hawaii

Do I need to tell you how much fun Hawaii was? That is expected. I will tell you that everyone needs to go there, at least once in their lifetime. Just a beautiful place with beautiful people from all walks of life. One thing I especially loved was all the flowers blooming spontaneously all along the roads, neighborhoods, highways. So fragrant too! I truly do miss that. The plumeria were in full bloom and just beautiful.

My parents are totally rad and hooked us up with a condo in Kona. So 3 of us siblings (out of 5) were able to go. One thing I didn't think about was how rocky the island was. Should have known since it has volcanoes on the island and thus, how it was formed. But still so beautiful and tropical.

This was one of our favorite beaches:

Beautiful white, soft sand. Water temperature just perfect. Such a gorgeous day. This was taken the day after we arrived. We saw our first sea turtle here.

The next day we drove to the other side of the island, visited Hilo and also the volcano national park. Unfortunately, it was totally overcast and rainy so we didn't get to actually see the volcano. We did smell the sulfur and whatever else that is in the air. These steam vents were pretty cool:

We spent a lot of time at this beach:

The majority of our snorkeling was here. We saw lots of cool fish and sea turtles. Mr. Maple (hubby) got bit by a fish. It was pretty hilarious actually. Well, I think I was the only one laughing. I think he has laughed about it now...once or twice. :)

We went sea kayaking in Kealakekua Bay over to the Captain Cook monument, snorkeled a lot there, visited a lot of different beaches and restaurants.

This was a beautiful sunset on our way out to night snorkel with Manta Rays. Probably the coolest thing we did while in Hawaii. A must-do when there. Honestly, I could tell you all about it but it wouldn't sound nearly as cool. So you will just have to try it. A tip: don't hyperventilate when you get in the dark water. It totally fogs up your mask. Just FYI.

We also spent a couple days on Oahu. We went to Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Waikiki Beach and the Cheesecake Factory. :)

This was taken on our last day in Hawaii. I get teary just looking at this picture. My feet miss the beach so much. I honestly didn't mind the sand between the toes, saltwater in my hair. Hopefully we can return sooner rather than later.