RAIN!!! Enough already

Since we have been in the Hawaiian Islands it has rained every day.  That's two and a half weeks. While in Kauai we were able to avoid most of it by driving to different parts of the island but here on the Big Island - it's like a massive cloud has surrounded the entire island.  It has been pouring rain all day.  Not even a little drizzle but a downpour.  As a result, there have been small rock slides and parts of the road are flooded as we drive.  It's pretty crazy.

Ralph and have been patient but today was a bit frustrating.   We tried our best to enjoy the beautiful views, but with rain dripping down our faces and us becoming soaking wet, it was hard to stay positive.  Thankfully we had a rain cover for our camera but there was a strong wind blowing as well which caused water to get on the lens.  We were constantly wiping to keep the lens clean and dry.

We saw some beautiful areas and the waterfalls were really amazing.  We hope that tomorrow will be dryer and we can revisit them again.  We thought about visiting a Botanical Garden while here but it's just too wet.

Rainbow Falls

Moss everywhere - a result of all the rain

Still smiling

A beautiful stream beside the road

Another beautiful "small" waterfall

The waves were reported as 10-20 feet but we think they were much higher.  

Laupahoehoe Point - amazingly beautiful!!

The trees are huge here!

We finished our day with a really nice dinner at a restaurant called Pineapples.  The fish was amazing and so fresh.

The Big Island - Volcano National Park

Today we flew to the Big Island for the final leg of our vacation.  We were up early (4:30) and got ourselves a coffee at Starbucks before heading to the airport.  Checkin went very easy and we were able to relax before flying to Honolulu and then the Big Island..

The flight went well.  We arrived by 10:30.  It was pouring rain and it didn't let up at all today,  We decided not to let the rain stop us.  At our hotel they gave us some information on the volcano and we were advised that the park was open although many of the viewing areas were still closed.

That was enough for us to know and off we went.  We stopped first and enjoyed some lunch and then spent the rest of the day at the park.  I was amazed at how barren some of the areas were.  The highlight of the trip was when the sun went down and we could see the fire from inside the volcano. It was pretty cool.  Another interesting thing that we noticed was that the roads in many of the areas were not wet even though it was pouring rain outside.  We felt the pavement and it was warm to the touch.  We both found this pretty scary.  We also felt tremors while we were in the park. Another frightening thing.

Throughout the park you can see "steam vents" where lava is flowing underground.

Mauna Loa - the worlds largest active volcano

While we were here an event happened that got the rangers really excited.  Triggered by one of the tremors, rocks fell off the side of the wall int the volcano causing a large amount off activity within. 

Beautiful rainbow beside the volcano

Our final day on Kauai

Sadly it's time to say goodbye to Kauai.  We've had an amazing time here exploring the island and enjoying the nature.  We have seen so much and Ralph and I continue to be so amazed at God's majestic glory.

This morning we went for a final time to Shipwreck Beach to photograph the sunrise. I felt bad as I wasn't as mobile as I would have liked to be and as a result we couldn't do the 30-40 minute hike to the point.  Ralph was very gracious about it and instead we stopped at the first outlook.  I've got my ankle pretty wrapped up - but the uneven ground made it pretty painful to walk on.  As a result we also changed our plans for later in the day as we had hoped to go one more time to "Secret Beach" on the North shore but the trail is very steep and uneven and I wouldn't have been able to walk it.

We spent some time at the beach and were blessed with seeing two sea turtles and a monk seal.  I'm so amazed that they are not afraid of the people on the beach.  I just wish at times that people would give the animals more space.  The roosters were quite funny today as they have been on other days. They love to be near people but also seem to have to announce to everyone how happy they are. They crow all day long!!

After some time at the beach we went back to the hotel and packed up our suitcases and got ready for our flight tomorrow.  Afterwards we drove to the North shore and enjoyed lunch on Anini beach where we had fun watching the chickens chasing each other for food.  It was cooler at the beach but not a lot of surf this time.  There were a lot of snorkelers out exploring.  Neither Ralph or I had any desire to go into the water as the air temperature was just too cool.

We made plans to go out and enjoy a nice dinner this evening as our way of finishing up our time here on the island.  We went to Dukes which is at the Marriott Hotel.  They had some live entertainment and we really enjoyed ourselves.

We'll sure miss the beauty of the island but look forward to seeing what adventures are in store for us on the Big Island.

Winding down

Today we took it easy.  The day was spent at the beach in Poipu.  It such a nice surprise to see a Sea Turtle there,  we were so excited.  I ran down with the camera and accidentally stepped into a hole in the sand and twisted my ankle so I have been hobbling around for most of the day.

We enjoyed an early dinner at The Beach House.  Afterwards we sat by the shoreline and watched the surfers.  What a relaxing time we had.  They were quite good and fun to watch.  We were quite impressed with the girls as we found they were much more aggressive in the water.

Around 6:30 we drove to Spouting Horn to photograph the sunset.   It was a lovely evening although there was alot of mosquitoes.  It's time to start thinking about packing as we prepare to leave for the Big Island.  We'll find out tomorrow if we will be able to go, but it looks like the volcano is far enough away so we should be ok.  Ralph read today that they have experienced over 1,000 earthquakes on this island this week.  That's pretty crazy.

Rain rain go away....come back another day

Today was another rainy day with flash flood warnings all around the island.  The island is so saturated with water right now that there is no place for it to go.  It's a very unusual and difficult year for the people here at Kauai.

Ralph and I were up early (4:15) eagerly anticipating some photo taking at Shipwreck beach. It wasn't supposed to rain until later in the morning so we thought it would be a good time to go.  When we got there though it had started to rain and since the location we had scouted out the day before was about a 30-40 minute walk we decided not to do it today.  We didn't want to give up so we drove a little further west to Spouting Horn where there is some interesting things to photograph as well.  We've been here a few times.

Ralph and I took turns taking pictures and we were able to get a few nice ones before the rain got too heavy.

Lava tube 

Spouting horn

Spouting horn

Afterwards we found a place for breakfast and then headed back to the hotel.  We relaxed for a few hours.  While Ralph took a nap I went out with the camera and walked to one of the beaches by our hotel.  There is still a lot of driftwood here but it's slowly being cleaned up.  It's going to take a few weeks/months before that will be completed.

At the mouth of the Wailua river

Driftwood (would look great in our garden)

Wailua River - this is mountain fed - this is where all the wood flows down during the rain storms (cattle come down these rivers as well (swept away))

Patterns in the sand

Driftwood

Wave at the shore

This morning we heard that mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii erupted and there is a major lava flow going on.  The park has been closed (most of it) and many people are being evacuated from areas near the volcano.  They also experienced a 5.4 magnitude earth quake near the volcano.   We called our hotel to see if there might be issues with our reservation and whether we needed to make other plans.  So far all is well.  We will most likely need to change our plans though as we did want to get close to see the flow.  From what we have heard all tours (boats, helicopters) are currently closed until a full assessment can be made.  Our prayers are with the people on the Big Island and hope that they are safe!!