Hawaii 11: Day 6

Today I swam with sea turtles at Kahalu'u beach park. Kahalu'u is just down Alli Drive in Kona from where the tsunami hit the hardest. Apparently the fish and turtles didn't mind the tsunami a bit. Incredibly large fish...and the sea turtles were amazing...as soon as we arrived and were in the water gearing up, one literally ran into my leg...later, as I was swimming off (probably somewhere I shouldn't have been) by myself, a turtle joined me and we swam together...probably among the five neatest things that I have ever done...completely therapeutic. Words can't describe the peace that I felt with this absolutely majestic animal swimming alongside me...he was the coolest turtle ever, for sure.

We also visited the Kona Farmer's Market, where I added to my collection of pictures of "dirty souvenirs"...there will be pictures to follow at a later date, after we warn all of our friends not to let their children view this blog ;) The "dirty pig" must be popular in every tropical destination though, that's all I've gotta say.

Ended the evening with some sixes and a sunset from the hot tub (which wasn't to heat yet, was a bit chilly)...tomorrow--Marlin fishing!

PS..you can view the video of the turtle swimming on my FB page, otherwise pictures will have to suffice because I am clearly not technologically gifted enough to download it to Blogger...please forgive me!!

Hawaii 11: Day 5

Place of Refuge. Don't the words make you think this is where you just get away and relax? No cares in the world? A nice spa and cabana boys? Not in Hawaii.

Place of Refuge was the historical equivalent to when we played tag when we were kids and we got to base. Only instead of playing tag with a bunch of kids, you're playing against Warriors with spears and you have nothing. If you don't make it to base, and they caught you, it was off with your head (or something equally repulsive). So much for relaxing.

Luckily, there are no longer warriors, so Place of Refuge is a pretty awesome place. The park was completely torn up by the tsunami, but, lucky for us, the reef outside the gate called "Two Step" (because of how the lava rocks make two steps into the ocean--for the record it's three steps though) was still thriving. We spent the morning in the water. Fish here are pretty darn big, and although the water wasn't particularly clear, it was still awesome.

Hawaii 11: Days 3 & 4

On Sunday after walking the beach at Kailua, we drove up to Kaneohe to meet up with my friend Bridget. We hadn't seen each other since she moved to North Shore in Elementary School, so it was pretty neat to see her (and new baby Evan!) after so much time had gone by.

Monday morning 4am came a little earlier than hoped...since our flight to Hilo left Honolulu at 6am, we had to wake up, get packed, and get headed through the mountain pretty darn early. That's right, THROUGH the mountain. To cross this island, you have to drive right through a rock wall. It's pretty much the coolest thing since escalators.

Upon arrival at Hilo, we hit the Farmer's Market for some fresh local fruits and veggies, and began our trek across the Big Island. We did a quick trip into Volcano's and saw some vents, but didn't continue on because we were kind of pressed for time...we'll visit later. It was pretty wild continuing south in the miles and miles of old lava flow. Completely desolate. We ate lunch in Naalehu at Hana Hou, the southernmost town (and restaurant) in the United States. We (finally) arrived at our "Kona-Side" house...it has a beautiful view of the ocean, but is in the somewhat questionable village of Milolii...they obviously are cursed by Pele', because lava flows seem to have destroyed it on multiple occasions. They were also hit hard by last weeks tsunami (as was the entire Kona coast).

Nothing to exciting yet--but we're headed to Captain Cook and Two Step today to find us some dolphins, and turtles, and fishies--OH MY!....so prepare yourselves for excitement. Until then, Aloha.

Hawaii 11: Days 1 & 2

As we sat in our hotel room and watched the horror in Japan, we wondered why on Earth we were still planning on getting up at the break of dawn and heading straight into what was likely to be a catastrophe in the 50th state. Lucky for us, it was far from catastrophic here (thank heavens). Even on our flight to the Islands from Seattle our Pilot was reassuring the passengers that the state of Hawaii somehow averted a disaster once again.

It seems that it's become a theme for Downing family vacations to always coincide with a tsunami...last year when an earthquake devastated the coast of South America, we were in Costa Rica awaiting the wave that they promised would hit, lucky for us it didn't happen then either.

Natural disasters aside, Oahu has been...it's been. Somehow in my mind I have this picture of tropical alongside a picture of culture. Thus far, Hawaii lacks the culture. I have never seen so many Coach, Cartier, Gucci, and Tiffany stores packed into such a tiny little place--this beats Las Vegas as far as high end "yuppy" goes. There are high rises virtually everywhere. Everyone speaks english. The locals avoid the tourists like the plague, and when we (tourists) go to local spots, they look at us like they're going to maul us. I understand their disgust completely...with 1.5 million residents on this tiny island, plus tourists, I'd hate anyone outside my tight knit community as well.

We visited Pearl Harbor upon arrival, but because of the tsunami warnings, the boat to the Arizona was not running...and because it didn't run on Friday, Saturday there were twice as many people. It was absolutely incredible to be there where we lost so many soldiers. Such a monumental event in US History that gave me the chills, and made me even more thankful for the men and women who serve us in the US Military.

My top destination in Oahu was one that won't surprise those of you who know me well: I wanted to see the apartment building that President Obama grew up in. In my short lifetime, he is definitely the most "ordinary" President that we have had, and I wanted to see how "ordinary" he actually was. I put my stamp of approval on his "ordinary-ness" as this apartment building was just like any other middle class American home....maybe I can be President after all....

We also visited Manoa yesterday, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful flowers, plants, and trees. It was absolutely breathtaking. I did get eaten alive my these tiny teaser misquitos and swell up balloon style, but I survived it and came out alive. It was a pretty awesome hike.

We also hit up the North Shore yesterday, and watched some wind surfing (not many guys surfing the traditional way, we assumed because the water is really unpredictable still) and saw some whales...pretty stellar. It was crazy traffic back to Kailua though, but saw some awesome water, and beautiful valleys....

Girl's Best Friend

"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?" -Marley and Me

I've never understood it when people say "it's just a dog", maybe because I've never had "just a dog". I remember when the people showed up with the litter of puppies that Daisy came from. I had been babysitting for a friend of my mom's and her house keeper had showed up and told me she had puppies. I told her I'd take one, but didn't ask mom and dad...so, on that Saturday when she showed up at our house with a litter of puppies, mom and dad were more than a little surprised/mad. That is, until this little runt of a dog went straight to dad. He'd walk around to the other puppies, but this one stuck by him. That's when I knew I was getting the puppy I wanted...and also the moment that she would no longer by my puppy.

Daisy did every thing with us: she'd ride the tube behind the boat, ride the four wheeler, go grocery shopping, and go on vacation. When dad had to run to town, she'd even get the front seat of the pickup. She slept with us, she followed us, she comforted us when nothing else seemed to help. She was so much more than just a dog. She was our family, our comfort, our gift. There is no better blessing than a dog. She completed our family. She was the spoiled "last born". And she will be forever missed.

There is no person who will make me feel as extraordinary as Daisy did. No person will ever smile every time I walk in the room, but she did (insert tail wag). No person will ever just listen and never talk back (although she'd occasionally howl...). No person will ever have that perfect cuddle that she had, or the look of curiosity that always made me smile. There is nothing as extraordinary as my Daisy...she was perfect, and will be forever missed.