In case you wondered, Hawaii is a wondrous place. Part I

Every time I start a new post, I have to get my courage up (I know, silly) because I can't totally remember how to do this. But hopefully this will be fairly painless!! :-)
I WANT TO SHARE OUR HAWAII TRIP WITH YOU ALL!!
                           ON TO HILO!!!

The sky is a work of art. As we flew toward Hawaii  I caught this wondrous atmospheric phenomenon out of my window. The clouds ripple, too, just like the ocean far below them. Fascinating!

 Dad wanted to surprise me by renting a convertible! They didn't have any Mustangs, but this one was fun. ....for a little bit. lol. Then he went back and got one with four doors, a roof, and large cargo space in the back!! I was thrilled that he would surprise me with this!

I love Barb!! Here we are at the "edge" of the Kilauea Volcano.

Here is our gracious hostess, Dawn Stockton. She was so delightful to stay with, and the accommodations were definitely
5-star! She and Dennis have a beautiful home a few minutes walk from the ocean. Rough life! They live just outside of Hilo on the east side of the big island. She made a delicious dinner for us on the day of our arrival and even invited over a couple, Bruce and Carma Bean, that we also knew from our BC ward in years past. The Beans are also living in Hilo and we loved seeing them again!

As it turns out, Bruce is a pilot and invited us to see the island from the air. Well, twist my arm!! 

You can see the smoke rising from fissures in the earth as the lava travels underground toward the ocean. 

Here is an "ocean" of hardened lava.

A living, smoking, spurting volcano! You can see the cracks in the crater floor with red peaking through. Amazing.

I call this photograph "Sunlight Waterfall" because it...well, you can see it. Gwageous!

The dark, hardened lava flow "land" is in the background; the dark ocean is in the foreground.
The steam is where the lava flow reaches the ocean.

Hilo is at the end of two rainbows. Now you know.

I got to fly an airplane! Bruce allowed me to keep us at a certain altitude (pull back or push in the handles) and steer us toward the airport. Very fun. What I learned: Never do any moves on the controls rapidly. 

That evening we ate at a wonderful restaurant in Hilo. The Pineapple something or other.  I love to eat good food.
And I really loved being there with Barbara and Terry.
And I really, really loved being there with Gregg!! The man knows how to plan a trip.

                                                         ON TO KONA!!

This Temple is glorious, inside and out. Well, they all are. The weather here allows exquisite landscaping.

 There is this garden bed full of these beautiful orchids, all different colors and types. Here are a few of them. Enjoy.

God had fun creating all these beautiful plants of all colors, shapes and sizes. This is such a gorgeous place!

                                                     ON TO MAUI!!

Happy Valentine's Day to us!! I'm so happyyy!! We made a delicious dinner here in our own condo.
We could see the ocean from our deck. Many card games were played on this glass table! 

Dad found this crazy visor with fake hair! Hilarious!!

I think this is in Lahaina, a tourist town on Maui. This park houses the largest banyan tree in the world, I think.
It's all one tree. It simply sends out little tendrils that attach to the ground and root in, making many mini trunks and trees that spread out further and further. Very interesting.

The roots and branches grow in all different shapes and sizes in fascinating ways. If families are sometimes compared to trees, this family would be highly dysfunctional! Talk about twisted and convoluted!

















That's all I dare put in this one section of our Hawaii blog. I'll add the second portion momentarily.
 I know you are all on the edge of your seats.
Now's a good time to get a snack and go to the bathroom before Part II begins. Hurry.