Paradise Part 2

The whole time we were in Kona I kept saying to Romney "I heart Kona!!" The big Island may not be as "tropical" but it was AWESOME. Because it is less touristy we felt the Island Buzz that every local loves. When people say Hawaii is the Lava/black rock island they were not kidding. It's everywhere. We loved it though. We became big time snorkeling lovers. We kept our snorkeling gear in the trunk the whole week in case we saw a great opportunity and we found lots of those. We were in the water everyday. I couldn't get over how clear that water really is. We just had a great time and we can't wait to go back.

Our first day was a total blast. We thought it would be wise to go out to the local beach and practice some snorkeling. Everyone snorkels its so great. It turns out anyone can snorkel, its super easy. And so fun. I couldn't believe on our first day all the things we saw. I felt like Sebastian from Little Mermaid "under the Sea"! Hours go by before you realize the sun went down. We rushed back to get ready for our Luau. Come on, were in Hawaii you better believe we went to the Luau. There was some interesting food there. I tried it all because it is their culture. But I am not a fan of Poi (poy). But the Hawaiian people love it. After the feast Romney was chosen(totally choseable) to go up and dance with one hula girl and then all of them circled around him to hula. So funny to see!!

Our snorkeling tour was an absolute blast and worth every dollar!!! We were taken out to Kealakekua Bay (K-al-cuh-koo-uh bay). Anyone who goes to Kona needs to go here. It is FANTASTIC. The snorkeling was Phenomenal. We saw so many different kinds of fish, eels, sea turtles. The coral was unreal. You seriously can't describe it. On our way back we stopped and learned about different lava tubes and legends. We had a great time. Got a little sun burned on our way back but that's okay.

Oh what a frustrating day! WE decided to go to the Volcano National Park! We drove from Kona to Hilo which was a couple hours drive. WE drove in the pouring rain and knew the whole way there we weren't going to see anything. So we made several stops along the way. We stopped at the most delicious bakery. We picked up some lunch and decided that we better take some goodies too. We had some Lilikoi. It was the most amazing thing EVER. Had we known how amazing- we would of bought it by the dozen. We also stopped at the black sand beach. The sand was a different texture. It felt like sea salt but it didn't hurt. It was pretty cool to see that. Once we finally got to the Volcanoes the Sulfur Dioxide was too high so we couldn't go in. We were so bummed. SO we drove another hour to see the "active volcano" run into the ocean....another bummer. They don't let anyone get out to see. So here we are looking at the steam from the lava. However the drive was beautiful!




We went to the Place of Refuge one afternoon which ended up being one of our highlights. These grounds were sacred for men during war and a place of punishment. Two very extreme differences. They still don't let people swim in the bay area because that was the kings arrival spot. After we toured the grounds and walked way out onto the lava and started playing with the white coral and the timer on the camera. We got some fun shots. WE then decided to go snorkeling right off that sacred bay that afternoon and swam with 14 dolphins. IT was so amazing how they swim so gracefully in such perfectly straight lines. The snorkeling was so great. I'd put it up there with our snorkel tour. I was actually pretty scared but I'm glad we got to experience nature in its finest.

... always fun to flirt, especially in Hawaii...

Here is our amazing trip. It doesnt matter how many pictures you take they still don't do it justice.