Spring Breakin' In Paradise - Part 1

We feel very fortunate that we had the opportunity to spend spring break with family... 

...in Hawaii.  

Thanks to Pam and Michael for hosting us for a week!  As per the usual, they were gracious hosts.  But they are equally awesome tour guides, chauffeurs, chefs, photographers, etc.  They washed our towels.  They loaned us beach chairs and a cooler to use all week.  They took us out to dinner!  They met us at the airport with fresh flower leis!  

BEST. HOTEL. EVER. 

If you remember, we visited them on the big island back in October of 2016 for a fun-filled, action-packed vacation.  This time, we had a more relaxing vacation because we did a lot of the adventurous things on the last trip.  

The Big Island really is BIG! 

We spent a full week exploring and barely repeated any of the things we did on our last visit.  

And although it was cloudy and occasionally rainy, we discovered that it rarely rains at the beach!  We also discovered that you can still get pretty sunburned through the clouds (a lesson I've learned many times unfortunately).  

Without further ado... the pictures: 

GREAT FLIGHTS!  NO DELAYS!  SHORT LAYOVER IN SAN FRAN.
THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IS JUST LEFT OF CENTER OF THE PIC.

FRESH FLOWERS IN EVERY ROOM!
AND THEY WERE ALL PICKED FROM THE FARM
THEY LIVE ON. 

AFTER A FEW CUPS OF COFFEE, WE WALKED THE
GROUNDS AS PER OUR USUAL.  

 First stop, PUAKO: 

A cute little area with amazing (million dollar) homes and a great snorkel spot!

VIEW FROM THE END OF THE ROAD. 

We snorkeled here for a few hours, followed by a picnic lunch. 

SOME TYPE OF TRUMPET FISH? 

SMALL SCHOOL OF YELLOW BUTTERFLY FISH

A BRIGHTLY COLORED PARROT FISH (CENTER).
THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL TO SEE IN THE WATER. 

After Puako, we headed to Hapuna Beach which is a nice, white sand beach.  It's very typical of what you picture in your head when you think of a beach in Hawaii: 

A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT HAPUNA. 

 That evening, downtown Kona had the Ali'i stroll.  They close off the street and local vendors set up all along Ali'i drive.  They had beautiful jewelry and other handmade gifts.  There is music and food, etc. 

NOTICE ALL THE TENTS IN THE STREET. 

The next morning we headed to Dog Beach which is just outside the harbor.  It's a beautiful little beach with great snorkeling!

DOG BEACH... BECAUSE DOGS ARE ALLOWED. 

A SLEEPING TURTLE!!!  

After dog beach, we picked up our little rental car for the week, then headed to a place we've been looking forward to for a while: 

Da Poke Shack!

WE LOVE POKE.
THIS PLACE WAS DELICIOUS!
AND WE SAT BY THE WATER AND WATCHED
THE SURFERS WHILE WE ATE.  

After lunch, we drove down to "two-step" to do more snorkeling.  I didn't take a single picture at 2-step because it was pretty cloudy and the visibility was really poor.  But, the coolest thing EVER happened here... our snorkel guide extraordinaire (aka PAM) led us to a spot in the bay where a white tipped reef shark commonly sleeps and there it was... sleeping in a little cave.  Y'all, we floated above a sleeping SHARK!!!!   It. Was. Awesome!!!!!!!  

After 2-step we made a quick stop at the Painted Church, so named for the beautiful painted walls inside:    

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE CHURCH.
THE GROUNDS/GARDENS ARE BEAUTIFUL TOO. 

Day 3 on the island, Mike and I spent in Hilo.  Pam lives in Kona, on the west side, or dry side of the island, and Hilo is a couple hours away on the East side, or the wet side of the island.  They recently received a lot of rain which means: RIPPIN' WATERFALLS!

RAINBOW FALLS! 

THIS WAS RAINBOW FALLS IN 2016 WHEN WE WERE THERE.
QUITE A DIFFERENCE IN THE AMOUNT OF WATER FLOWING! 

PE'E PE'E FALLS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PICTURE...
BOILING POTS ARE TO THE RIGHT OF THE PICTURE. 

IN CASE YOU WANTED SOME INFO ON THE BOILING POTS.
WE COULDN'T SEE THEM.  THERE WAS TOO MUCH WATER FLOW AND THERE WAS ALSO A LOT OF VEGETATION OBSTRUCTING THE VIEW. 

WAI'ALE FALLS

A LITTLE BRANCH OF THE WAILUKU RIVER.
IT WAS SO PEACEFUL HERE.

 After the waterfalls, we were hungry for a second breakfast and decided to check out a local bake shop.  We always eat a LOT of donuts when we visit Hawaii.  These did not disappoint.

YUMMY DONUTS FROM THE HILO BAKE SHOP

 Once we were all loaded up with sugar, we headed to Kapoho tidepools to do some snorkeling.
I love a good tidepool and we didn't get a lot of time here on our last trip so we planned to spend most of the day here. It was partly to mostly cloudy with only occasional bursts of sun but I think that really allowed us to stay a little longer.  I can't imagine hanging out on the lava rock if the sun was beating down on us all day.

Anyway, there are tons of tide pools to choose from and we hopped from pool to pool, just taking in all the colorful reef fish that live there.

The tide was coming in as we arrived and it had a lazy river effect.  We started in a pool near the ocean and literally just floated along with the tide from pool to pool! No swimming necessary!  And when we were done, we climbed out on the lava rock and walked back to where we had stashed our stuff.

TIDE POOLS

A NICE, BIG, DEEP TIDE POOL 

JUST FLOATING WITH THE TIDE...
AND PROOF THAT THE SUN CAME OUT WHILE WE WERE THERE.

After several hours at the tide pools, we noticed some rain clouds in the distance.  Mike noticed they seemed to be getting closer and they seemed to be heavy rains so we decided to pack up and head to the car.  It's about 1/8 of a mile back to the car and it started misting on the way... then it started sprinkling... and as soon as we got inside the car and shut the doors, the bottom dropped out of the sky and it started pouring!  Perfect timing. 

We drove just a little way down the road to Isaac Hale Beach Park for a quick stop: 

And from there we headed back into Hilo for a quick stop on Bayfront Dr.

THE BEAUTIFUL PARK RIGHT ACROSS FROM
HILO BAY

THIS BOAT JUST GOT BACK FROM A 3 YEAR TRIP AROUND
THE WORLD!
DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A BIG ENOUGH BOAT TO GO AROUND
THE WORLD IN MY OPINION... BUT THEY DID IT! 

WALKING THE BRIDGE TO COCONUT ISLAND

BEAUTIFUL GRASSY AREAS...
AND PEOPLE ABOUT TO JUMP INTO THE BAY FROM THE TOP
OF THE TOWER (CENTER OF PICTURE)

Just outside of Hilo we made a quick stop at Kaumana caves before taking Saddle Rd. back over to the Kona side of the island.

THE CAVE GOES BACK A LONG WAY...
WE DECIDED NOT TO TRY IT...
DUE TO FLIP FLOPS AND LACK OF FLASHLIGHTS. 

THE OTHER CAVE...
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY
TALL ENOUGH TO STAND UP COMFORTABLY. 

 Day 4: We headed to the southernmost tip of the island.
First stop: Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

STANDING ON LAVA ROCK... LOOKING OVER TOWARD THE
BLACK SAND BEACH

A QUIET LITTLE TIDE POOL... 

...WHERE WE FOUND THIS GUY MUNCHING ON
A SNACK.

A BEAUTIFUL BACK DROP TO A BLACK SAND BEACH. 

LOTS OF TURTLES HERE.
THIS ONE HAD A CRACKED/MALFORMED SHELL.

 Then we headed to the Punalu'u bakery for malasadas (Portuguese donuts) - a MUST DO in my personal opinion.

AT THE SOUTHERN MOST POINT OF THE U.S. 

BRAVELY LOOKING OVER THE EDGE

THE WOODEN STRUCTURE IS A BOAT HOIST.
THE LADDER IS USED BY PEOPLE WHO CLIFF JUMP.
I THINK YOU COULD GET TETANUS JUST
BY LOOKING AT IT.  

BUT THE WATER COLOR HERE WAS INSANE!
THE PICTURE DOESN'T DO IT JUSTICE OF COURSE.
IT WAS SO BLUE AND SO CLEAR THAT YOU COULD
SEE LITTLE REEF FISH SWIMMING AROUND! 

 At this part of the island, you can also hike out to Green Sand Beach.  Cars aren't allowed, but locals use their 4WD trucks to shuttle people who want to pay for a ride.  We opted to walk in, and ride out.  The walk is pretty flat and there are some beautiful views of the shoreline along the way.

THE CRAZY ROAD SYSTEM LEADING TO GREEN SAND BEACH. 

OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE GREEN SAND BEACH!
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE CLIMBING DOWN
TO THE BEACH FROM THE TOP OF THE CLIFFS. 

THERE IS A PATH OF SORTS TO THE BEACH.
IT'S BASICALLY CARVED INTO THE CLIFF.
IT WAS A PRETTY COOL EXPERIENCE IN ITSELF. 

This is one of only 4 green sand beaches in the world which makes it pretty special.  The green color comes from a semi-precious gem called olivine that can be found in some lava rock.  When the rock gets broken down due to waves, or wind, or whatever, the olivine sand is left.  

WE FOUND  A LITTLE SPOT ON THE BEACH
AND JUST ENJOYED THE VIEW FOR A WHILE. 

THAT IS ABOUT AS FAR AS I WENT IN.
THERE IS A STRONG UNDERTOW AT THIS BEACH. 

After Mike's nap on the beach, we climbed back up to the top of the cliffs and hitched a ride with a local - which literally means we STOOD in the back of a pick-up truck, holding onto a ladder rack, with a bunch of other tourists for $10/person during the (4WD necessary) ride back to the parking lot.  

I won't lie though: it was so fun!  

And totally worth the money.  

Our driver stopped at a little cove where we got out to see a tiny little patch of sand that was even GREENER than the green sand beach!

LAST GLIMPSE OF GREEN SAND BEACH BEFORE STARTING
OUR ADVENTURE BACK TO THE CAR. 

LOADED UP IN THE BACK OF THE TRUCK. 

THE LITTLE BEACH WITH THE GREENEST SAND. 

Well, that was the first half of our vacation.
Stay tuned for details from the second half, coming soon in another post.

Because He Lives...

It's Easter Sunday.  

Because I'm from the south, this day makes me think of Sunday dresses, Easter bunny baskets, bright white lilies, and a fancy Sunday lunch.  

Here, in Tahoe, we did none of those things.  

I barely own a dress anymore (our church allows you to wear jeans or whatever you want).  The Easter bunny forgot us again this year (that's ok, the day really isn't about him anyway).  We still have bright white snow, but definitely not any lilies!  And Mike and I probably aren't doing a big fancy lunch.  

And that is ok.  

Because we have found an amazing church in South Lake Tahoe and we attended the Good Friday service Friday night, and I attended the Easter service Saturday night.  And the pastor helped me realize that ANYTIME you celebrate the miracle of the resurrection is a good time!  

In both services, I cried.  

I've never really felt (like I felt it IN MY BONES) the weight/magnitude of Easter's meaning until this year.  

But, moving to Tahoe and getting so far away from my comfort zone has brought me closer to God than I ever imagined and for that, I will always be grateful!  

He is my hope. 

And because He lives.... I can face tomorrow. 

I sincerely hope that if you are reading this, you know and understand this kind of peace and hope for tomorrow.  And if you don't, but you would like to, let me know.  

So THIS Is a Miracle March...

We've had a lot of snow lately... winter finally arrived.  We had a couple of feet a few weeks, and another couple of feet (or more) this week.  I actually got 2 snow days during the month of March.  School rarely gets cancelled here... it's a big storm if school gets cancelled.  Anyway, without further ado, the rest of the blog will be pictures and videos... you're welcome:

THE FIRST ROUND OF THE STORM...
IT WAS JUST GETTING STARTED. 

OUR KIND NEIGHBOR STARTING TO HELP ME
DIG OUT...
AND THEIR SWEET AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
RUNNING ALONG THE CLEARED PATH.  

LOTS OF SNOW

COOL SNOW FORMATIONS

THE STORM FINALLY ROLLING OUT

FIRST LITTLE GLIMPSE AT THE BLUE LAKE
(TINY LITTLE GLIMPSE BETWEEN THE TREES)

ZEPHYR TAKING IN THE BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

UTTERLY EXHAUSTED FROM A DAY OF PLAYING
IN THE POWDER (YESTERDAY)

FRESH TRACKS IN THE POWDER EVEN 2 DAYS
AFTER THE START OF THE STORM! 

STILL FINDING UNTOUCHED POWDER STASHES

MAKING TURNS BESIDE MY TURNS. 

We are happy to have the snow (even if it is late in the season... I mean Easter is right around the corner for crying out loud).  But, we always welcome the moisture!  

He KINDA loves the snow (just a little bit): 

This video was not taken in slow motion... the snow was just fluttering slowly down to the ground: 

Parking Lot Powder Day Celebrations: 

Well, peeps... that's it from Tahoe for now!  

I hope that wherever you are, your life is treating you well! 

Bathroom Reno and Miracle March???

So, a couple of weeks ago I was off work for a week (February break - allow me to quickly add how much I LOVE my job) and Mike arranged to have the week off as well!  WHAT?  Awesome, right?

We wanted to go skiing in Utah with some friends but at the last minute we cancelled the trip because, well, there was no snow there either.  And why would we drive all that way to ski groomed runs when we can do that 1/4 mile from our house. Ya know? 

Since we weren't leaving town, and there was no snow here, we decided to tackle a last minute, rather impromptu bathroom renovation.  What could go wrong with that? (Luckily, nothing actually went wrong, so yay!)

So... here is the before... during... and after pics of the project: 

THE TOILET WAS BASICALLY IN THE CENTER OF
THE FLOOR

TILE COUNTERS... UGH! 

THIS PIC IS ACTUALLY FROM THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE DUPLEX BUT WE HAD THE SAME
CABINETS.... LOTS OF STORAGE BUT ACTUALLY
TOO MUCH STORAGE FOR SUCH A SMALL SPACE!

YOU COULDN'T EVEN OPEN THE BOTTOM DRAWERS
ALL THE WAY BECAUSE THEY HIT THE TOILET. 

STEP ONE: REMOVE ALL CABINETS AND TILE

THIS WAS OUR GUEST BEDROOM FOR A FEW DAYS. 

PREVIOUS TOILET LOCATION

IT'S GONE!!!  WOOHOO! 

FINISHED!!!!!  

MUCH BETTER IN MY OPINION! 

YOU USED TO HAVE TO LEAN OVER THE TOILET
TO TURN ON THE SHOWER.

NOT ANYMORE! 

AND MIKE MADE A SUPER COOL TOWEL RACK! 

 I absolutely love the new bathroom layout.  Less storage, yes.  But so much more space for getting in/out of the shower, getting dressed, etc.  And we have plenty of storage in my opinion.  

Although our week of "vacation" turned into a week of work on the house, I'm super glad that we did it and got it done.  And I'm incredibly grateful for a super handy husband with my same OCD-ness for perfection (or close to perfection). 

Ok, so then... winter arrived!  FINALLY!  

We got 4 feet?  

Maybe?  

I think?  

I don't know.  

I stopped counting! 

What I DO know is that school was cancelled!!!!  HALLELUJAH! 

WOKE UP TO THIS. 

TIME TO START SHOVELING A PATH

Parking at the ski hill was a bit of a challenge as EVERYONE was excited to ski the fresh powder.  We ended up having to hitch a ride (with someone we knew... not a stranger... safety first).  

RIDING IN THE "WAY BACK" OF OUR NEIGHBOR'S
PICKUP.  THANKS AGAIN FOR DROPPING US OFF! 

We have had several "bluebird powder days" to enjoy and everyone is happy.  

More pics and videos to come in another blog post.  Gotta keep you all coming back for more!