Last Day in Hawaii

Hello Everyone,

I'm am back home safe and sound!

Here's the update on yesterday :

Last day in Hawaii…but we had an amazingly packed day. Of course the boys didn’t pack their bags the night before and they stayed up ridiculous hours, so it made for quite the scramble at 9 am. But we made it, and then proceeded to spend the next 3 hours in the car driving the volcano Mt. Haleakala.

It’s an inactive volcano that stands at about 11,000 ft (hello flashbacks to Cusco) and ironically everyone but me felt a little altitude sickness. Too bad they don’t sell mate de coca here in the U.S., mom and matt could have definitely used it. The crater was cool, but it was so foggy and windy, it was all I could do to stand out there for two seconds just to take a picture! It kind of looks like a Martian land up there, there is very little vegetation and then there are these silver metallic plants everywhere. It’s so hard to believe they are real since they have such an odd coloring that doesn’t seem inclined to be natural, but they are. I was too cold so I mostly sat in the car, while Matt and Nick walked around the crater. Plus I needed a break….there’s only so much time I can spend with two very crabby boys.

True feelings about this cold windy weather

Only smiling for you guys

The very the top of Mt. Haleakala!!

Then we ate lunch at…wait for it…Beach Bums Grill again! And before you ask, no I didn’t suggest it, Matt did. For the amount of complaining they did the first time I chose it I thought there was no way they’d make their way back to that country dive…but sooner or later the country bug bites everyone I guess lol.

The Kealia Pond Natural Wildlife Reserve was just around the corner so we explored them. OMG it was amazing, the birds just do their own thing around you, and you can get pretty close to them if you are quiet and still. It also has a sea turtle nesting grounds on the beach it parallels but it was not the right season (guess I’ll just have to come back again haha). I spent my time just walking the beach and enjoying my own company. It was so peaceful and the perfect way to end this vacation.

Isn't it so beautiful? The Hawaiians have the concept of Ha'aha'a (to be  humble), which is the idea of being part of nature instead of separate from it. You could really see the time and care that scientists and locals alike have put into this wetland to help save the native wildlife. Even random people strolling along the adjoining beach were collecting rogue trash. And it's true, I really believe we need to work harder to be more sustainable and preserve the nature that we have before it is gone. we all could use a little more ha'aha'a in our lives.

Anyways, that's it for Hawaii! I'm officially crazy and booked back to back trips so now I'm off to Pismo. Stay tuned for more adventure!

Much love,

Carolyn