt 100's of years ago. Nature at it's purest. I hike into valleys that ancient Hawaiians hiked and feel like I can hear them talking all around me. The Hawaiian culture is all about "Ohana" – Family, and they welcome you like you are one of their own.
With great excitement I planned a 16 day trip filling it with experiences that I hope that they will remember and inspire them to live a life full of their own experiences. What a trip we had from hiking a mountain to watch the sunrise and greet it with a traditional Hawaiian prayer to surfing, boogie boarding, whale-watching (the humpback whales are there giving birth – mommas and babies!!!!), swimming with turtles, eating shaved ice, sneaking pass the barricades to get up close and personal with the lava flows …..the list is too long to mention. The volcano visit means so much to me that I will put it in a separate blog. I took over 2200 photos and am just starting to sort through them.
I came back rejuvenated, (I wouldn't say rested ;), inspired, encouraged and absolutely joyous about the experience. I am so grateful to be able to have this time with my family.
The traditional method of fishing with a weighted net – absolutely fascinating to watch and he did end up catching dinner.
Journaling her adventures of the day.
Paddle surfing in the late afternoon
A surfer preparing to enter the waves – taking in the rhythm of the waves.
Erin taking a break from a hike to take "it" all in. Amazingly enough "all" became a humpback whale 100feet off the coast. – Too Amazing to Describe!
Fresh bananas off the tree – the girls ate them like candy.
Caitlyn being so full of Caitlyn that she is almost jumping out of her skin. 🙂
The Waipio Valley – One of my favourite places on the planet.
Wild Horses in the Waipio Valley.
Swimming in the tidepools – note 1, 2, 3, 4! turtles basking on the rocks in the tidepools that we swam in!!!!
The lei's that we were greeted with.
Surfing babe Erin – she took to it on the 1st try and has big plans to become an Island Girl and teach surfing lessons while operating a veterinary clinic on the side. 🙂
Island Girl #2
