warming house

Drew landed the perfect work gig for him this winter. He was a rink attendant at one our outside hockey rinks warming house. This was a perfect fit during his own busy hockey season as he was able to do homework, hang out with friends and do some skating… all while making a bit of money.

Can't beat that!

Big Island Hawaii {part 5}

The last couple of days of our vacation we had a good mixture of relaxing and sightseeing.

We spent time in a cabana

with this as our view!

We went to a luau.

We had an amazing breakfast at Island Lava Java  in Kona

having the highly recommended Banana Coconut Pancakes with coconut syrup and the Luau Omelet which had shredded pork, pineapple, bacon and onion, Yum!

We went to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Park.

And stopped at the Royal Kona Coffee plantation.

We finally saw some geckos.

We made another stop back at Huggo's on the Rocks for a happy hour with live music overlooking the ocean.

We did a tour of the Kona Brewery.

And enjoyed a Valentine's dinner back at Lava Lava (because we liked to so much the first time).

In the rain and under a tent.

And some final favorite pictures from our trip.

Our resort is so big that they have boats and even a monorail running through it.

What a time we had!

Big Island Hawaii {part 4}

Waking up to this view is a great way to start the day!

Along with a malasada! :)

We started out on our drive to Volcanoes National Park fairly early to make the most of the day. We loaded up the jeep and we were off to the other side of the island.

We started at the visitor center to figure out what we wanted to do at the park 

and then grabbed a quick lunch at a restaurant right in the park called The Volcano House (which had great views overlooking an active crater) to figure out our plan of attack for the day.

We decided on hiking the Mauna Ulu Trail which crosses massive lava fields and has spectacular views. This was a 5 mile trek plus a wrong turn in the beginning which brought us of course.

Once we figured out the markings we were good! :)

This is the lava landscape from the 1969-1974 Mauna Ulu flow.

Amazing panoramic views after a 1/4 mile very steep climb.

This hike was one of our highlights of the entire trip!

Next we went over to the Thurston Lava Tube and walked through.

More incredible views from the drive down the Chain of Craters Road.

The Holei Sea Arch.

We went up the Jaggar Museum to see the lava flow.

Volcanoes National Park is so huge and is comparable in size to the entire island of Oahu! Needless to say, we only covered a small portion of it but would definitely love to go back some day to explore more!