Hot Ponds + Margaritas + Uke = Fun Day

Today we decided to stay fairly close to home and head down to Kapoho and the Ahalanui hot pond.  This is a spring and ocean fed pool that is volcanically heated by Kilauea to a comfy 90-95 degrees.  It is also shallow enough to wade across and calm enough for Anika to swim with a pool noodle.  Add in the occasional tropical fish and cool current from the ocean inlet and you have a family friendly spot to enjoy a sunny day! 
When the rain did roll in, as it inevitably does on this side of the island, we headed to Luquins in Pahoa for what is universally regarded as the best Mexican food on the island.  I must say, it did not disappoint and the margaritas were excellent as well.  Of course they make a variety out of the local fruits which already makes for a delightful libation, but to top it off, instead of salt to rim the glasses, they use some sort of magical sweet and tangy powder that is probably derived by or from pixies.
On the way home, we pass by the community center and there happened to be several people entering with what appeared to be ukelele cases, so when we got home I grabbed my uke and walked back to the center.  Apparently this group meets every 2 weeks and newcomers are welcome, so I sat down, learned to tune properly, learned three chords, and continued to play for 3 hours.  I was trying to wait out the end of the session, so I could make some contacts, maybe get a few extra pointers, but when Racheal and the kids mercifully came to get me, the group still showed no signs of stopping.  I guess I'll have to go back in a couple of weeks and show up early in order to meet people.

New Kaimu

Racheal had the day off today, so we went exploring!  Headed out towards the 1990 lava flow that basically destroyed the traditional fishing village of Kalapana.  As we drove through a blackened and barren lava flow zone we saw the few houses that weren't destroyed by Pele.  Insurance doesn't cover these houses, so the residents of these homes had little choice but to stay in a virtually inaccessible, yet untouched home in the midst of the hardened lava that destroyed the homes of their friends and neighbors with no trace of the lush vegetation that previously made this place one of the jewels of Hawaii.  When we were forced to turn around by the hardened lava flow over the road, we turned towards new Kaimu beach, which used to be the foremost black sand beach in the world.  It is no longer very populated, but due to the efforts of a local woman and the community around her, it is making a recovery.  Coconuts planted by the locals are sprouting up in abundance and the beach will eventually be the family friendly destination it once was.  

We spent a couple hours soaking in the sun and marvelling at the surf pounding to white on the black sand. 

  Back home to enjoy a picnic in the park and finally relax in our new home and to fall asleep as the sun set to the song of the coqui frogs!



Differences

Since we have only been here just over a week we have noticed a fair amount of different things/attitudes here on the Big Island compared to northwestern WI.  Thought maybe we'd list a few:

• vegetation and geology (obviously, right?) 
• hitchhiking seems okay
• you can ride in the back of a pickup truck
• almost everyone has a catchment device for water
• laid back attitude
• school campuses
• higher food prices
• geckos
• the "shaka"
• lava rock everywhere
• no basements

Busy Days

We have been without internet throughout a couple of our days so we're going to update with a long post.

Tuesday:  Flight from WA to HI was as well as the first one.  It was longer but the kids both took short naps.  When we arrived in Kona we saw much lava rocks and looked pretty barren.  Got the rental car and headed to  Hilo.  Was nice to drive across the countryside but the kids were tired of traveling.  There were lots of changes on our way from the lava area, cowboy country, many gulches, and more lush landscape along the seaside of Hilo.  We stopped along the way and we tasted our first shaved ice! 

Wednesday:  Long day of rental house shopping.  We woke up early and headed straight towards Pahoa.  We looked at 6 different places and settled on a place in Leilani Estates.  Feel free to check it out at bigislandhawaiirental.com.  The kids didn't love the day but were pretty good regardless.  Anika saw 2 geckos which were quite a highlight in the "boring" day for her. 

Thursday:  Car shopping day and switching hotels.  We have been waking up early due to the 5 hour difference from WI to HI.  So this morning we went and looked at the Japanese garden near our hotel.  The kids enjoyed walking around and going over the bridges.  They also saw many crabs and bamboo.  Afterwards, we headed to different car dealerships.  Lance did a handful of test drives and during one of the test drives Anika spotted another gecko whom she named Spotter.  Spotter actually jumped onto her and then jumped onto the next car.  I think it scared her a lot but she also thought it was pretty neat and now wants a pet gecko!  We ended up purchasing a 1996 Lexus.   It's a comfortable ride and we feel like old money even though we are definitely not.  Then we dropped off the rental car and were able to enjoy the rest of our day.  We'll post pictures when we can, Aloha.

New Pilots

We weren't too sure how the flight would go today based on the pilots' experience level... but it went amazingly well.  Henry loved watching the planes take off and land as we waited to take off.  Though, he did get a little nervous as he realized how high we were in the air and cuddled in close to papa for a little reassurance.  He then recovered quickly and even took a great nap.  Anika was very excited for her first plane ride.  She wanted to immediately hit the runway.  She thought seeing the clouds were neat and called Mt. Ranier "Cloud Mt." when we saw it.  After we unloaded the plane, we got to take a train to the main airport area which was also a huge highlight.  Today was full of planes, trains, and automobiles!

Fortune cookies

Our fortunes as told by cookies on the eve of our travels, in order of consumption.

Racheal - Grasp opportunities to create the future.
Anika - If the world seems cold, kindle a fire to warm it.
Lance - I would rather attempt something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.
Henry - Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat.

Hobos on the move

Yesterday we cleaned out the last corners of our house in Wisconsin and started living out of our bags for this month.  We'll be travelling and staying with various family and friends with a stint in the boundary waters thrown in the mix.  Also, Racheal officially resigned from her current teaching position, so neither of us has a job at the moment or to come back to when our time in Hawaii comes to a close.  After she dropped off her letter, she drove home to the sounds of the Animals singing "We gotta get outta this place..."  We found this particularly fitting as we hope that there is a better life awaiting us.  (not that we don't like the one we have, we actually do, but that's what the song says)  This also prompted us to think of our favorite packing/leaving town/travelling songs; stay tuned for the list in a post coming soon!