Aloha 2012! Day 1

After saying so long to the Brady clan, we drove back to San Jose and then flew to Hawaii where we met Steph, Julia, and Toni. I'd never been to Hawaii before and Mark had only been during a conference, so we were not really sure what to expect. Luckily Steph and Julia had been before and helped us have a very relaxing and enjoyable trip! I love having a professional guide as a SIL!

We flew into Kona and got our rental car upgraded. Here's how we drove around:

Can't say it'd be a good family car, but it sure was fun to roll around Hawaii in a Jeep Wrangler!

We started out by driving from Kona over the north side of the island to Hilo. On the way there, we stopped at some pretty overlooks, and then took a short hike through a rainforest to a waterfall. It's good thing we brought our rain jackets because the rainforest was taking its name seriously!

Akaka falls... you say it and not giggle!

The drive from Kona to Hilo (technically we stayed in Volcano) was gorgeous. We stopped for malasadas, which can be described as donuts only better. We also saw a lot of the crazy topography that a volcano creates. And of course, we saw the ocean. Here's a smattering of pics from the day:

Laupahoehoe Harbor, where the energy of the ocean is overwhelming.

Trail to Akaka falls

We never did see any donkeys... just the five asses in the Jeep.

Rainforest beats lava.

And so that was the first day. I remember going to bed thinking "I hope we didn't do all the amazing stuff today because there are still six more days left!" Luckily, we didn't. More to come!