Its been a while since I last blogged, I guess the day to day life in Hawaii is starting to feel more routine as we have seen most of what there is to see and do here. People that live here and love it say "but there are sooo many hidden places and things to do here that you still haven't seen!" Granted, its is The BIG ISLAND with lots of ground to cover; but you can also say that about any place in the world. I still haven't seen EVERY nook and cranny in Portland and never will. The important thing is that I see and do what I came to do. And I cant drive myself crazy thinking I might miss out on something, because we are never all going to see everything!With that, I did get to experience some new adventures while my parental units were here visiting two weeks ago! First off I cant believe it had been 4 months since I had seen my parents! longest time apart ever. But I really do think it was a good thing, it makes you stronger and appreciate what you have. It was really really good to see them again, made me feel like a kid again haha. Its weird how your brain reverts back to a way of thinking and acting depending on your surroundings or who your with. It was nice to be able to cook THEM meals in MY home for the first time :) bet they never thought I would survive on my own as well as I have. But in reality Im more like my parents than ever. Im neurotic like my father when it comes to cleaning. I freak out if Tyler wipes his crumbs on the floor and I find myself vacuuming at midnight because the floors are dirty and its bugging me! haha And Im stubborn like my mom, if Tyler says hes going to clean the dishes and I get home and they still aren't done I wont wait till he does it, I just do it myself and then complain about it later :) (Remember mom how I would always tell you I'll cleen my bathroom later, but then you would just do anyway haha) I am a Miss Fix it like my dad and very inventive when it comes to problem solving. I think its funny how you pick stuff up and it just happens and you dont even realize it! :)
They rented a car for the entire time they were here, what do you know, another Dodge Charger haha. I cant tell you how much I miss driving/riding in cars. Its another strange thing I took for granted, blasting the music with the windows down and riding in comfort :)
Along with my parents, Tyler's good friend Chris also arrived on the same day my parents got here! So the 5 of us ended up doing quite a bit together. On the second day they were here we all drove up to the town of Captan Cook and hiked down a roughly 2 mile trail to the ocean to snorkel at one of the top five sites in the world! So we all geared up with our masks and flippers and spent a day exploring the most beautiful waters on the Island. Needles to say we were not anticipating how hard the hike back up would be in the heat of the day climbing 1300 feet in elevation. But after Chris getting heat stroke and my dad climbing a tree to pick 10 giant avocados and cart them up the hill it was quite eventful! Me and my mom reached the top first only to realize we didnt have a bottle opener for our cold bears in the cooler; but dont worry we improvised using the hinge on the trunk to pop the tops, a few pieces of broken glass never killed anyone :)
This is just the cutest shot ever :)
Me and Mamma
After that endeavor, we took it slow for the next couple days. We took them across the street to our little turtle beach, one of my favorite "best kept secrets." No one really knows about this beach and you are always guaranteed to see a turtle or two. They are so used to people they will just keep brushing up next to you in hopes for food. Now if you know my mom you know her love for turtles; I literally thought she was going to loose it when those turtles came up to her! It made me realize that I may just be keeping the everyday life of living in Hawaii for granted, either that or now I know where I get my "so easily amused" attitude (thanks mom)! They are pretty magical creatures though.
The next day we took a trip by boat out to the Sheraton Hotel where the manta rays flock to at night, to do a snorkel dive with them! Along the way just a few hundred yards from the boat we spotted 3 whales! All breeching right in front of us! Now I had still yet to see a whale (besides for Keiko when I was like 9), and in my opinion this was in my top 3 coolest things Ive seen since being here! So HUGE! It makes you feel so small floating in a little boat right next to them!
Snapped this awesome shot of a whale tale!
Once we got to the location, we waited till the sun set, geared up in our snorkel gear and jumped in! Since there are only 3 places in the world you can see mantas, this spot is a happin' place! I literally thought the Titanic had sunk and I was trapped in the middle of North Atlantic with hundreds of fellow crew members... But the water was like 78 degrees, so I ruled that out. :) Despite trying to get a front row seat to the manta show in this underwater mosh pit, it was pretty spectacular to see this 10 ft long manta ray swim right near you! (Don't worry grandma they are completely harmless, no teeth no stingers) Look for underwater video of this event on Facebook :)
The next couple days Tyler had to work, so we took a good ol' fashion family road trip up north to an awesome postcard worthy beach! While dad attempted to boogie board the killer waves, mom and I worked on our tans (like either of us need to work on them hehe)
That evening we headed upwards to the Summit of Mauna Kea to watch the sunset at 13,700 ft. I dont think enough layers could keep you warm up there! Besides almost passing out from the lack of oxygen at that elevation, I think my parents would agree with me that experiencing that was one of their favorite parts of the trip. We stayed up there till after dark to catch a view of the sky at that elevation. Let me just tell you, you havent seen stars till you see them on Mauna Kea. Seeing both sun set and rise when Sam and Sarah were visiting, I would say although a lot more work, I prefer sunrise. Something about the birth of a new day just sparks something inside me.
So after a short week they were already on their way home. But we still had Chris sleeping on our couch for one more week! So the fun was not over yet. We borrowed a car from a friend and decided to see some more sights. So we headed South to show Chris Green Sand beach! Instead of hiking in this time we had a Jeep wrangler, and I was behind the wheel! haha So we 4-wheeled a couple miles into the beach crawling over the massive sand dunes. This experience most of all made me miss driving my Jeep back home, but not the fuel inefficiency! (damn gas guzzlers!) By the time we got to the main road it was nearly 7pm and we still had to drive over to the Volcano to see some lava I had heard was visible! Now keep in mind we are driving over to the rainy side of the Island in a Jeep Wrangler with no back windows! Holy crap, what a pain in the ass! It was so cold with the wind blowing in and on top of that it was raining! When we got to Hilo I had to make Tyler stop a Walmart to get a new sweatshirt, mine was completely soaked through! So we finally made it to where the road ends and old lava flows begin. From up on the hill we could see a glow of orange in the sky. We walked a little further in and ta-da actual lava running down the hillside! Now we were thinking about hiking right up to it, but we only had one flashlight to get across about a half mile of lava rock! Still the closest we have been, and hopefully when our next visitors, my cousins Curt and Danielle get here we can actually get right up to it! After all that we still had to make the drive home. We pulled in around 3 in the morning, wet and exhausted; man a hot shower never felt so good! :)
The next day Feb 18th, Tyler turned 25 so we thought we would surprise him with a Zipline tour! We drove up to the North part of the Island and spent all day in the tree canopies! Our guides were awesome and we had a great time! 9 ziplines, a few suspension bridges and repelling down trees and Tyler and I were in heaven :) No fear in our eyes, when it comes to heights and hanging from ropes, its just one big playground! By the end of the day our guide Aaron was like "you like taking risks don't you?" and I adopted the name bubbles because I was so giddy and couldn't stop smiling haha Needless to say Tyler and I both got offered jobs to come back and be Zip guides! haha To bad its and hour and a half from our house!
That pretty much topped the trips excitement meeter, and Chris then left two days later. Again as each visitor leaves it is so nice to go the bathroom with the door open again ;) We really don't have any boundaries in this little apartment! haha
One last thing as I conclude this incredibly long post. If you haven't already heard the news through the grapevine, Tyler and I will be moving home for good at the end of May! We miss our friends and family so much its really hard being away. I want to be able so see my new baby nephew Kai and spend time with my Niece Shay who is growing up way to fast! Also we have really realized how lucky we are to live in such an awesome city like Portland and that small town life just isnt for us. We are so grateful for this opportunity to make this move and what an adventure it has been. But its getting old quick and we are getting antsy and Island fever! Great place to vacation, not so great place to live, in our opinion. I want to experience the seasons, go snowboarding, go on roadtrips, go dance and sing Karaoke in the big city! I love the energy and crazyness of the city, I love the diversity of people and the many many options of things to do! I miss my boots and scarves and sweatpants! how crazy is that! I will continue to believe that one always wants what they dont have.
So we are going to get a house in the Hawthorn district of Portland with Tyler's cousin and his girlfriend! Tyler told me when we first started talking about the idea of moving back early, that we are going to live with each other the rest of our lives, why not experience living with roommates while we still can. And I cant agree more, I'm so excited to have a full house and just experience that aspect of living on my own. Plus double dates all the time, yay! hehe
Well thats all for now folks, hope you enjoyed yet another chapter of my life :)
