Just got home from vacation!

[Brandi]

So I went to Hawaii, the big island to be exact. Our friends lent us their vacation rental. It was sooooo wonderful!. They live about a half a block from the ocean. All I heard at night was palm tree's and waves!
Their rental is soooo nice! Under $100. per night sleeps 6. Everything you could want including snorkling gear. And most important a hammock!
We saw at least 2 dozen humpback whales! I didn't know snorkiling could be so much fun!
My friends are taking over a organic farm their as well. The owner has MS so he can't do it for much longer. We toured the farm, eating our way through it. Oranges, passion fruit, banana's (called ice cream), and other fruits I have never had before.
We spent one morning helping clean and pack ginger to send over to the states. It was really neat.
I had the most wonderful valentines there too. We started our day in a natural hot pond. It was just us and our friends. Then we went snorkling in a really neat spot. The water was so blue!. Then we stopped and had a beer at a neat little place. Came back to the rental and met up with our friends. We made love lasagana from a vegatarian cook book. The 4 us all made it. It was soooooo good. It was a true vacation. It would have been nice to have bikes, but we did so much hiking we did not need the exercise!
Oh and we went to this Valley that you had to walk into unless you had 4wd. It was a 25% grade. 1 mile straight down. When we got to the valley floor it was truely worth it! Not only was it really pretty but their were wild horses all over. And tame (well some of them). I will post a few pic's if anyone would like to see. Also if anyone is interested in my friends rental just let me know.
It is hard to come back after so much fun! But our kitty's missed us as well as our bikes!

[crazycanuck]

Hey brandi,

Did you take any photos?

Did you have the urge to make a sand scuplture...:eek: or does that feeling go away on vacation..tee hee..

Good to see you came back healthy & refreshed. Now, get back on yer bike as it's calling.

Give your kitties some hugs from me too.

C

[Pax]

Brandi, that sounds like an awesome vacation!!

When I was in 5th grade I read a book about pineapple farming in Hawaii, from that point on my dream was to move to Hawaii and pick pineapples for a living. :p

[Sky]

The organic farm sounds awesome! And the horses too! I can't wait to see pictures.

[pepe6599]

I glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. Hawaii is truely beautiful place to see and visit.

[Deanna]

Oh and we went to this Valley that you had to walk into unless you had 4wd. It was a 25% grade. 1 mile straight down. When we got to the valley floor it was truely worth it! Not only was it really pretty but their were wild horses all over. And tame (well some of them).

Was this Waipio Valley, up near the north end?

[Mr. Bloom]

Sounds like a Silver vacation to me!

We'll never go skiing, Silver doesn't like the cold at all!

[bikerchick68]

oh man, it sounds AWESOME! I have been to Hawaii 3 times but never to the Big Island! :confused: Not sure why, but need to make it a point to get there...

I would love to see your pics... snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do... I always come home white on the front and VERY tan on the back :D hours and hours face down in the water... I last snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last Sept... magnificent!

Where did you see the whales? Was that a wahle watching tour? I have NEVER seen one... another thing to add to my "to-do" list...

you've gotten me all excited just thinking of going... can't wait to see those pictures!:)

[Brandi]

Hey brandi,

Did you take any photos?

Did you have the urge to make a sand scuplture...:eek: or does that feeling go away on vacation..tee hee..

Good to see you came back healthy & refreshed. Now, get back on yer bike as it's calling.

Give your kitties some hugs from me too.

C
You know we probably would have made a sculpture if it wasn't for the fact that the sand is really bad on the big island. I have used Maui sand, now that is some nice stuff there! My poor dh caught a cold when we got back. Kinda bad timing too he has to go to kansas on on monday to do a 1 man sculpture for a flower show there.

[Brandi]

Brandi, that sounds like an awesome vacation!!

When I was in 5th grade I read a book about pineapple farming in Hawaii, from that point on my dream was to move to Hawaii and pick pineapples for a living. :p
You can go to my friends organic farm and stay for free as lng as you put in 25 hours of work a week. There are pinapples to be picked too. It is like camping there though.

[Brandi]

Was this Waipio Valley, up near the north end?
Yea it is the Waipio valley up there in the north end. All we could say was "can you imagine riding a bike up or down this hill"?

[Brandi]

oh man, it sounds AWESOME! I have been to Hawaii 3 times but never to the Big Island! :confused: Not sure why, but need to make it a point to get there...

I would love to see your pics... snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do... I always come home white on the front and VERY tan on the back :D hours and hours face down in the water... I last snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last Sept... magnificent!

Where did you see the whales? Was that a wahle watching tour? I have NEVER seen one... another thing to add to my "to-do" list...

you've gotten me all excited just thinking of going... can't wait to see those pictures!:)
We made it a point to snorkle every day we were there. And no we were not on a whale watch tour. We were sitting in our favorite little cove called mermaid pond (you can sit in these cool little ponds) and there they were! I cryed it was so cool, the whole thing. The mermaid ponds , the whales , the ocean. Ok ok I am doing pic's right now!

[Brandi]

ok the first three is my friends vacation rental. The ocean is a half a block away and we saw whale just a 100 yards off shore. Then the classic hawaii photo sitting on the palm tree with my friends Bob and Melissa/ And the wolds largest most yummy avacado from their farm. I was in love!

[Brandi]

ok next one is me and my dh standing in a spot that has the most purest air anyplace in the world. We breathed really deep here.
Next is the valley i was talking about.

[Brandi]

Here are the horses

[Brandi]

The first two sjots are us planting coconuts in an area that got wiped out by lava back in the early 90's. It was the only large black sand beach on the big island. Just wiped out. Everyone is planting so the beach can come back faster.
The rest are pic's of the mermaid ponds. This place is so amazing pictures do not do it justice! this is also where we saw all the whales.I took over 400 pictures. Not of this spot in total. I can share more if you like?

[Offthegrid]

So beautiful ...

[7rider]

Great pix! (wow...mega avacado - DH and I would be in heaven!)
Were the whales close enough to get any pictures of them???

They are soooo cool. I love whales. Who says they aren't the smartest critters around? They spend all summer off Alaska eating, and the winter off Hawaii making babies!! :D What a life!!!

[indysteel]

Brandi, thanks for sharing your trip with us; it sounds positively fantastic. I'm glad that all of you had such a great time.

I've only been to Hawaii once, but you're making me want to go back. I'm not a beach person, so I love that there are so many other things to do there.

Welcome home,

Kate

[mimitabby]

wonderful photos! thanks. I loved the "beansprouts" (Coconuts sprouting)

[Deanna]

Yea it is the Waipio valley up there in the north end. All we could say was "can you imagine riding a bike up or down this hill"?

I did ride down it!!! I tried to ride up, but had to walk. My husband the mountain goat road all the way up. I loved that Valley. Did you know it was used as hiding place for those suspected of having leprosy (can't remember the "new" name for it) who would otherwise have been forced into the colony? If you have the time, pick up "Shark Dialogues" by Kiana Davenport. It's a great read about Hawaii.

I can't wait to go again. We have friends in the Pahoa area. Your pictures might just be the kick I need to get over there.

[Brandi]

I did ride down it!!! I tried to ride up, but had to walk. My husband the mountain goat road all the way up. I loved that Valley. Did you know it was used as hiding place for those suspected of having leprosy (can't remember the "new" name for it) who would otherwise have been forced into the colony? If you have the time, pick up "Shark Dialogues" by Kiana Davenport. It's a great read about Hawaii.

I can't wait to go again. We have friends in the Pahoa area. Your pictures might just be the kick I need to get over there.
Our friends are from the Pahoa area as well. So is their farm. My husband said he is amazed your dh made up that mountain of a road.

[Brandi]

Great pix! (wow...mega avacado - DH and I would be in heaven!)
Were the whales close enough to get any pictures of them???

They are soooo cool. I love whales. Who says they aren't the smartest critters around? They spend all summer off Alaska eating, and the winter off Hawaii making babies!! :D What a life!!!
Avacado's are my fav too! I am afraid my camera was not fast enough to catch the whales when they breached. I have a 3 year digital so it is not as fast as the one's now. I felt like I was having a truely spiritual event every time we saw them! The pools that you see me sitting in... the whales were only 100 yards away! That is why it was so amazing in that spot.

[SandyLS]

I'm glad you had such a great vacation. We spent six weeks in Hawaii in Dec. and Jan., five on the B.I. and wish it could have been longer. Do your friends have a listing of their rental home on the web so I can find out more about renting from them? Our next trip will be in 2008. Although we are very familiar with the Puna District, I am not familiar with the Mermaid Ponds. Are they the same thing as the Kapaho tide pools?
Thanks for sharring your photos. They made me want to go back. But then, I'm always ready to go back to Hawaii. I took over 500 photos myself in Hawaii this year. Some of yours look similar to mine, just different faces!
I can't imagin biking up that Wiapo Valley road. Wow! those must be some strong legs!
Sandy