Incandescence

Sunday we had another beach day. We went to this black sand beach. The beach itself was pretty neat, it was down a narrow dirt road, tucked between sheer rocks and rocky beaches. The water wasn't very inviting, however, because someone informed us soon after we arrived that a jellyfish had been spotted in the water. It was a partly-cloudy day so it wasn't too warm, meaning it was a good beach to relax and read a book at, not swim or snorkel. In the evening we went down to the park across the road from our condo to watch the sunset. On Monday, our last day, we had to be out of the condo by 11, so we went for a quick swim down at the beach across the street from our condo, cleaned up, then went for brunch at Moose McGillycuddy's . It was a warm, sunny day so after our meal we went down to the beach in Kihea to watch some beginner surfers and soak up as much sunshine as possible. We stopped at a bird sanctuary to walk a boardwalk to kill time, but I opted f...

I've decided to create a list of things I want to do/and or see this summer. I feel like growing up we usually did the same things--dip netting at the Copper River, fishing down at Valdez in the fall, hikes around the Glacier View area, and, while these are all fantastic, there are a few things I have always wanted to do and so this summer it is time to stop wanting to do them and actually do them. 1] Thunderbird Falls: Any time we drove into Anchorage as a child I wondered about this place. I've always loved waterfalls, so this sounded really fantastic to me. I have never been there so this summer it is time to cross it off my list! 2] Eagle and Symphony Lakes: I did this walk/hike last summer and it is a gorgeous, about seven miles each way. The scenery can't be beat as you hike in the valley between mountains. 3] Hidden Lake: out at Glacier View, this is a hike I've only done once before. It's a pretty easy hike and worth the effort. 4] Chena Hot Springs:...

Just when you think I'm done with Hawaii I come back with part three. I knew by about our third day on Maui that I prefer it to Oahu. Don't get me wrong, Oahu will always be special because of the memories I made there right after college; however, Maui is bigger, less populous, and has some really amazing natural sights that I either just didn't get to see while on Oahu. Nakalele Blowhole On Friday we went to the beach and then in the afternoon we went down to Nakalele Blowhole. I could have sat and watched for hours, and took a ridiculous amount of pictures. And according to a guy we spoke with, this wasn't even that big, sometimes the water can go upwards of 75 feet! It wasn't just the water, or the rainbows, even though those were both gorgeous, it was also the sound, that was incredible. If you go to Maui, make sure to go to the blowhole! After the blowhole, we continued around the western part of the island. The drive was incredible. It was also a li...