Today we decided to visit the Pana'ewa zoo again and we were reminded how lucky we are to have such a great free zoo nearby.  We were treated to a show by one of the male peacocks, and saw a number of new orchids and other flowers blooming.

Coffee

Here are some pictures of some of the 400 coffee plants that are situated on the property we are renting.  The owners are so generous that they nicely gave us 2 bags of their private stock coffee as a Christmas present.  100% puna coffee.  Yum.

All Photos courtesy Kim P. 

The coffee cherry is picked when it is a deep red.  Then the bean is shucked from the cherry and dried.  At that point it is ready for roasting.  The bean pops like popcorn when roasted and beans that are roasted to the first pop are light roasts.  The beans that are roasted to the second pop are dark roasts.

Earthquake!

Not sure how big this news was, but the Big Island was rocked by an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 yesterday.  Racheal and Lance have never felt an earthquake before, so it was pretty surreal for us.  However, the quake only lasted a few seconds, so by the time we knew what was happening, it was over.  No damage or injuries resulted, nothing even fell over.  When we looked up the information regarding the quake, we were shocked at how often there are measurable earthquakes here.  The map below, taken from the usgs's website (http://tux.wr.usgs.gov/), shows that there have been no less than 40 quakes in the past 2 weeks.

Of course, we shouldn't be so amazed... we do live on the slopes of an active volcano, but we just didn't stop to think about it before.  Anyway, another first for us in Hawaii.



Spelunking

Yesterday we went spelunking in Kaumana Cave, a 2 mile long lava tube that was part of an 1881 eruption and subsequent lava flow that threatened to destroy Hilo.  As the lava approached Hilo, Princess Ruth from Honolulu stood in front of the lava beseeching Pele to spare Hilo.  That night she slept next to the lava flow and by morning it had stopped.  Here's the descent.

 
 Mmm, that looks interesting...

I see... yes, I concur

Very interesting indeed...

After a rocky start that included Anika falling and cutting her hand on some sharp A'a (luckily we had girl scout mom prepared with a Hello Kitty bandaid), we all enjoyed our short exploration.  We'd like to go back sometime, with some better flashlights. 

Finding Peace

This picture was taken at our goodbye party 3 days before our departure to Hawaii.  Our great friends, Andrea & Luke, opened their house to host a very lovely party.  Many friends came to show their love, send best wishes, and talk to us for hours.  We had a great time and made us feel that much more sad to go.  The first couple months here, and of course still now, we miss our home and livelihood in River Falls. 

It definitely took awhile to feel "at home" here in Hawaii we don't have many friends (maybe one each), but we do feel we have found peace and are thankful for this experience. 

We miss you guys!  ALOHA!

om



Lapakahi State Park

On our trip to Wikaloa resort, we also took some time out to hike Lapakahi state park.  After the  drive up the Kohala coast we took the self-guided tour around the partially restored village.  The kids loved searching for the next number on the map.  The ruins were pretty interesting and it was a pleasant walk. 

Kiddy Beach

Well, it took us nearly six months, but we finally found a beach on the Hilo side of the island that the kids can play at.  Onekahakaha has a boulder lined pool that is protected from the sea.  It is also sandy and shallow enough for the keiki (children) to play in.  We'll probably visit more often now that we've actually visited, since it will save us the 2+ hour trip (one way) to the other side of the island.  Unfortunately, there's not much for us adults to do there, but we can relax while the kids play in a safe environment.

Horse Rides

We went to the University of Hawaii-Hilo for their Ho'olaule'a family day.  The kids got to play games, jump nonstop in 2 different jumpy castles, get goodie bags, petting zoo, and have their first horse rides.  All for free.  Our favorite was seeing Henry's face when he first got on the horse.  Here are a couple pictures from their experience.  Yee Haw!

Overlooking Kiluea Caldera

While grandma and grandpa Hovland were here, we took them to the Kilauea Caldera overlook at the Jaggar museum.  We had taken them here at night to see the glow, but also wanted to show them what it looks like during the day.  Here are some photos from that visit including a photo-montage of the entire caldera.

Upper Pe'epe'e falls

 Above Pe'epe'e falls on the Wailuku river we went through the guava grove...

(It may look idyllic, but the mosquitos were ravenous and the stench of rotting guavas was putrid)

 Between two waterfalls...

(It was pretty tough on the parents lifting the children over logs and jagged lava)

Saw endless pools and waterfalls...                                                                    (The kids were now "starving", falling, crying, and nearly hitting each other with rocks)

Then went back through the guava grove...                                              (We went a lot faster this time) 

Nice hike!                                       

(Nice hike!)

Flowers at the New Place

We have taken some pictures of the flowers that are here in our yard at the coffee farm house.

Amaryllis

Heliconia

White/cream Hibiscus

Roses

Aloha Hovland Grandparents

A few days ago we said aloha to the grandparents Hovland.  A big mahalo for visiting, it was nice to have family around during the holiday season.  Also, thanks for all the games of bridge and leaving the nice weather here after you left.  Glad to hear your travels went well aside from dealing with the Vegas airport.  A hui hou (until next time)!

Tidepools

 



photos courtesy Grandpa Hovland

On their final full day on the Big Island we took the grandparents Hovland to the tidepools of Kapoho.  We had wonderful weather, again, and essentially perfect snorkelling conditions.  Grandma Willy remarked that it was worth the trip just to see the coral, but the fish were great too.  Grandpa Dave thought that it was better snorkelling than what we had done in a crater off of Maui, which was pretty amazing too.  Anika spotted an enormous red sea cucumber, which was a first for us.  All in all we had a great day!

Grandparents day at the beach

With all the great weather, we decided to take the grandparents on a driving tour of the island.  That way they could see most of the 12 climate zones home on the big island.  After we passed through the gulches of the Hamakua coast, the ranchlands of Waimea, and the lava desert of South Kohala, we stopped at sixty-nine beach to play in the white sand and surf.

Found It!

RAINBOW CONNECTION
Kermit the Frog

Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbow's are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see

Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

A rainbow spotted in our backyard with some "truffula" trees (1/2/12).