Day 5 -- Spinners Save the Day

We woke up this morning and headed out for an early morning walk and a donut at the little deli on the beach near the house. It was a beautiful morning, which made it much harder for Dan when I mentioned that we head home tomorrow night. He was so sad that only a huge cinnamon roll would cheer him up. It still amazes me how much he loves it here. I won't be surprised if he somehow ends up living here as an adult. I took a few pics of him playing on the rocks hunting for crabs and a woman was kind enough to get a picture of the two of us.

Eating the giant cinnamon roll. He had finally stopped crying about having to go home in less than 2 days.

I also took more pictures of the beautiful flowers here on the island. This is the state flower, the hibiscus, just about to open. These flowers are everywhere on the island in a variety of colors. Anyway, on to the spinners!

While my mom stayed back at the house, Dad, Danny and I drove down towards Kona to take a boat ride with Captain Dan McSweaney to go whale watching. Our expectation was that it would be a lot like our experience with Captain Casey two years ago (yes, we noticed that both captains have critical names in the O'Brien household -- apparently, that is how my dad decided which boat rides to take) Captain Casey had a relatively small boat out of a small harbor just north of our resort but he and his crew were very accomodating. They took us out and within 3 minutes we were seeing whales everywhere. Additionally, Captain Casey had a hydrophone which allowed us to hear the whales singing to each other and then he let us get in the water for a few minutes so that we could hear the beautiful noises ourselves. Very cool!!!

Unfortunately, Captain Dan, although extremely knowledgeable about whales, did not have a hydrophone, nor did he allow anyone to get in the ocean. Because of his location, we had to motor for an hour just to get out to the place north of us where the whales are usually spotted. In the 3 hours we were on the boat, we saw one whale, 3 times. That was it! That means we spent 3 hours on a boat to see a whale for approximately a total of 30 seconds. We headed back to the harbor quite disappointed and a little bored until all of a sudden, dozens of spinner dolphins, native to Hawaii, were surrounding our boat. They are adorable creatures, smaller than bottlenose dolphins and they love to play and jump in the wake of boats like ours. I was up front and could almost reach down and touch them below me in the water. Danny loved it as did most of the passengers on the boat. It definitely made up for the lack of whales. Although I think that will be our last whale watching outing for a long while. As my mom said, you see one whale, you've seen them all. And we did see ONE whale! My whale pics are pretty boring but here are just a few of the many pics I took of the dolphins.

After we left Captain Dan, we headed towards Kona, grabbed some lunch and I made my dad drive right into the center of town to see, what else, the famous start and finish of the Ironman Triathlon, held here every October. It was so exciting for me, but unfortunately, the guys did not exactly share my enthusiasm for this outing. I needed Mike there as he would have obviously understood why this is such a special place. It really made me miss him. However, my dad, as always, was patient with me while I searched to find THE exact official Ironman Triathlon store, even though we walked past several other 'immitation' stores touting their official Ironman apparel. And, he was patient with me as I searched for just the right official shirt and hat for Mike. Unfortunately, Danny was not quite as patient as my father. Specifically, because all that fruit he has been eating since we arrived was finally catching up with him. Figures! Needless to say, he needed to get home! Even so, I really hope that the next time I come to the center of Kona, it will be on a Saturday closest to the full moon one October. Our whole family will be there and we will watch my husband cross the finish line and become an Ironman!!



Here is Danny at the start of the Ironman and where they come out of the swim. The transition area is off to the right of Danny.

A few of the many messages that people write on the black lava. They use white corral from the area beaches to leave their messages.

Day 4 - Another tough day in Paradise!

Well, I was just too tired last night from my long day of running, relaxing, and spa-ing (can that be a word?) to post last night -- sorry for the delay. Yesterday, Danny went to camp again and, of all things, went gecko hunting. An all-time favorite activity of his anywhere, but especially here in Hawaii! He had a blast! My mom and I explored the Mauna Lani Hotel shops and restaurants before heading over to the spa. Amazing facial which felt great and then a Lomi Lomi massage outside! We actually ate at the house last night which was wonderful. A spinach salad, steak and organic baked potatoes! It would have been super relaxing had it not been for the blare of the Florida/OU game on the tv. Surprisingly, it was my son that was so into the game, therefore we had to keep it on!! Anyway, on to Day 5!

Our future retirement home!! (I wish...)

Hump Day in Hawaii 2009

We started the day a little rougher than the others -- he realized that he left his favorite Beaver Creek hat on the beach yesterday during camp and immediately had to go to the beach to see if he could find it. At 6:30 in the morning! Ouch! I told him there was little chance of him finding his hat as someone has probably picked it up by now. Sure enough, as if its only purpose was to prove me wrong, there was the hat, sitting quietly right where he had left it! Yeah - life could continue. So it did -- right into the worksheets the national park ranger, Gerry, gave Danny to complete for a Jr. Ranger pin. Now he is ready to go back to the heaiu to get his own badge.

In addition to his completed worksheets, he enlisted Pop-Pop to help him open up the husk of a coconut that he found as we were walking through the lagoons I mentioned yesterday. All is right with the world now that he has a opened up a coconut and actually eaten it. It is even better in his eyes that he actually found it and therefore was 'free.' I admit I am a little concerned about my son's obsession with tropical fruit! Coconut, guava, banana, passionfruit, papaya, etc. He ate all of it today, thanks to some snacks provided by our nice tour guide for our Pinz Safari Tour this afternoon. This is the "PINZ" that we rode in. It was a 2 hour tour on land near the northern coast.

After the wonderful Pinz Tour, we stopped at Poholo Valley -- breathtaking view of cliffs (behind the boys). I love this picture of the 2 guys! Aren't they handsome!

Here are those cliffs near Poholo Valley. Amazing! The waters on this side are extremely rough. We learned that even though Maui is not very far away, boats cannot cross over the channel separating the two islands because of the severe winds and therefore the extremely difficult waters.

The mules that Danny fed after our safari tour!

Did I mention that my son seems to have a new obsession with tropical fruit? (passionfruit, coconuts, and guava etc.)

As good as the safari tour was, the ride back to the house was almost better. First, there was a whale sighting -- our first this trip. The following picture shows a little spray right in the center of the pic. That is caused by the whale!

Then, we not only saw a beautiful rainbow but the clouds parted ways for about an hour so that we could see the top of Mt. Mauna Kea with its observatories and all the snow. This is a very rare occurence and was so breathtaking.

Along with a wonderful dinner at Merriman's up in Waimea, it was a great day. Although Danny probably won't remember dinner tomorrow -- he fell asleep at the table about 20 minutes after we arrived!

Random Pictures from Day 2

I love this one -- they really do look like birds (of paradise!)

Day 2 in Hawaii -- To Each His Own


Well, today the Hustons/O'Briens decided to split up a little so that everyone could get a chance to do what they love to do most. For my dad, that meant 18 holes of golf at the Mauna Lani Resort golf course. For Danny, that meant the Keiki Aloha Day Camp at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel. For mom and me, pedicures and shopping, of course. But first, I had to go on my long run. I decided to go about 6 miles today and was so excited to get out there and explore a little bit. I only have two regrets for this run -- 1) I couldn't bring my camera, and 2) I should have started earlier in the day when it was cooler. The first 4 miles were through these trails on the Mauna Lani Resort that wound through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid eyes on. Trails through this forest-like area of large palm trees surrounding mini-lakes eventually led me to the ocean and back again. It was one of those very rare runs where you almost forget that you are running! I finally landed at the golf club and started to head out on some of the main roads. Lava fields to my left, beautiful lush greens to my right. By now it was almost 11 am. I really enjoyed the scenery here as well but the heat started to kick in. I kept thinking about my Ironman Triathlete heroes who run and bike these same 'hallowed' pavements for a whopping 140 miles every year in October. I only had to run that last 2 miles in this heat and I was really ready to get home! Still, it was one of my favorite runs ever!! I will be taking Danny back to the palm tree forest tomorrow for some pictures to post!



Mom and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Tommy Bahamas before we shopped.

Meanwhile, Danny was busy at camp with his camp counselor and new best friend, Ashley. They got to hunt for crabs, snorkel, make a craft with a coconut shell, and catch frogs. Heaven for Danny! His only regret about the camp was that his counselor was not allowed to buy him a coconut smoothie at the juice bar. Now that he is over the coconut smoothie issue, he is looking forward to going back on Thursday for more adventures.

Some shots of us before we went to dinner.


My handsome boy!!


Our waiter, Fred, at Brown's Beach House was phenomenal! Turns out he lived in Dallas less than a mile from where my parents live now! How random is that? He took a bunch of pictures for us including this one.

This was my last (and favorite) picture of the night! While eating outside, the sky turned this gorgeous array of color and I got up to see if I could capture it. Danny brought his camera along as well to get this shot and was extremely disappointed when his Kodak EasyShare wouldn't produce the same image.

Tomorrow we are off on a Hummer Safari Tour. Let's hope I make it back in one piece!

OK -- still trying to get the hang of this blogging thing -- should have it figured out by the time we leave. Enjoy the highlights!

Our family room here at night.

My wonderful parents, without whom Dan and I wouldn't be enjoying this amazing experience! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Pool with accompanying fire pit in the backyard!

Danny's hands after his first of many swims today.

Our backyard at night (I know, we are really roughing it, aren't we!)

Here are some of the highlights of the gazillion pictures I took with our new camera. I am starting to see why people get into photography -- when you have a good camera, it is actually fun! Enjoy the pictures!