Hawaii 2012 - Day 4, Part 2

Day 4, Part 2 - So looking back on all the pictures, we actually had a VERY long and eventful day on day 4.  The Botanical Garden was so pretty and we enjoyed being out of the rain forest that surrounds the Volcano area and soaked in the warm beach weather that day.  We also made a stop at the Pan'ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo (it was free and had an awesome playground....we were sold!)  The girls loved playing outside for awhile and worked up a sweat.  Matt enjoyed the white Bengal tiger and even got attacked by a peacock walking around......good times.

After the zoo, we went home and the girls enjoyed "exploring" in the back yard and picking flowers.  This was one of the highlights for Natalie on the entire trip.....go figure. 

 

 

 

One of the great things about having Lisa on the trip was that Matt and I were able to go on a couple of dates (this was our 10 year anniversary trip after all) while we were on vacation.  We decided to go out to eat at Kileaua Lodge which is a very nice restaurant that we had gone to for our 5 year anniversary trip.  It was very special to us and we even got seated at the same spot!   

Hawaii 2012 - Day 4, Part 1

Day 4 - We decided to go into Hilo and experience the Tropical Botanical Garden. It was a beautiful treat and had lots of great picture ops. We took way too many pictures and I've only pulled some that I thought rounded out the experience.

 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawaii 2012 - Day 3

Day 3 - Natalie wanted to see "red lava" so when planning the trip, we decided to rent a home near Volcano National Park for the next 3 days.  It was a beautiful, peaceful 3 bedroom home with a hot tub in Volcano Village and we just enjoyed it so much.  Although it rained ALL DAY long, we still had alot of fun exploring the park. Currently, part of the park was closed so we decided to drive the Chain of Craters road all the way down to the ocean. It was pretty windy but it finally stopped raining long enough to take some pics. 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the house for lunch and naps.  Matt and Natalie enjoyed the hot tub and Lisa and I went back to the park to do some additional hiking.  Afterwards, we all went back to walk thru Thurston Lava tube and to see the glow of the red lava.

 

Hawaii 2012 - Day 2

Day 2 - we (the girls and myself) woke up around 4am and got a bath to wash off travel grungies and keep them entertained for awhile.  They had lots of fun cleaning each other up.... 

Next Lisa and I took the girls down to see the beach (that was their first) and Natalie loved it and Rachel hated it.
After a yummy breakfast at the hotel, we got in our swimsuits and hit the beach with Dad.  It was lots of fun until we were overrun with about a hundred canoes.  We finally decided to head to the pool which Rachel was thrilled about.

After naps, we packed up and left Kona and headed south towards the Place of Refuge. We stopped at a roadside cafe that had geckos and parrots running around which of course is entertaining for kids. Natalie and Rachel liked it too. 

 

 

There were also lovely views....ahhhhh.  The bird's name was Chopper.  We liked that the owner and the bird looked similar. ha!

  

After lunch, we stopped at Place of Refuge. It had some cool stuff to look at and the scenery was just beautiful.  We were getting tired after that and headed on towards our rental house in Volcano Village.  We would be staying there the next 3 nights while on the Big Island.