Hawaii

I just returned from a trip I took to visit my friend Kayla in Hawaii. It was a blessing of a trip, as I had airline dollars to use up by the end of May and it was pretty much the exact amount for a plane ticket to Kona, Hawaii.

It was the most inexpensive vacation I will probably ever take. Here are a few of my highlights from the trip (many more on facebook):

-Going on a hokule’a. It was a huge honor to be given the opportunity to experience this, as it is such a historical and cultural part of the Hawaii islands. Not many native Hawaiians ever get to experience this, let alone tourists. It was amazing!
-Going to Pearl Harbor. What a humbling experience getting to witness where this disaster took place. Words cannot quite describe it.
-Going to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is usually $50 for the cheapest admission to this center, but we were fortunate enough to meet a guy who was sitting next to me on my flight who worked there and got us in for free. It was so great to be able to learn more about the Polynesians and their discoveries.
-Going snorkeling and swimming with a couple of sea turtles. While we were leaving the same beach, we stumbled upon 4 sea turtles that had crawled up the beach to take a nap. It was incredible to be able to touch their shells and see them up close. Even Chris and Kayla who both live in Hawaii, were amazed that we stumbled upon them, as they are a very endangered species.
-Going to the Volcano Nat’l Park. We were able to get close to an active volcano. It was also neat to hike through some lava rock and find the pictographs carved in some of the lava rock by the Polynesians.
-Exploring the ranch where they film the TV show "Lost" and where they also have filmed such movies as "Jurassic Park" and "Mighty Joe Young".