Icons














Friday, October 29, 2010

Hawaii Part 7



  1. After a few hours of pampering at Volcano Mist, we headed over to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which was a hop skip and a jump away. The site of Kilauea is overwhelming. I felt that where we were standing and what we were looking at was all just a crazy dream. It really does take your breath away, and not just from the strong sulfur that is filling our lungs.  Kilauea is very active right now. The sulfur levels where so high that many roads were closed in the park. This devastated Patrick. He told me that the scientists at the park were overreacting about the sulfur levels and that is was my wifely duty to join him in sneaking past the guards to make our way to the live lava flow. This was an unsuccessful venture after several attempts. 

 Thinking up a master plan to getting inside the crater



Much happier now that he is climbing through the lava


Kilauea 





Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Hawaii Part 6


I am so in love with Volcano Mist Cottage, and so is Patrick. We were up with the sun once again. We brewed up some Kona coffee and green tea to start our morning.  The cottage is stocked with Spa essentials such as luxurious bath robes. We put our bath robs on and headed out back in the morning cool misty air to our private jacuzzi in the rain forest. I get a bit freaked out about other peoples jacuzzi, but this place is immaculate and the surroundings are breathtaking.. Ok Patrick I'm coming in. 




We spent some serious time relaxing in the jacuzzi and then we moved on to the outdoor shower. When I was in massage school on Maui, I was lucky to have an outdoor shower very similar to this one. This was a first for Patrick and he was obsessed. On our last day at the cottage, Patrick took 6 showers between 6am-11am, this is not an exaggeration. I was counting. He has been considering building one at our house, but that really does not seem practical in IL and I'm pretty sure our neighbors would not enjoy it. He still has plans to build one when we move.


This is our first full day in Volcano Village and we had all intentions on spending it exploring Volcano National State Park but we are really enjoying our little sanctuary in the rain forest.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Hawaii Part 5



On our way to Volcano Village we drove to the Southern end of the Island which is the least developed part of the Big Island. We came across long stretches of lava fields followed by green pastures filled with cows and goats. We passed by villages that were completely washed away by past volcano eruptions. We drove down a pretty rough road to get to an area called South Point. This is the southernmost part of the island, and what I learned  actually the southernmost point in the United States, not Key West, FL which I always thought and was told. Driving down this road was like taking a trip back in time. A beautiful wind farm fills the pastures. South point is the first place that the Polynesians came ashore and settled when they discovered the Hawaiian Islands. This is a very historic area and you can see it and feel it all around. We spent so much time exploring every inch of this land and next thing we knew the sun was going down. We enjoyed the sunset and jumped back in the car and headed to Volcano mist.



 This side of the island is all open land. There is not a house or even a gas station in sight. It is now really really dark. The Big Island does not have many lights or any standard street lights. This keeps things very visible from the observatory. There are only a few dim orange colored lights along the road. We are climbing in elevation, and driving on the edge of a cliff. I have to have a lot of trust in my husband right now. I'm keeping my cool, but I would really really like to have control of the vehicle right now. We could smell the sulfur in the air, and by the mile markers on the side of the road we knew that we were approaching Volcano mist. We saw the sign for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and quickly realized we were officially on top of Kilauea. All we could see in the darkness was some smoke filling the air. Kilauea is currently flowing and Patrick could not wait to see the live lave flow. The street we turned down to get to Volcano mist was just passed the main entrance into the National Park. I could tell that Patrick was getting very nervous, as there was not a thing in sight other than the volcano. As we turned down the street we were suddenly in the rain forest. This was Amazing and Scary all at the same time. We could see a few lanterns of light in between the trees and the anticipation to see our cottage was building. We took another turn, drove down to the end of the road and all we saw was a place to park our car. I have to be honest, I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but it felt very adventurous. We got out of the car, really could have used a flashlight, and we found a pathway to walk down. We started walking and all of a sudden the most amazing cottage appeared in the middle of the rain forest settled on top of the Kilauea.




Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hawaii Part 4



We spent 2 days exploring the Kona area, and then we were off on a road trip to Volcano Village. Volcano Village is about an hour and a half drive from Kona. We spent about 6 hours getting there. The drive was amazing. There were so many beautiful places to stop and see along the way. We were on a mission to take it all in. Our 1st stop was to the local farmers market. This was by far one of the best farmers markets we have ever been to. We had some of the best fruit that we had ever had while staying at The Hawaiian Oasis, so we hit up the farmers market to pick up some more local favorites to stock up for the next two days of our adventures. I had my heart set on finding a nice Hawaiian man with a machete to crack open a coconut for me to drink from. Sure enough we found that man and I couldn't have been more excited. The coconut was gigantic. I'm pretty sure it weighed ten pounds. I carried it around all day like it was our baby. After drinking all of the coconut milk, we realized that we would not be able to get into the fruit from the small hole our straw fit in. This was a crisis. Where were we going to find another man with a machete? Needless to say after traveling 6 hrs. with Coco, when we arrived at Volcano mist cottage, Patrick used a hammer, screw driver a sharp knife and his muscles to break Coco into many pieces, she was delicious.


                               Patrick and Coco                         
                      



Coco and Friends



Sunday, October 17, 2010

Hawaii Part 3

It's 5:30 a.m and we are wide awake. Technically it is 10:30 back home, so I guess we slept in. How could anyone sleep and miss the sunrise in a location like this. It was still dark outside, but the darkness was starting to fade. The sun was about to rise. Patrick and I headed out to explore the neighborhood. We could not believe how different everything looked in the morning glow. We were surrounded by exotic trees filled with large flower buds and fruit. Every tree had it's own unique look to it. The Oasis was located up the mountain, but the house was situated down a hill. We climbed up the steep driveway to get to the street. As we turned the corner, three extra large turkey jumped a fence and decided to take their morning walk with us. These turkey came out of nowhere and creeped up on us. I swear they were the size of a small dinosaur. After calming myself from the scare, I laughed hysterically at the turkey as they strutted along with us. Is it possible that I am still asleep, because creatures like this only appear in strange dreams. So the turkey became our tour guides. They walked us all around the neighborhood and then took off once a few neighborhood dogs found us. These streets are serious business and I'm not sure I'm going to make it back to the house in time for our 9 a.m breakfast. My legs are burning. If only one of these turkey would come back and give me a ride. Speaking of breakfast... mmm so good.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hawaii Part 2


Oh my goodness this house is beautiful. Oh wait it gets even better, our room The Aloha Suite is PURPLE. Oh I can not even control myself. Our balcony looks out over the pool with the ocean just past the pool. It is so dark outside, I cant wait to wake up in the morning and see everything. There is a smell of Jasmine and Plumeria in the air, and the sound of the ocean waves crashing .We met our inn-keeper Matt and his super cute dog that Patrick insisted on calling Toto because apparently any small dog is named Toto in his mind. We chit chatted with Matt for a bit and got the inside scoop on all the local hot spots. Matt referred us to a local favorite Jackie Reys for dinner. We cleaned up a little bit, cause although the food may be fancy, everything is casual dress in Hawaii... Fantastic! We got our directions of three street names that all started with a K and sounded exactly the same from Matt and we were on our way. Hearing Patrick pronounce anything in Hawaiian is a real treat. We found our way to the restaurant, and the menu and atmosphere did not disappoint. I thought it would be nice to enjoy a cocktail with my husband before we ordered dinner. Yes I know my nativeamericaness ( yes I made that word up)  apparently causes me to have absolutely no tolerance for alcohol, but come on it's my honeymoon how about a nice fruity Mai tai. My drink arrived and it was beautiful. I was so thirsty and excited to enjoy my cocktail. Woooooo they are not messing around with the Mai tai's in Hawaii. This isn't a sweet fruity drink this is serious business. By far the most intense drink I have ever had, and this is coming from a girl who loves a swig of Sam Buca from time to time. We better order something to eat quick or I'm not going to be able to walk out of here. I can't resist a restaurant that has crab cakes on the menu, so crab cakes it was for me. Patrick ordered the fish special which was Ahi and Ono with local Purple potatoes. I love a restaurant with great presentation. I like a pretty organized plate of food to get smushed up in my belly. 1st night was a success. Now if we can just find our way back to the Hawaiian Oasis.








Wednesday, October 13, 2010

See The World - Hawaii Part 1

To really see the world we must explore. We recently went on our honeymoon to The Big Island of Hawaii. I spent some time on Maui in massage and yoga training and I had really wished that I had the chance to explore the other Hawaiian Islands while out there. I was loving Maui so much I never left the island. I convinced Patrick that Hawaii was the place to go and he went with it, however Patrick was not excited about traveling 10 hrs. to go to what he expected to just be a few beautiful beach towns. I explained that Hawaii was not just what you see in movies or on TV. There is much more to Hawaii than fancy resorts and beautiful beaches. It was very tempting to book a fancy resort and pamper ourselves for 8 days, but we decided to be adventurous while our bodies still allowed us. We booked a rental car, a bed and breakfast, a cottage and a house. Ok so our accommodations were still luxurious. We were super exhausted after months of wedding planning and the wedding weekend. Getting on a 10hr. flight sounded great to me. Patrick treated us to upgraded seats ( a must for his long lean frame ) , apparently "We are on our honeymoon" only works in the movies. United was pretty good to us and we did receive mimosas and wine which was lovely. When we arrived at the Lava rock filled airport (amazing) it was super dark outside. After dealing with a super obnoxious rental car employee, we were on our way. Hawaiian Oasis Bed and Breakfast was our first stop. We drove around the ocean and up the mountain, back down the mountain and up again. Someone was lost and it was not me :) Finally we arrived at the oasis which was a beautiful home in a lovely neighborhood.


        To be continued....

Hawaiian Oasis Bed and Breakfast - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Married Life


On September 24Th we said I DO. I always hear people ask newlyweds "so is it any different now that you are married". Many couples spend many years together and most likely live together nowadays before marriage and I often hear people say that things will not be any different from dating after you marry. Well I strongly disagree. I feel different, life feels different and it is all wonderful. It was strange calling my now husband my fiance, but I don't seem to have any problem calling him my husband, and I can listen to him call me his wife all day. XO