The Goodrums

Michael has made several trips to Hawaii for work in 2008 and 2009. We decided that I would try to tag along on one so that we could tackle Mauna Kea, highpoint #24.

Michael left for Hawaii on June 15 and worked for a week in both Kauai and Oahu before I arrived. I flew in over the weekend (Saturday) and we were able to go see some of Oahu over the weekend. We drove to the North Shore on Saturday and celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by hiking the Diamondhead on Sunday (and having one of the best dinners of my life at Roy's).

















Along the North Shore                                             From the top of the Diamondhead

Michael worked from Monday through Thursday morning and I had the most relaxing vacation that I can recall. I packed up my beach bag and went to the beach to read a book all day. I did go see the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor) one day. But otherwise, I just relaxed. It was great.

















USS Arizona Memorial

Once Michael finished work on Thursday, we flew to the Big Island. We stayed at a beautiful resort on the Kona side of the island.

On Friday, we decided to tackle highpoint #24. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to hike Mauna Kea. There is a road to the top. However, everything said you needed a four wheel drive car to get to the top and we had a Toyota Corolla. So we decided to do the 6.5 mile, 5000 ft vertical one-way hike from the visitor's center to the top. What they didn't tell you is that the trail is scree and sand the entire way. You take one step and slide halfway back down. There is no scenery and no wildlife (aside from the wolf spider that was aggressively attacking Michael's foot at one point). And it misted and fogged all the way up the mountain. By the time we were heading down, we were completely drenched, cold and miserable. Thankfully some good folks who worked at one of the observatories on top gave us a ride down - upon which we discovered that Michael totally could have gotten that Corolla up that road. Ugh.

















At the top of Mauna Kea

When we finished the hike, we drove around the Hilo side of the island and took the northern route back to the resort. There are a number of beautiful gorges and waterfalls. The scenery is such a contrast to the southern part of the island, which is largely lava fields and fairly barren.

















Rainbow Falls outside Hilo

On Saturday, we spent the morning at the beach and then explored a valley on the north side of the island. We then drove around the southern tip of the island toward Volcanos National Park. We stopped at a green sand and black sand beach along the way. We didn't make it to the actual park until late in the day, but we managed to go hike quickly through a lava tube and see the active volcano before the sun set. (My lungs did not get along with the volcano and I came home with a nice respiratory infection). We ate dinner at the restaurant in the park and got to see the volcano glow pretty brightly at one point during our dinner.






















Waipaio Valley                                     Michael on a green sand beach

















Black sand beach

On Sunday, we relaxed at the beach in the morning and snorkeled at the cove where our resort was located. We saw a few sea turtles and several fun fish. In the afternoon, we drove to another valley overlook and then took a route through the mountains and the central part of the island back to the airport.

We had overnight flights (on two separate airlines at that) and made it home to Denver mid day on Monday. A nice restful vacation ended with sleep deprivation makes for a hard transition back!

You can see the full Hawaii picture album here.