Hawaii, Day 6, Part II, Akaka Falls

Ak-ak-ak Falls as Doug and the kids jokingly called it was amazingly amazing. Doug commented that he had been all over the world and that the foliage here was the most lush he had ever seen.

He was sweet enough to chase the boy while I indulged in picture taking.  Did I mention I took around 1500 photos this trip?  Yeah. 

Everywhere you looked there was a flower peeking out.

Jacob even found some "na-nas".

Said "na-nas".

To get to the falls, you have to walk down quite a few stairs.  Definitely worth the trip...

~Another fiddlehead~

I mentioned that there were a lot of stairs going down, which of course meant there were a lot of stairs going back up as well.   Doug's knee had been bothering him but he managed to carry Jacob back up to the car.  When we got home, he had an MRI done and we learned that his ACL is completely torn.  He's so nonchalant about these kinds of things.  Believe me if I had a torn ACL, everyone would be hearing about it...loudly and often.

Hawaii, Day 6, Part I, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a bit of an "Earth Sciences" fan. So, the main attraction I wanted to visit all week long was the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I couldn't wait to get there. It was worth the wait...so spectacular, desolate, primordial, and inspiring, all at the same time.

My little picture takers, it must be genetic. 

Baby on the loose...

~Entrance to the the Thurston lava tube~

It was wet and a little muddy inside.  Jacob insisted on walking, got his shoe stuck in some mud, and walked right out of it.  We looked down and he had one super muddy little foot.  We had to backtrack in the dark and find his sandal.  Afterwards, Daddy got him cleaned up while the girls and I took more pictures.

I loved these fiddlehead ferns and couldn't get enough.  I'll try not to subject you to all of my pictures of them but you have to see at least a few.

I couldn't help but think of Jeff Goldblum's line from Jurassic Park when I saw this flower.  "Life always finds a way."

We were unable to drive past this sign and continued on foot to get to the end of the road, which had been covered with lava during an eruption.

The walk turned out to be longer than the girls were expecting it to be.  Anna started falling further and further behind.  It could have had something to do with the fact that this was the last stop and Doug promised them a trip to the gift shop afterwards.

Doug and the kids gave up and headed back for the car but I continued on to the end.

"Road closed".  No kidding!

When you look at the lava from a distance, it appears all black but it is actually beautifully multi-colored when you take a closer look!

~More "life" sprouting from the rock~

~Beautiful sea arch along the trail to the end of the road.~

I loved the patterns in the lava.