Hawaii Day 4

You'd think that after a busy few months, we'd spend the first days in the Islands relaxing and sunning by the beach.

Yeah.  Right.

My Uncle and Auntie spent the night with us in our cabin, and the next morning we went for a 3 mile walk on a nearby trail.

There was lots of interesting scenery.

I love being with my family.  We have so much fun teasing and laughing and trading very bad jokes.  I snapped this picture of my Mum and added my favorite life motto:

After that we visited the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.  It was an unbelievably beautiful place, nestled right next to the Ko'olau Mountains on the Windward side of the island.



One thing that I especially liked was that most of the plants were labeled so we could learn what they were.  My Uncle demonstrated the proper use for the Lipstick Bush.

We even saw some unusual wildlife.



The kids had a lot of fun climbing in the banyan and rubber trees, which are the best climbing trees in the world. 

 

 

Things are rarely dry for long on the Windward side, and today was no exception.  We all got quite soaked by the time we got back to the cars.  It never rains for more than 5 minutes, but it can be an intense 5 minutes.

Ella stayed nice and dry and cozy in her Mai Tai sling next to her Grammy.

After two hikes we were very hungry, so we tracked down the nearest Korean place for some ono ("tasty") food.

Bi bim bap is a taste of heaven served up on a plastic carton.  It's fresh vegetables on a bed of sticky white rice and topped with an egg and a side of hot sauce. 

Absolutely. Amazing.

We finished off a perfect day with a perfect evening on the beach in front of the cabin.