The kids were up at 5:30 this morning which is kind of typical because we are two hours ahead of Hawaii time. So, I got up with them and let Dave sleep a little longer. Yesterday, Olivia started referring to Owen and Dave as "the boys" out of the blue which was funny to me all on its own. But, first thing after she got up this morning she looked around and asked, "where's dat udder boy". It took me a minute and then I asked her if she meant her dad and she said "yes!". Cracked me up!!
We were packing up to visit A-Bay first thing this morning, but, while Dave and I were loading the car, the wind started blowing and it got really cold. So, we decided to change gears and do a road trip north. By the time we got loaded, it had warmed up and we were regretting our change in plans!!! But, decided to fiollow through.
Our first stop was Spencer Beach. Shawn recommended it, she thought it would be great for the kids. It is a beautiful beach, but, all the bathrooms are out of order and it seems the homeless have claimed it as their own since Shawn was there in January.
Just above the beach is the Pu'ukohola Heiau visitors center. It has a walking trail that loops past a temple built in 1790 by King Kamehameha. He literally had 10,000 to 20,000 people stand side by side to pass the rocks, used to make the temple, between Polou Valley and Pu'ukohola. Crazy huh!
We headed on to Pololu Valley and decided to do the hike down to this amazingly beautiful black sand beach, 400 vertical feet below. It was so steep we had to carry Liv all the way down and at 85 degrees, that was a chore!!
This gives some perspective on how steep the trail was...I was super glad it hadn't rained recently, I imagine the trip down is a fast one when this is muddy!!
The view on the way down makes the whole thing bearable though!!
This shot is looking back into the valley as you descend down the last bit of the trail. Pretty amazing in its own right!
We did some exploring on the black sand beach, but, we were in no position to check things out like we wanted. We would have liked to play in the water and cross the little channel that split the beach. But, we didn't bring a towel and there was no way of playing and still getting our shoes back on without filling them up with sand. Not a pleasant proposition considering the hike back up the hill that loomed in front of us. We also could have used some water and a snack, whoops!! Not like us Alaskans to be caught so unprepared! Owen did bring his magnifying glass as you can see him using below....ummm, did we really haul that all the way from Alaska and down a mountain? Little boys are so weird!
Check out this super huge log swing someone took the time to build!! It blended in until I'm not sure we would have seen it had another family not been playing on it on our way by!!
Although it was steep, the way back up actually seemed a whole lot easier than the way down when gravity wasn't trying to help you along! In fact, Liv Bug actually walked more than the last 1/3 on her own...thankfully!!
We were pretty pooped out, but, decided to make one last stop at Lapakahi State Historical Park to walk the trail down to the water past what remains of an old Hawaiian village.
That was all we could handle for the day so we spent some time at the pool and called it good!
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