Aloha

 

We kicked off the summer with a trip to Hawaii with Katy's family

A 3 1/2 hour layover in Honolulu was plenty of time to head out to Pearl Harbor National Memorial

On the Big Island we stayed on the sunny Kohala coast. Time-shifted 6 hours from EDT, we rose early to enjoy the beaches before the crowds and the powerful sun. Hapuna Beach was beautiful, with Maui visible in the distance, although the waves were not big enough for Charlie and Erin.

Waialea Beach had great snorkeling with sea turtles

For our luau dinner Heather and Katy ordered outfits from Etsy

The centerpiece was kalua pig roasted in the earth

The next day we were up early to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The days of massive lava flows from Kilauea have ended, for now, and the only lava is deep inside the the Kilauea caldera and not visible from the rim. We walked the Kilauea Iki trail that traverses an eruption zone from 70 years ago.

This sign made Erin happy

This sign did not

This sign warned visitors at the Hawaii Botanical Gardens

Parts of the Big Island are tropical and dank but not where we were

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park preserves fishponds that the Hawaiians built to catch fish for the royal families. Just outside the enclosure there were dozens of small green sea turtles munching on sea grass

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park preserves the "place of refuge" for Hawaiians that committed forbidden kapu acts such as stepping on the shadow of a royal family member. Warriors would hunt the rule-breakers but if they reached this sanctuary accessible only by water then the crimes were pardoned.

First time we received Junior Ranger badges from a law enforcement ranger packing heat

Pu'ukohola Heiau completed the tongue-twister Big Island sites. It preserves the stone temple built by Kamehameha during his effort to unite the Hawaiian islands under his rule.

Spam musubi - pretty good

POG - really good

Palm frond golf - really fun

Up in the Waimea grassland hills we rode horses and this is Coffee.

Katy and Heather rode Bonnie and Clyde, brother and sister fjord horses that were inseparable

We moved to Maui, staying on the west coast in south Kihei. The surf was up and the kids had a blast.

Even Caroline got in on the wave riding

After a good thrashing on day 1, Tessie spent the rest of the time in the sand

We revisited Warren & Annabelle's magic show in Lahaina

Haleakala National Park contains the monumental volcano at Maui's core

At the top we had a full view of the west side of the Big Island

Aloha Hawaii

June 2022

Tessie finished her first season of town travel soccer

She still favors her left foot

Erin finished spring track at the Massachusetts middle school state championship meet

Coaches Joe and Dave from Waltham Track were on hand to watch their proteges 

Erin ran the mile in 6:19, well off her personal best, and had to retire from the 4x800 relay due to recurring pain in her heel from Sever's disease. She will take it easy this summer to recover for XC in the fall.

Tessie finished her spring track season in the 9-10 age bracket and excelled in long jump and the 100-200

Breakdown of living room shoe collection: Tessie 14, Erin 7, Caroline 4, Heather 5, Dave 1 

We started a deck project to replace the aging shade deck

We continued lessons to teach our girls to play cards with real people

Summer picnic around the solstice

For Juneteenth weekend Dave and the girls traveled to DC to see sisters and cousins

Peter cooked up a feast at the beach and the kids played hours of beach volleyball

The next weekend was Caroline and Erin's weeklong Appalachian Mountain Club hiking camp

5 days of alpine hiking and staying in the AMC high huts of the White Mountains

Even though temps at the bottom were in the 80s, the summit of Mt. Washington did not disappoint for its reputation for fierce weather. Winds while they were there were sustained at 60 mph and gusting to 70 mph with a temp of 38F and wind-chill of 22F. The weekend before a solo hiker had gotten caught in a snow squall beneath the summit and despite radioing for help he died from exposure. 

We were home for the 4th of July and enjoyed the surprisingly good local Lexington firework display