Vacationing at Home

So last week my two good friends Sam and Sarah were here to visit, and man did time fly! We packed so much stuff into one week, we were all so exhausted by the time it was over we didnt know where the time had gone.... And I am here to tell you all about it :) 


It was both of their first times in Hawaii so we had to do it up right. The first few days we spent in town checking out local bars and introducing them to some of our friends. We checked out the Kona Brewery for a tour and same tasters. All four of us scooted around on the mopeds....Im sorry sam and sarah you guys need a little more practice hehe, (besides for one minor fall pulling out of a driveway, me and tyler tried to drive most of the time) 
We went cliff jumping at a spot appropriately named "The End of the World" off 15-25 ft cliffs, and we all eventually jumped in, yay sam! My camera literally died in the middle of filming her jump because she was standing on the rocks for like ten minutes! haha


On their fourth day here we rented a car, packed our bags and headed out for a road trip (sounds weird to take a road trip on an Island doesnt it) We headed north on our first day to a place called Waipio Valley. We decided to be "extreme tourists" as I like to call it and hiked EVERYTHING the entire trip! A total of at least 10miles of hiking over the course of our trip. And we are SOOO glad we started with the hardest one first! The hike down and back up to Waipio Valley is paved at a 25% grade so you have to have a 4wheel drive to get in! (which we did not, the rental car place did though upgrade us to a Dodge Charger :) we were drivin in style) 

<------ Check out that hike!!  Talk about a butt workout! But it was all worth it in the end. The valley is so serene and beautiful. We saw the tallest waterfall in Hawaii and an awesome black sand beach. We could have hitched a ride back up, but honestly we were all glad we did it! It was a great accomplishment!




                  
We were all exhausted after that, and made the drive over to Hilo, the biggest "city" on the big Island on the east side. Our next adventure was to drive up to the top of Mauna Kea for the sunrise. So instead of doing the smart thing and finding a place to crash for a few hours, we decided to save some money and sleep in the car, since we would have to be up super early anyway. Ha ha ha that was a nightmare, no one could sleep so we ended up just driving up the mountain at 2 in the morning and trying to sleep up there. The problem being after driving to the summit we were at about 13,700 ft ! So it was a little hard to breath. I have never experience that feeling before, taking a really deep breath and feeling like you arent getting any air, a really creepy experience that I could see would freak certain people out. Since we were up there before the sun came up we could see ALL the stars, and oh my god I never knew the naked eye could see the amount of stars I saw that night, I was literally enveloped by the universe. I wish I could have just laid out on the ground and looked up all night. But besides the high altitude it was 27 degrees out! So needless to say we were all hunkered down in the car. As the sun rose we all managed to get out of the car wrapped in comforters and watch the miracle that is the birth of each new day. I can honestly say that experience was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Above all the clouds you feel like you are in heaven, I could reach out and touch the sun.  

At the summit where the largest telescopes in the world are. 

SNOW IN HAWAII 

                                                                           Needless to say, I will definitely be going back up there before we leave. Since there is snow at the summit people actually do snowboard up there! But there aren't any lifts so you would have to hike it all and its super icy, not too appealing coming from the fresh powder at Mt. Hood. (which I really miss this season!)   

So after our trek up and back down the mountain, we headed back to Hilo where we spent the day checking out some waterfalls. We tried hand shaved ice for the first time, sooo much better then snow cones! This guy actually grinded down a huge block of ice on this old time machine with a hang crank that spun the ice block around ( i really want one now hehe) We checked into our hostel we would be staying in that night (everyone else's first time in a Hostel, Im pretty sure it won them over) I dont know why hostels get such a bad rap, they are really the way to go when traveling. Its a super social environment and you meet people who are doing the same thing you are, so you can exchange stories and suggestions, and the staff is so friendly and well informed. Plus you have access to a full kitchen and laundry, something you wont find at a hotel, at a steal of a price, we only paid 27 bucks per person for a private room. 

So that night we headed out to the volcano. At the volcano national park you can drive you car down as far as the road will take you. Then you hit old lava flows that have literally covered the road! The pavement just ends and you have to hike in from there. We hiked in a mile or two and ran into a couple hiking back out and found out that the lava flow was actually starting to solidify and that it was at least another couple miles in. So we decided to ditch that idea and head up the the Museum where you can see an active steam vent only a few hundred yards away!

Pretty sweet if you ask me, you could see the glowing orange from inside where the lava is! But one of these trips were going to see the dang lava flow! Possibly when my parents come to visit :) 

It was nice to sleep in an actual bed that night at the Hostel! 

The next morning we set out South. Making our way to South Point and hiking into Green Sand Beach! One of only two green sand beaches. Something to do with the minerals in the rock formations, there are actual gemstones in the sand and it sparkles an olive green! It was about a 2 mile hike in, but a really pretty hike! We spent some time playing in the water and watching Tyler cliff jump off a 30ft cliff! And managed to steel some green sand, despite the 500 dollar fine signs for taking sand :) 

See that furthest outcropping of the cliff on the right side of the picture, thats what Tyler jumped off!

By the time we got home we were all pooped! Two more days of relaxing on the beach and going out for a nice dinner and the adventures were over before they had begun. It was really nice having some familiar faces around and to be able to play tour guide for a week! But I have to say it was a tight squeeze having all us girls in my bed, and it was nice to get back to cuddling with Tyler!