Trolls in Hawaii - Paradise Post 4

Field of cooled lava

Day 2 on the island of Hawaii and the Trolls start the day back at the Volcanoes National Park with a helicopter tour scheduled for the afternoon.

Lil Dude Troll in a small cooled lava tube

There were many mini-lava tubes. These are a little dangerous
if you step on them and they break as the lava rocks can
be very sharp and will easily cut you if you are not careful.

Pu'u Loa (Hill of Long Life) is in the ancient land division of
Ahupua'a on the southern flank of the Kilauea volcano in
the National Park. It is considered a sacred place. There are
over 23,000 petroglyphs pecked into the hardened lava.

The petroglyphs consists of various types of circles or cupules.

There are also other geometric and cryptic designs, canoes with
sails, feathered capes and human representations known as
anthropomorphs.

Lava fields just a few years old will already have grasses
starting to grow.  And more land is added to the island.

An early afternoon helicopter tour of the island is well worth the
cost as the Trolls were able to see flowing, red-hot lava, towns
which had been wiped out by lava flows, large waterfalls not
accessible by the general public because they are on private
land and miles upon miles of the beautiful coastline.

If you have problems with motion sickness, be sure to take some
medicine for it. The helicopters come with air sickness bags
for a reason.

Trolls in Hawaii - Paradise Post 3

Lil Dude was a big hit in Hawaii!

After 4 wonderful days on Oahu and having fully recovered from jet lag and the time difference, it was time to board an Hawaiian Airlines flight and hop over to "The Big Island" (Hawaii) for 5 days of exploring all this amazing island has to offer.

The island of Hawaii is the largest of the 8 main Hawaiian islands. It was formed by the eruptions of 5 volcanoes. Two of them, Mauna Loa and Kilauea are still active. The island continues to grow as the erupting lava flows into the ocean.

Monet Troll in the terminal waiting for our flight

After landing in Hilo, picking up the rental car & stopping for
lunch, the Trolls checked into the Bamboo Orchid Cottage B&B
in the little town of Volcano on the edge of the Volcanoes National Park

Located in the rain forest, the B&B was a wonderful place to
stay. The "Enchanted Forest Studio" cottage was excellent!

The Trolls had a large, private balcony with the rain forest
ferns gently swaying in the breeze close enough to touch. The
balcony was perfect for having a cup of fresh brewed Kona
coffee  every morning. Perfect way to start the day!

The bed was deliciously comfortable. The Trolls turned on the
heater and left the balcony sliding door open to hear the
gentle rain that fell every night. Believe it or not, it was
a bit cold at night!

Our host Kathy was super friendly and the breakfasts she 
served every morning was delicious. The Trolls highly 
recommend this wonderful bed & breakfast!

The entrance to Volcanoes National Park is just 1 mile from
the town of Volcano

A trip to the visitor center is recommended before touring
the park

Volcanic steam vents are all over the park. Be careful getting
close to them as the sulfur smell can be very strong and yucky! 

Walk through the  interesting Thurston Fern Forest to get to 
a long lava tube to walk through 

Kilauea caldera and Halema'uma'u crater (the home
of Pele, Goddess of Hawaiian volcanoes)

This was considered a sacred place by ancient Hawaiians.
Native Hawaiians still honor and practice their traditions here.

Touring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is amazing. Seeing
active volcanoes in person is simply an awesome experience.

Trolls in Hawaii - Paradise Post 2

Day 2 of the Troll's great adventure in Paradise began rather early with breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. No pictures there because they all were still tired and a bit disoriented due to jet lag, plus they all had just washed their hair and couldn't do a thing with it!

A vote was taken and it was unanimously approved to take the whole day and lay on the beautiful beach, take a nap or two, and just walk around checking out this beautiful hotel. It takes at least a day to recover from 9 hours of flights and a 4 hour time difference. The decision to lay around for a day was not regretted.

The morning of the 3rd day began with breakfast at a nearby Denny's (the food was just as good as the hotel's and less than 1/2 the price!). Then into the car everyone jumped and headed off for the North Shore and a road trip around the eastern half of Oahu.

After traveling up H2 to Kamehameha Highway, the trolls had
to stop in Haleiwa for a shaved ice at the famous
Matsumoto store. Yummy!

Arriving at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach or "King's Beach" on the
north shore of Oahu. The Wai'anae Mountains are
in the background. 

On Haleiwa Ali'i Beach, where the TV episodes of
Baywatch Hawaii were filmed

On the famous Waimea Bay beach, world famous for
"Big Wave" surfing. Was made famous in the 1964 movie
"Ride The Wild Surf" and one of the settings of the TV
show "Lost"

At Puu O Mahuka Heiau, an ancient sacred temple site
from the early 1600's where wives of the chiefs gave birth and
human sacrifices were conducted.

Entrance to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Over
13,000 soldiers and sailors who died during WWII are buried here.

Looking at Honolulu from the rim of the "Punchbowl" crater.

Trolls in Hawaii - Paradise Post 1

The Troll family traveled to Hawaii and spent 11 days in Paradise! It was a long trip from their home in Arkansas and the first day of jet lag was a real challenge, but oh so worth it!

Trolls landed at Honolulu International Airport

Landing in Honolulu International Airport, after gathering their luggage and picking up the rental car, it was an exciting drive to the Ko Olina Resort & Marina on Oahu's western shore where they checked into the Ihilani Resort & Spa hotel. Nice! Big room with a large private veranda overlooking the ocean provided a luxurious base from which to explore the rest of the island over the next 4 days.

Will head up to the North Shore to see the sights after resting up for the rest of the first day in Paradise. Stay tuned!

Lil Dude Troll on the veranda of the  Ihilani Resort & Spa

On the private beach of the Ihilani Resort & Spa Hotel