As is always the case, vacations go by WAY too quickly, so here we are on the last full day of our trip. Today’s event is Snuba for Nick and Sam (unfortunately, Joey doesn’t make the cutoff for this one). Snuba is a bit like scuba, where you have weight to help you dive down and a regulator to let you breath, but the tank stays in a raft on the surface, connected by a long hose to the diver. We figure it is a good intro to diving and will give the kids a chance to see how they like being under the water.

Our scheduled time is 2:30, so while we are waiting, we decide to stop at Magic Sands beach. The boys do the usual, and Sam does his best Grandpa Terry impression, deciding it is a good idea to wear his goggles into the surf and having them ripped off his head (they all actually wear them in, just Sam is the lucky one to lose his). Fortunately, the water is fairly crowded and someone finds them in the surf.

At 2:30 we move to the beach where the Snuba is and the kids go through their briefing and get all geared up. They practice for a few minutes in a sheltered area, and then head out onto the reef. We can see the little raft with the air tank on the surface so we know roughly where they are, but for the next 30 minutes, they are 20 feet down. When they get back to the beach, the instructors tells us they did great, and both of them said it was awesome.

Since it is our last night in Hawaii, we let the boys pick the restaurant for a farewell dinner and have a nice meal overlooking the water and the sunset. It is movie night back at the hotel (How to Train Your Dragon), so we pick up a shave ice for dessert and get back just in time.

Our flight tomorrow leaves at 2:00, so we are going to try and get up early one more time to spend a few final hours at the beach. We’ll see how that goes.

For the second day in a row, we are up and out of the hotel by 7:30 (give it up for Ang as this is a new record). As we are heading to the other side of the island to see the volcano again, we added a side trip to go on zip lines through the rainforest. Sam really, really wanted to go on a zip line while he was here, so this one’s to make his wish come true (the first time we were at the volcano, they all threw pennies into one of the steam vents and made a wish).

After the two hour drive along the coast, we arrive at our destination and get a whole set of pleasant surprises. The first is that the guides agree to take Joey (the normal cutoff is 70 pounds, so we planned on he and Ang having to sit out). Second, as the first group of the day they knock a third off the price. And to top it all off, we are the only ones in our time slot, so it ends up being a private tour 🙂

There are a total of 7 zip lines, but two in particular stand out as the boys’ favorites. On the sixth one, once strapped to the line, you run right to the edge of the canyon and jump off into space, flying about 100 feet over a river and waterfall. Then on the seventh, there are a pair of cables where two people race each other.

Our next stop of the day is down the coast, where heat from the volcano has created a number of natural hot pools. The one we end up at is connected to the ocean, so also has a number of fish swimming around. The kids gear up and snorkel for the next couple of hours, free diving to the bottom (even Joey) to see who can bring up the biggest lava rock. The long drive is quickly forgotten as by the time comes to leave, they are asking if we can come back tomorrow.

As it is getting close to sunset, it is time to head to the viewing area for the volcano. We park as close in as we can, then get all geared up for a walk across the lava (the books all recommend long pants, close-toed shoes, and a flashlight). The viewing area is outside the national park, right near a small town (or what used to be a small town) that was overrun by the lava about 15 years ago. A few people have since rebuilt, so there is a paved road now, making the trek no more difficult than walking down the street.

As darkness falls, we are able to see some lava flowing up to the surface, and from time to time, a bush burst into flames. Its pretty cool to see a live volcano, but a little more action would have kicked the experience up a notch. It turns out that on Thursday a new crack opened up near where we are standing and has filled a depression about 30 acres in size in that short time. What was the viewing area two days ago, now sits under 8 feet of new ground.

The crazy thing is that after the park ranger told us there was nothing to see at the viewing area on Thursday, Nick’s wish at the steam vent was for it get more active. His wish came true that very night as the lava broke out, and unfortunately, had we driven down that night anyway, we would have been able to see much more lava on the surface. Still, as I’m 40 and seeing my first live volcano, I can’t feel too sorry that my 10 year old son is seeing a live volcano, but that its not as explosive as what they show on the Discovery channel.

The catch to the fun we had today is that once it is all over, there is still a two and a half hour drive back to the other side of the island and our hotel. The kids sleep through most of it (and from time to time I am tempted to pin them), so as long drives go, it is pretty quiet and uneventful.

We start off early today as our trip back out on the water starts at 7:30. After seeing them all handle the manta trip without any problems, all the kids are signed up for this one, and Ang is so excited she’s like bringing a fourth child along. The water is quite a bit calmer than it was a few days ago which is good as we end up finding a pod of spinner dolphins further offshore than normal.

The general plan for swimming with dolphins is to find a pod, drive the boat ahead of them, jump in the water, and swim along with them as they pass on by. Once they are gone, everyone piles back in the boat and the process starts all over again. The guides tell us that if they are in a particularly playful mood they will stick around and interact with people a bit, but I think that is by far the exception rather than the rule.

The first few passes go pretty much as planned. As we get in the water and look down, about 20 dolphins stream underneath us. Nick and Sam take off on their own to keep up with them as long as they can, while Joey and I join forces to put the power of four flippers to work. In just a few minutes though, the dolphins have left us behind, so its back to the boat.

After a few turns with the first pod, the captain gets word of another, larger group a bit further up the coast, so we have some snacks while he heads off to find them. We find them in a big bay and jump in the water for what will be the best pass of the day. The videographer from the manta trip is with us again and she takes Ang with her this time to try and get her extra close. The bay is much shallower (about 30 feet) and the dolphins are moving much slower, so on this occasion, the pass right by us on either side, and kicking hard, we are even able to keep up with them for awhile.

This pod is heading south towards the harbor, so we stay with them and take a few more turns swimming with them as we head back, but none are as good as the first one, and soon our time is up. We get back to shore right around lunch, and after a quick bite, drive up to a beach one of the guides on the boat told us about. It is a little off the beaten path, and not in any of the books we have, but he says it is where the locals go, and is much closer than the resort beaches further north.

As has become the norm, the kids build sandcastles and play in the surf for hours. As the sun starts to set and the temperature drops, we are one of a rapidly dwindling number of people left, and they still want to stay longer. We have plans to drive back to the volcano tomorrow (a couple we talk to over lunch told us they were there on Friday and were able to see lava flowing so we figure it is worth another try), and will need to be on the road early, so we pry them away nonetheless and set off for the hotel.

The Tour de France may look hard, but vacationing with three young boys is no piece of cake either, so just like the pros, we need rest days too. Given that, not much to report for today. Morning at the pool. Afternoon at Snorkel Beach (which we now call Turtle Beach, since it is the only place we have seen turtles). Dinner at L&L (which does not thrill Ang).

Following on last night’s manta trip, we also booked a return engagement with the tour company we used (Sunshine on the Water) for a dolphin swim tomorrow morning. Just as mantas were on my bucket list, swimming with dolphins in at the top of Ang’s, so she’s been a little giddy today.

After arriving back at the hotel fairly late in the evening, things get moving a little slower than usual in this morning. We don’t have any real plans to start the day, so after breakfast, the kids head down to the pool, and I soon join them for a little Kindle time. By 11:00 though, we are recharged and ready to hit the road – which road is still to be determined.

As I mentioned earlier, swimming with manta rays is a big deal here, and is something on my bucket list, so we decide to call around and see what our options are there. There is a boat the leaves from a dock about 100 yards from our hotel and takes you back pretty much those same 100 yards to snorkel with the mantas right in front of the balcony we watched them from a few nights back. On principle, I have a hard time $100 a person for that little of an effort, so we end up booking with a boat from the main harbor in town under the theory that a sunset ride up the coast will be a nice bonus.

With that out of the way, we have most of the afternoon free, so head north to the resort part of the island where the big beaches are. Driving there, we’re reminded just how much bigger this island is than the others, as what looks fairly close on the map, turns out to be almost 40 minutes away. As promised, the beach is amazing. Wide, sandy, and with waves just the right size for the kids to body surf, it is an easy (ok, very easy) place to spend a few hours. Joey gets braver every day here, and holds his own with his bigger brothers, getting swamped by a wave, only to pop back up a few seconds later and run back in for another go.

On beach days, the boys invariably end up playing a game where they each build a sand fortress just above the surf line (complete with walls, moats and outpost towers) and see whose can survive the longest when the big waves come in from time to time. They can do this all day, so when it is time to go, no one wants to leave. We have a schedule to keep though (the boat won’t wait around for us), so we pile back in the car and drive south the harbor.

Now while hanging out by the pool and relaxing at the beach makes for a good day, it is the night that really takes the cake. Snorkeling with mantas is phenomenal, and easily one of the top 5 things I have ever done. It starts with a 30 mine ride to the site, where the guides talk about mantas and what to expect in the water. Our original plan was for Sam and Joey to stay in the boat, figuring they were a little small for night swimming, but they want to go, and the guides assure us they will be fine, so when darkness falls, everyone jumps in the water.

While its possible to see manta rays during the day, night works the best, as bright lights attract plankton, which in turn attract the mantas that feed on them. The set up here is for all the snorkelers to hold on to a floating ring and shine their flashlights down to bottom, while divers kneel on the ocean floor (about 30 feet down) and shine their lights toward the surface. This creates a concentrated column of light chock full of planktony goodness.

Almost immediately, we see the mantas. These one are medium sized – about 8 feet from wingtip to wingtip, and as you bob along the surface, they come right at you, mouth wide open, scooping in as much food as they can. As they pass through the light column, they arc backwards toward the surface to get ready for another pass which brings their belly literally within inches of yours. Its almost hypnotic to watch a wild animal this big (about 800 pounds) glide through the water repeating this process over and over again, and you lose all track of time.

All the boys do great. For their first time in rougher waters, at night, with something ten times their size bearing down on them, they were amazing. Seeing nature this close up changes you, so to be able to watch them have that experience so young adds an extra layer of awesome for Ang and I.

We don’t have any underwater gear with us to take pictures, but along with our group is a videographer that records the whole thing and I’m sure does a much better job than we could have done, so we order up a copy and will pick it up in a few days once she has had time to splice it all together.

Road trip today over to the other side of the island. On a map it doesn’t look to far, but there aren’t a whole lot of roads (and even fewer that are straight) on an island made up of two volcanoes, so there’s easily two hours of drive time between our hotel and our first stop of Hilo. Going over the pass between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea is marginally faster than driving around the coast, so even though the car rental companies frown on it, we head up and over. Hilo is one of the rainiest cities in the US (yes, even worse than Seattle), so we don’t have high hopes for the weather, but to our pleasant surprise, it is as sunny and clear as Kona.

There isn’t actually much that we want to see in Hilo, so we stop primarily to grab some lunch (and for Nick to try some rambutans at a local market). From a fairly small handful of choices, the kids picked Mexican, and we sat down to is easily the worst burritos we have ever eaten. The rice was clearly scraped from the bottom of a pot sitting on a stove for at least two days. I felt like I had an eating disorder, chewing mouthfuls of food a few times before spitting them back into a napkin rather than trying to swallow. To rub a little extra salt in the wound, two blocks down the street we saw another Mexican restaurant that was packed 🙁

After lunch, we headed north about fifteen miles to see another of the places from Nick’s report, Akaka Falls. These are the highest falls in Hawaii, and have been something the kids have asked about since we got here (I think more because the like to say Akaka Falls than because they actually care that much about seeing them). It is a small hike from the parking lot to the actual falls, and they are quite impressive, but looking at them, its hard not to see the difference between seeing something like this in the US versus a country like Thailand. Overseas, we would have hiked right down to the bottom of the falls and swam right up to them. Here, the closest you can get is a fenced overlook about 300 yards away. I’m guessing at some point there was a trail to the bottom that someone twisted an ankle on before suing the state, so now, this is as good as it gets.

Now what we really came to see here was the volcano, and according to all that we have read, the best time to see it is when it gets dark, so after the falls, we head south to the national park where it is located, figuring we could see some things like the lava tube and steam vents while it still light.

When we arrive at the park, the first place we stop is the information center, which has a few displays about volcanoes and the native flora and fauna of Hawaii. There is also a pretty interesting video that talks about how the islands were formed that we take some time to watch. This is also the place to stop and find out where the can be best viewed from on that particular day. Sadly, the news on that front is not good, as the park ranger tells us where we can see some activity, but aside being another hour away (partly going back the way we just came), he tells us we’ll be lucky if we can even see some glow, much less actual lava or the explosions that occur when it hits the ocean. After coming this far (not just the two and a half hour drive, but the 2,500 mile flight), it is not what we really wanted to hear.

Nevertheless, things are what they are, so we try to make the best of it. We drive to the lava tube and walk the full length (props to Ang who didn’t even freak out much when we turned off the flashlights), visit the steam vents, hike up to the caldera, and in the last moments of daylight, walk to a spot where sulphur is coming out of the mountain, which the kids have dubbed “the wall of farts.”

If there a silver lining in not seeing the lava, its that we get back to the hotel much sooner that we expected. We stop for dinner at local chain called L&L Barbeque, and for $30, get a dinner that could probably feed 12. It includes short ribs for Nick, fried shrimp for Sam, and chicken fingers for Joey, so they boys think it is pretty much the best meal ever.

We decided to mix it up a little today (from our regular regimen of morning at the pool, afternoon snorkeling) and spend some time in the nearby town of Kailua. We breezed through a few days ago on our way to Boss Frog’s, so found our way much more quickly the second time around and parked the car in a lot with a small market set up. Of course that made the first order of business to poke around the stalls and see what kind of trinkets the kids could find (or at least that’s the spin Ang put on it so she could be the martyr having to help them shop).

In several of the stalls they were selling fresh fruit, including coconuts, which the boys deemed a must have. Having never seen a coconut other than at the supermarket, it was quite the novelty to see the top hacked off and a straw stuck down the center to drink the liquid inside. Nick was also fascinated by the starfruit, so picked up a bag of those (which he loves), a few of the obligatory pineapples, and a couple of mangoes the size of a small child.

The next hour or so we spent jut walking through town. It turns out there really isn’t a whole lot to see unless you are desperately seeking a coconut shell bra or Quicksilver t-shirt (although the boys did find a shirt the wanted to buy for Grandpa with a dog skeleton and “In dog year’s I’m dead” emblazoned on the front), so after a quick lunch (kudos to Nick for going local and trying the Loco Moco) and dessert of shave ice we decide to head a few miles down the road to a beach we read about in one of our books.

Unlike the “beaches” we have been to so far, Magic Sands beach is much more in tune with what we envision a beach to be. It’s not that big, but what is there is powdery sand with regular waves rolling up on the shore. With the temperature hovering around 80 degrees, it is the perfect place to cop a squat for the afternoon.

The boys quickly hit the surf, and after getting wiped off their feet a few times, start to get the hang of getting through the waves and out to where they can try body surfing (Joey stays a little closer to shore, but has a blast jumping over the incoming waves and throwing his hands in the air like a rock star every time a big one comes in that fails to knock him over). I still remember learning to body surf the hard way on my first trip to Hawaii, and after getting tossed around like a rag in the washing machine, sympathize when they come out of the water for a break, covered in sand and looking like sugar cookies. Before the after is out, they will both catch a few waves, which has them feeling pretty good about themselves, and Nick will take on a monster that beats him down pretty hard on the sand.

All in all, it was a good day, and by the time we get back to the hotel, we’re a pretty tired crew. The plan tomorrow is to head out early for the other side of the island (about a two hour drive), so the kids wind down with a little TV and its lights out.

True to our plan, we set out this morning to the beach we tried snorkeling at yesterday. It was definitely calmer when we arrived, but the waves were still quite high, making entry into the water a bit interesting (when I say beach I use the term pretty loosely, as instead of nice white sand, think baseball sized lava rocks). I finally manage to get past the surf line with Nick where he excitedly puts his head in the water to see…..sand. We kick around a bit, but in every direction there is nothing but flat sandy bottom, with only the odd, clearly lost, fish swimming by.

The water is fairly clear, and our books tell us there are things to see here, so we’re not ready to give up. There are a handful of boats anchored at the far end of the bay, so we go cross country to see if we can walk down that far (we can’t). Finally, trying again from the beach with Sam, we find a direction that takes us to a small reef. Not one for subtlety, as we return to the beach, he let’s Nick know that he saw all kinds of fish when he went.

While this location proves to be less than stellar, we do get advice from a few local people about a spot a few miles down the road where there are much better reefs and the water is calm enough that Joey can get in as well. It does not disappoint, as right off the rocks where you enter the water (again, no sand, just lava rocks) there is healthy reef and clusters of tropical fish. For the kids, this is the best place ever and they snorkel for hours, before finally wearing both Ang and I down to the point we just can’t go anymore. When he’s not in the water, Joey goes from tide pool to tide pool counting up all the fish (240), shrimp (70) and crabs (6) that he sees.
(10

Back at the hotel, it’s movie night, on a big inflatable screen they set up near the pool. They are playing Prince of Persia, so we spend the next couple of hours parked there before turning in for the night.

The first few days here we have stayed pretty low key. As part of getting ready for the trip, we asked the boys to do some research on Hawaii and put together a report to give them some ideas on things they wanted to see and do. Nick wrote about a place called Snorkel Beach which is right near our hotel, so after some pool time we headed out to go there. At the airport, we had picked up a few “things to do” magazines and in one of them found an ad for snorkel gear rentals at a place called Boss Frog’s. At $9/week and a 2 for 1 offer it seemed reasonable, so we headed into town.

Now if you work in a store serving tourists, there can’t be a better sight than a pair of pasty white parents with three kids in tow coming your way. We ask about rental gear and the clerk shows us their basic set up for $20/week, something a bit sexier for $30/week, and just in case anyone needs corrective lenses, they have those too for $35/week.

“What happened to the $9/week in the ad?”, we ask.

“Ah, yes, that is for this set right here,” the clerk tells us, pointing to some WWII navy surplus gear. I consider for a moment trying to snorkel with what looks like a glass dinner plate strapped to my face with a thick rubber band, and just turn around and walk out, humbled by my lack of foresight in seeing the bait-and-switch coming. Since we are already in town, it is a short drive to the local Costco, where for about $30 each we pick up brand new sets that we’ll keep for our entire stay here and somehow try and jam into our luggage to use at the cabin.

We finally make it to the beach (which by Hawaii standards is pretty scrappy, but it is the Big Island so we’re not expecting wide swaths of powdery sand) and set the kids loose. They have all snorkeled a bit before in lakes and such, but this is really their first chance at seeing anything resembling a reef, and despite it being pretty beat up by waves of tourists, they are hooked. The visibility isn’t great, and its possible there are more Japanese legs under the water than fish, but to them, it is all amazing. And to its credit, there are more sea turtles at this beach than anywhere I have seen, and they swim so close you could touch them (or try to pick them up as one tool near us did).

After a couple of hours, we decide to head down the road a ways to another bay that supposedly has some great reefs. By the time we get there tough, the wind has picked up quite a bit and the waves hitting what is a very rocky beach make getting into the water pretty much impossible. We decide to try again in the morning and head back to the hotel, making a quick stop for some Donkey Balls (there’s a joke in there somewhere at Ang’s expense, but I’ll leave it be).

The rest of the evening the boys snorkel in the pool, with Nick and Sam working out a bunch of hand signals they plan on using to communicate under water.

For an early, early day (our 8:40 flight meant leaving the house by 6:30), things actually went pretty smoothly. The kids were very excited to be going to Hawaii, so hopped out of bed and into the car without any of the moping or slow motion movements that are a staple of school days.

The flight was direct from Seattle to Kona, and the iTouch batteries held up through pretty much the whole thing, making it an infinitely more pleasant experience (not only for us I presume). When we landed, Nick saw all the lava rocks outside the window and asked if we could stick around the airport for awhile so he had a chance to walk on it. I assured him he would have plenty of chances to walk on lava rocks over the next 10 days 🙂

With the early start and the two hour time change, by the time we get the rental car and check into the hotel, it is still not that late. The hotel has a big pool with a waterslide, so that’s more than enough to keep the boys engaged for the rest of the afternoon.

One of the last things we do before calling it a day is head out to a viewing platform the hotel has set up to see manta rays feeding in the evening (there are snorkeling and diving trips to actually go out with them which I am sure I will be writing about before this trip is over). On this evening, there are three that we can see swooping in towards the shore with their mouths wide open scooping up plankton. Having always wanted to see mantas, to have them be so close to shore is absolutely amazing and not something any of us are likely to soon forget.