Our first family trip to Hawaii took place just after Kristian graduated from high school.  We booked a couple nights at Hapuna Beach and the rest of the week at a timeshare in Kona.  Our flight went smoothly and we arrived in the sunshine ready to relax and explore the Big Island.

     We strolled along the beautifully manicured grounds to Hapuna Beach, which is rated as one of the best in the world.  Debi did some sunbathing while the boys and I sampled the snorkeling.  It didn't take us long to find ourselves swimming with sea turtles and colorful fish.  We didn't want to leave after a couple of days of sun and delicious meals, but we were excited to leave to explore Kona.  We explored the shops in Kona's lively business district  and enjoyed  tropical breezes and a spectacular sunset as we strolled along the path next to the beach. An entertaining  and delicious luau completed our day.

     The next day we decided to drive to the top of the 13,800 Mauna Kea volcano. The winding road rose quickly from sea level past lush forests to the barren summit.  We forgot to stop to get acclimatized and found ourselves breathing hard in the thin air at the summit.  The view was stunning and we spent time exploring the interesting geology of the area.  We stopped and checked out the visitor center, at the 9,000 foot level, on our way back down.

     The  Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was our destination the next day.  We drove south along the coast and stopped at the Punaluu Black Sands Beach.  We strolled down to the beach and discovered some sea turtles sunning on the warm black sands.  We continued on to the park, where we explored the accessible trails near the Kilauea Visitor Center.  We drove to Hilo to start a helicopter tour of the lava fields around the Kilauea Volcano.  We took off  and were amazed at the landscape that had been shaped by the lava from the active volcano.  It was particularly impressive to see the steam as the hot lava flowed into the sea.  We drove back to to Kona in a rainstorm and were glad to get back to the hotel after our long day of adventuring.

     We booked a charter fishing trip out of Kona on our last day.  The captain helped us lift Debi onto the boat and we headed out into the ocean in hope of letting Larry achieve his dream of catching a marlin.  We trolled a short distance off the coast of Kona for a few hours without success and then suddenly the rod jerked violently and the line began to tear off the massive Penn reel.  A moment later a large marlin jumped in the distance and the fight was on. The mighty fish took several long runs, but 45 minutes later it was alongside the boat, where we released it to swim another day in the blue Hawaiian waters.  We cruised back to Kona during a spectacular sunset and we took time to reminisce about all of our adventures on the Big Island.