WEDNESDAY - 8-17-16 - KONA ON THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII.  SNORKELING.  SWIMMING WITH SEA TURTLES.  Today, we had to take ships from the cruise ship because Kona didn't have a port to take the ship into.  It's called "tendering".  Heidi got a picture of our ship as we were being transported to the shore.  We had an excursion planned for today, but it got cancelled.  So, we went ashore and got to choose a different adventure.  They had shuttles on the shore called - "Hop-on--Hop-off".  For a small fee, they would take you to a great snorkeling place, some historical sites, and a flee market.  It was a great way to see some sites and have an excursion for a minimal fee.

Heidi had to buy some glasses, so naturally, the kids had to try on all the pairs of glasses.  They had some fun doing it.  Some people were looking at us like we were crazy, but what are you going to do with 5 kids while their Mom is picking out some glasses.  Have some fun - that's what.  :)

Ella enjoying the black sand beach!

The whole trip, Maddison wanted to see a sea turtle.  This was the place we saw it.  Right off of the Kona beach shore at Kahaluu Beach Park.  The kids, Heidi, and I snorkeled there for a few hours and got to swim with some sea turtles.  It was an amazing experience and one that we didn't think we would have.  No-one else was around.  Just a few of us swimming with the turtles.  We followed it for about 20 minutes.  We knew that you have to stay about 10 feet away from them, so we tried to keep our distance.  The girls were diving right next to the Turtle as we were swimming.  After following the turtle for a while, we realized we were clear out by the surfers and we had to swim back to the bay area.  All the kids had a chance to see them.  That made the day!

Ella was content to stay on the black sand beach and play in the water.  

Braden loved the snorkeling.  He wanted to be like the big kids and go in deeper water.  We had to try to keep him in the safe places.  The other kids were in deeper water so we didn't get too many pictures with them.

After snorkeling, we went to a flea market and looked around for a little while.  This couple is from Tonga and he was selling some of his wood carvings.  There are quite a few Tongans here in the Hawaii islands.  A lot of them are really good wood carvers.  I talked with this couple for a little while about Tonga and their family that still lives there.  A lot of Tongans work in Hawaii or other places and send some of their earnings to family in Tonga. 

We tried to talk to these Parrots, but they wouldn't talk back.  So, we got a picture with them.

After a great day of playing, we went back to the ship and had dinner.  Ella took a bit of her apple said she was full, and devoured a brownie.  Yea, we're great parents!  Hey, we're on vacation now.  

The girls having some fun with the cones.

The Captain of the ship was eating pretty late as we were hanging around looking at some videos that Logan took on his go-pro.  We talked with him for a little bit and took a photo.  Great Captain!  He was very personable and took the time with the kids.  Great guy!

TUESDAY - 8-16-16 - BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII - ACTIVE VOLCANOES!  There are currently three active volcanoes in Hawaii.  We went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where there are Maunaloa and Kilauea Volcanoes.  Maunaloa last erupted in 1984 and Kilauea has been erupting since 1983 and is still erupting.    The third one is Loihi which is located underwater off the southern coast of this island.  It will break the surface in 250,000 years, adding a ninth island to the Hawaiin chain.  They say that you'll feel great mana, or spiritual power, as you hike along rocky trails and desolate deserts that in time will flourish and thrive with new life.  That is true as we hiked along the surfaces of the volcano.  

The hot steam that was coming out of the ground.  In places, it was so hot, you couldn't stand there for more than just a few seconds.  Incredible heat!

You can see the smoke coming up behind us Heidi and the kids.

Map of where we were on the island.

Unlike steep, conical peaks, Hawaii's main volcanoes are "shield" volcanoes.  They produce fluid lava flows that form gently sloping shield-like mountains.

We went on a couple short hikes.  This is to the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku).  The sign told us how this lava tube formed.  Really cool and interesting!

Here is the entrance to the lava tube.

Inside the lava tube.

We went down into the Caldera.  This is the trail with the lush green plants all around us.  It was a beautiful hike and then it all of a sudden opens up into a barren wasteland.  It's amazing that these plants grow on top of all this old lava.  Ella was getting tired, so Dad (me) became her personal "pack-horse".  She kept on saying "getty-up".  She loved it when I ran.  

Heidi behind us taking pictures of our better sides.  :)

This is the Caldera.  You could do a 4 mile round trip hike through the bottom of it, but we didn't have time.  It was cool to see where the lava had gone and to feel the hot steam from the cracks in the surface.

Feeling the heat from inside the hard surface.  There were cracks and holes where you could stick your hand down in and feel the heat.  The kids were saying, "what if it erupts while we're here?"  I didn't really have a good answer for them.  My answer was, "What a way to go."  I'm not sure Heidi heard that.  She may not have approved.  :)

Back at the ship!  It was a great day playing in a volcano!

Tonight, they had two big things that they did for all the passengers.  They had a magic show by Charles Bach.  He did a great show with his wife and son.  Braden now wants to learn magic.  

I know this is blurry, but this was a huge highlight of the whole cruise.  This view is from the ship and it is hot lava that is going into the ocean.  Talk about an amazing sight!  We passed by it around 9:15 and they gave the history of the volcano and how it has been active for so many years and continues to have lava flow.  It was cool to see this lava flowing into the ocean side.  This area is now open to the public to hike to.  It's about a 6 mile hike to go see it.  From the cruise ship was pretty awesome!  What a great day!

MONDAY - 8-15-16 - MAUI, HAWAII - DAY 2 - BIKING DOWN VOLCANO ROAD AND ZIP-LINING.  We woke up early this morning and took a bus from our cruise ship to get the Rent-A-Car.  Alamo did a great job for us!  The pictures up above are in the bus ride to get the car.  Braden thought he was luggage, so he rode on the luggage rack.  That's why we love Braden.  He keeps things interesting!

For one of our activities for today, I took the 4 older kids and we rode bikes down the Haleakala Volcano road.  They pride themselves on no time limit, no timetable, and there's no lines to keep.  The road is steep, tons of turns, and has beautiful views of Maui.  It was a trip to remember!

Braden wanted to ride his own bike at first, but as we drove the van up the hill and I saw how steep and how many "S" curves there were on the road, I told Braden I thought it would be a good idea for his bike to be attached to my mountain bike.  We did the tandem bike where his front fork went into my bike seat.  He got to pedal and had handle bars, so it still gave him a great experience, but a lot safer.  After the trip, I think Braden saw the wisdom in that!  :)  Here is a picture of Braden ready to cruise.  He was wooping and hollering the whole way down the mountain.  It was great fun!

Right before we started.  This is where the van dropped us off.  It was raining pretty good at first, so they gave us rain gear and great bikes to bike down the mountain.  They dropped us off and said, "Have Fun.  We'll see you at the bottom."  I was a little scared of how the kids would handle themselves.  I could just see one of the kids pressing the front brake too hard and go over their handlebars right over the edge.  Luckily, everything went really well.  The kids had a blast! 

Some views from the road.  The first 5 miles or so, we were riding in a cloud and had some rain.  The next 18 miles were amazing views and beautiful!  I know what you're thinking.  Holy Cow, 23 miles, how did your kids do that.  Well, most of it was downhill and we were going about 25-30 miles an hour in some spots.  We were cruising.  It still took us an hour and half because we stopped at some places to soak in the views.  

Here, you could see both sides of the island where there is a bottle neck.

After the bike ride, we met back up with Heidi and Ella (they went to an aquarium and had fun looking at all types of fish, sharks, and sea turtles).  Then it was Heidi's turn to take the four older kids on a fun trip.  They went zip-lining over the trees of Maui.  

This is their fearless guide.  He was telling all sorts of jokes and riddles and having fun with them, until Braden started to challenge him on some riddles he didn't know.  Then it was game on and they had a battle of riddles.  It was fun to see Braden being challenged.  

Makayla and Maddison ready to go do some zip-lining.  On this zipline tour, they soared through the canopy of giant eucalyptus trees on 7 different ziplines.  They reached heights of 70 feet and speeds up to 40 mph, with some ziplines as long as 900 feet long.  Fun experience for first time zipliners (our kids).

Last minute safety instructions.  These guides were awesome!  They were joking the whole way through.  They would say things like, "Hey, you guys are so lucky, we have a brand new zipline that we're trying out today.  So far, we have not had any casualties.  Oh wait, there was that one time, but we think you'll be fine.  Who wants to be first?"  The kids got a chuckle out of them. 

Maddison showing off her pose.

Little Braden having fun going down the zipline.

Makayla climbing up the monkey bridge.

Our family of zipliners.  All smiles!  They had a really good time!

Maddison coming down the last stretch.

Makayla was going in circles on this one.  Dizzzzzzzzy.

Heidi coming down backwards!  Loving it!  

End of Day 2 on Maui.  Ella was wiped out!  She has done so well this whole trip.  She did amazing in Tonga and now with all the activities with Hawaii, she has been a trooper!

We got back to our room on the boat and had this on our bed.  Ella wanted to cuddle up with it and go to sleep.  Tired little Ella!  We love her so much!

Nice surprise to come home to after the day is done.

We decided to go to the nice restaurant tonight because we had a little more time.  Logan and I ordered two appetizers, two main dishes, and two desserts.  You may wonder why.......  Well, it's because you can.  :)  It was worth the wait!  It was amazing!  Logan was blown away by the food.  We felt a little guilty eating so much because of where we just came from (Tonga).  We wish we could box up all the food and take it over to them.  After being in Tonga for a few months, we realized more and more just how spoiled we are.  

Ella having her dessert.   The waiters were great!

Time to call it a night!  This is the kids bedroom.  They all loved being "roomies".  If you look in the mirror, we got everyone in the picture.  We didn't realize that until later.  HA!  Heidi's the one taking the picture.  It's amazing what they're able to fit into those tiny rooms.  Genius!