We realized early on in the planning of this trip that this would probably be the best trip of Ben's life. He's so young still and the world is so magical, so even if he goes on more amazing trips in the future, the chances that they will compare are slim. So I apologize in advance to Ben's future wife, when after their honeymoon Ben will surely exclaim, "Well, dear, that was the second best vacation I've ever had!"
Ben chose Hawaii as the destination for his Nana and Papa birthday trip because my boy loves volcanoes and wants to be a vulcanologist when he grows up. This has been true of him for quite awhile. It was about a half-a-year before Zach's 8th birthday, on the drive from Washington to Colorado, that my mom and I first talked about how neat it would be if the boys could take a special 8th birthday trip just them and their grandparents. At the time we asked the boys where they would want to go if they could visit anywhere in the United States. Zach decided he would like to visit D.C. or perhaps New York (he ultimately decided on D.C.). Ben, on the other hand, said he would like to go to Hawaii. My mom and I both chuckled a little bit. Of course! Smart kid. Who wouldn't want to go to Hawaii...sandy beaches, sunshine, flowers year-round, relaxation...sigh. But then Ben said, "I want to go there because I want to see a volcano." Well, that about melted his geology-loving, experiential-educating Nana's heart, so instead of navigating him towards a cheaper destination over the following years, she began thinking about all the fun they would have and how amazing and educational the trip would be for a budding vulcanologist. (She also dove right in to planning the ultimate educational/fun visit to D.C.).
And then the years passed, it was amazing how quickly it felt that the day for Ben to go on his trip had arrived. In early February I found myself writing to the school to arrange the absence, gathering permission forms and emergency medical care info, planning the unaccompanied minor traveling Ben would be doing for the final flight home from Washington to Colorado and finally packing bags. I couldn't believe the day had arrived, we would miss our dear Ben, but knew he was about to have the adventure of a lifetime. And I don't even need to say it, but Ben was SO SO excited.
There are a TON of pictures in this post, but hey, it's not every year that a kid gets to go to Hawaii!
Adam had the opportunity to do some work at his company's Everett office, and Ben hadn't been on a plane since we moved out here to Colorado, so we thought he might get nervous flying alone, so Adam started the journey with Ben. He is a kid who loves adventure, but also is a bit of a Nervous Nelly, and we wanted to start the trip off with a good feeling. After staying one night at my parent's house, they set off in the car for the Portland airport. Portland? Yes, Portland. My mom wanted to take Ben by Mount St. Helens before going on to Hawaii. It erupted in 1980, so there is a lot of information on volcanoes and eruptions at the visitor's center. Plus it is a different type of volcano from Kilawea (the name of the volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, where they were headed).
Setting out on the journey!
It was a hit! Ben loved seeing the videos of the eruption. His camera has a ton of blurry photos of the eruption and its aftermath. His love for volcanoes grew. And he also fell in love with a volcano lava lamp thing that he keeps telling us about. I hope I can find it online for his birthday!
They arrived at the airport in the afternoon and took off on their flight. My mom had kindly been sending me texts all day, alerting me to their whereabouts and the progress of their journey. Ben called from the airport, excited for his flight to the Big Island.
The first photo taken after arriving in Hawaii. It was warm and alive. Ben was ecstatic and also pretty tired.
The first day there started a little late. It's 3 hours earlier in Hawaii than it is here in Colorado, add that to a long day of travel, they spent the morning taking it easy. But come lunch time, they headed to Bubba Gump's for one of Ben's favorites: shrimp!
After lunch they went back to the condo so Ben could practice snorkeling in the pool before trying it out in the ocean. I received a text about this time: "What do Ben's swim shorts look like? We can't find them." OOPS! I had insanely forgotten to pack Ben's swim trunks. In my defense, I didn't really
forget, but they weren't with the rest of his clothes, they were down in the swim bag in our laundry room, so when I was done packing everything else, I took the bag down to get the swim shorts and got sidetracked by something else. I also forgot to pack his DS charger cord...but that might have been accidentally on purpose. :)
And my dad, being the committed Hawaii snorkler that he is, got rid of the 'stache, just so the snorkel mask would fit properly.
The day also included a great deal of beach exploration. I gave the go ahead to repurpose a pair of Ben's regular shorts to be swim shorts, as to not waste a moment close to the warm waters of the Big Island's beaches wanting to swim but not having shorts. Later in the day they went to the market and bought Ben a new pair of swim trunks, a rash guard (there's a lot of coral on the Big Island) and a new pair of crocs--lime green--because the pair he brought had long ago lost their heel strap and the waves were trying to wash them off his feet. Ben loved being on the beach, playing in the sand and testing the waters.
The following day, Monday, they got going early and headed to Volcano National Park, where the Kilauea caldera is found. This was the pinnacle of the trip! As they got closer to the park, the black rocks became much more abundant and the vegetation more sparse. Ben was about to see an active volcano!!!
Ben and Papa at South Point, this location is the farthest south you can go and still be in the United States.
Every trip to a rocky beach requires an exploration of the tide pools, and Ben found a good one.
Ben and Papa relaxing on the black sand beach.
A sea turtle doing the same. They spotted a couple of honu on their trip; the sightings felt like a gift!
The volcano would have to wait for lunch!
And there it is. The Kilauea caldera. This is as close as you can get with the zoom on the camera maxed out, but you can see the orange glow of the lava as it flows just beneath the rocky surface. Ben said the light kind of pulsed.
And there's my little vulcanologist, living the dream.
The temperature was definitely higher near the hot spots.
After seeing the caldera they continued their exploration of the park. These are sulfur vents. I am sure you can imagine how delicious they smelled...ewww.
And these are steam vents.
And they even hiked deep into an old lava tube.
Way deep!
The Kilauea nighttime glow. Beautiful and creepy, isn't it?
The next day called for some snorkeling. My parents think he was a little over-warned about swimming too close to the coral, because Ben was a little nervous about snorkeling close to where the water and the coral met, so a lot of his exploration kept him close to the beach. But he said he saw a lot of humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Hawaii's state fish. He can actually say the whole name perfectly, thanks to his Papa. My dad grew up in Hawaii, living there between the ages of 3 and 12, and he is very proud of his Hawaiian heritage. It was one of the first Hawaiian words I learned too. Ben came home telling me he was part-Hawaiian. Well. Um. OK!
There was boogie boarding too. Ben loved it! This was one of my favorite things to do too when we went to Hawaii when I was younger. That and body surfing.
Wednesday started with a delicious breakfast overlooking the ocean {jealous!}.
And then a trip to the Hilton, which was a destination all of its own! Boats transport you to different parts of the resort.
There are dolphins being trained.
And a lagoon to swim in and picnic by.
And waterfall caverns to explore. It was a full day!
The next few days were spent enjoying the sun and the water, exploring the Big Island, seeing ruins and waterfalls, and doing some hiking, along the beach and into the rainforest.
Ben didn't let his nervousness about snorkeling near the coral reef ruin the fun, he still snorkeled with Papa out deeper, but on his own he did a lot of snorkeling near to the shoreline. I don't know if he saw a lot of fish there, but he was happy.
The cutest little King of the Lava you ever saw!
Exploring Anaeho'omalu Bay they came across some petroglyphs from Hawaiians long ago. This one was Ben's favorite--the honu, or sea turtle.
A hike to Akaka Falls, the water falls over 400 feet from top to bottom.
Akaka Falls
Pe'epe'e Falls
Rainbow Falls
Here is Ben buying his precious flute (he rubs coconut oil into it every day!). The woman he bought the flute from was named Maile, and she taught Ben how to find the puka with his lips and also about he spirit of the flute.
After exhausting themselves hiking, they had to get a snack of fresh malasadas to revive their energy. Ben would have only eaten malasadas the entire trip if it had been possible.
Ben's dreams of being a vulcanologist may have been destroyed on this trip. Not because he didn't love the volcano, but I think he loved the Kona Boys kayak trip a little more! He now wants to move to Hawaii and become a Kona Boy!
The secluded bay, only accessible by boat, where Ben, Nana and Papa snorkeled, saw dolphins, picnicked and toured with the Kona Boys.
They toured around the old palace complex in the Valley of the Kings, ruins now. The ranger educated them on ancient Hawaii and its monarchy...and played a nose flute!
Which afforded for some pretty spectacular scenery and sunsets.
It was hard to say goodbye as the plane left the ground in Kona Saturday morning. Ben had definitely had the time of his life. He was happy to be coming home and couldn't wait to see his family again, but he missed his new favorite place on earth and his grandparents greatly. And it was no surprise that he immediately started campaigning for us to move to Hawaii.
Thank you, Nana and Papa, for showing Ben the world! We love you!!!
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