Checking out potential beach sites |
The gang at Uncle Billy's in Kona |
Kona seaside |
Our first Kona coffee |
The newly married couple! |
Front of the newly married couple |
The other happily married couple! |
Jess with mom and Jim on the boat out to the dive spot |
Looking back at the Kona shoreline |
Adam, Mark, and Stephanie on the boat |
Our serious dive master, Jon (from Jack's Diving Locker) |
Our afternoon dive trip |
A camoflaged fish |
Gorgeous tropical fishes abound |
A pencil-like fish |
Shrimp in sand |
At night, the manta rays arrive |
He's looking at us! |
Almost other-worldly (up to 14 foot wing spans!) |
The fins help wave plankton into the mouth (eyes are on the outside edges) |
Wide open mouth -- you can see way down inside! |
Cyn to the left, and Jim to the right |
Cyn and Jim with manta ray |
They came very close as they glided up and over our heads |
I love looking at their eyes |
Mark with manta mouth behind |
Mark, with underbelly of manta |
Adam and Jess with a little friend |
Our walk to the petroglyphs, Mauna Lani |
A lovely path through the woods |
The field of petroglyphs |
Interesting figures |
Jim, pondering the meaning of it all |
Kona coast at Mauna Lani |
A nice quiet moment in the shade |
The whole gang!! |
Swimming at Mauna Kea beach |
Mark and Stephanie |
Nice "doo" that Stephanie made |
Jess and Adam |
Lava fields on the south Kona coast |
View of South Point (furthest south in the US) |
Two colors of lava |
Gathering GREEN sand at South Point! |
Jimmy collecting sand |
Stephanie perusing sand in detail |
Mark also collecting |
Adam collecting |
Jessica was collecting too |
Cyn enjoying the south |
Southern most point in the US! |
Next to the southern most point |
See, the sand is REALLY green |
Looking down the lava slope of Kilauea |
A plume of steam where the new lava enters the sea! |
Interesting lava bridge |
The gang about to enter the lava field |
The lava meets the road!! |
Jim on the lava field |
Amazing lava |
more lava shapes |
really cool swirls |
looks like hair! |
Jess and Adam watching, enraptured with the volcano plume |
Mark and Steph were also entranced |
Cyn and plume! |
When it got dark, the RED started to show! |
too bad for the road sign ... |
Kilauea crater |
Kilauea Iki (little Kilauea) crater |
The cinder cone that blew it's side off in 1959 |
Lush tropical forest |
Cyn in lush tropical forest |
Adam, Jess and Jim in lush tropical forest! |
Entrance to the Thurston Lava Tube |
Pretty scary in the dark! |
The sides of the lava tube were sometimes gnarly |
At the very end of the tube, where it collapsed |
Wandering through the forest |
More intriquing lava |
Overlooking more of the volcano |
DON'T take that piece home! Pele won't approve! |
Live begins anew |
Halemaumau caldera |
Sulfur streaks down the side |
Vegies eating at the Lava Rock Cafe |
Tree pit (the lava surrounded a tree trunk) |
WOW! these pits are SO AMAZING! (not) |
The "sulfur banks" actually WERE amazing |
lovely steam (but a bit stinky) |
magical, in the rain |
The whole bank was misty |
lots of vents and sulfur crystals |
cool sulfur vents |
more of the bank |
the sulfur crystals are so yellow |
and they make neat shapes |
close up of a sulfur vent |
Playing "Dictionary" |
And drinking beer! |
Morning at the Kiluaea crater |
Nice panorama of the Kiluaea crater |
View of Mauna Kea |
SNOW still on top of Mauna Kea |
Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa as we leave |