Hawaii - The Big Island

Mom, Dad, Joshua and I went to Hawaii recently. I'd never been to The Big Island so the trip was full of fun experiences; volcanoes, sea turtles, horseback riding, etc. It was so nice to be in the sun with the weather in Seattle starting to turn to true fall. We visited my uncle Wayne which is always a pleasure with his fun nature and sense of humor.

Joshua and I at the Volcano National Park with a crater in the background. Most recent lava flow that we found was Sept. 1982. (I picked up a rock from it, because I was born just before.) We experienced the vastly different landscapes and went from what you see in this picture to dense humid jungle just a few miles further down the road.

Horses we met on the way to Ka Lae. Beautiful and somewhat desolate country. Hawaii has wild horses but I believe that someone owns these. I went horseback riding through a jungle valley in the north part of the island. The Big Island has the largest ranch in the United States, Parker Ranch. So cowboys, horses and cattle are a common sight.

Here is Joshua. This has got to be my favorite photo of him from the trip. (And you can see me and Dad in his reflective sunglasses!) He's such a great model for me. You can't tell from the photo, but he is standing on the southern most tip of the United States. A place called Ka Lae. This place was considered the edge of the world for the ancient people of Hawaii, they believed that this is where their souls would go to jump out into the afterlife. It was a very cool place. We drove for over 10 miles down a one lane dirt/gravel road through fields to come to this point where cliffs dropped to the bright blue ocean. The wind was strong and the sky was clear.

This is Howie. He is one of the many Sea Turtles that I met on my trip. We watched Howie and his friends play in the waves and then he decided to come up onto shore and watch us. Sea Turtles are such fascinating animals, its always a treat to meet one.