Punalu'u and Volcano National Park

What a fantastic day! We got up early and headed out for the 100 mile trek to the park. It may not seem like far but when you are leisurely cruising at a average speed of 40 - 45 mph, it takes a little timie to get there. We stopped at Punalu'u and played on the black sand beach. It was a beautiful beach with the most interesting black sand, was real grainy. later found out it is because volcanic glass explodes on contact with the water as the lava flows out of the tubes up the coast. Needless to say, we had a blast. We also saw a sea turtle swimming and eating among the rocks. That was cool. I tried to photograph it but it was too elusive. Alex and I strolled along a couple of tide pools and saw a avariety of sealife. He thought it rocked...

But not nearly as hard as the Volcano. Wow, what a force of nature. There was not lava flowing from anywhere we could see, it looks like Kilauea has changed her path. Its flowing into land that is inaccessable and outside the park now. The lava has even stopped flwoing into the ocean now. We were bummed about that but had a blast none the less. We circled the entire rim, took a couple of hikes including devastation trail, ate lunch overlooking the caldera. Hiked along the sw Rift and ust enjoyed the entire experience. Alex's favorite part was tke Thurston Lava tube. You are hiking through a rain forest when it looms ahead like a gaping mouth. You can hike most of its length, there is about 380m that are not developed for tourists that you can go at alone, but it was enough. The kids wanted to do it again. I think to them it felt a bit like a tropical thrill ride.

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

Volcano National Park

Sunday stroll

Ouch, are we burnt. Even the parts of my body I put sunscreen on 3x is tender. Cristy has"Red Lobster Legs" from passing out in the sun. Max is the only one not burnt because he took a 3 hr nap under a towel. Hmmm... maybe we should learn from him. We took it easy today. Did a little stroll around town, went up to the Kona temple, and topped Alex's birthday day off with a very cool Luau. The Luau rocked, the food was good, the entertainment was great and we had a blast.

One thing I did notice as I was contemplating things was that even in paradise, nowhere has everything. I was talking to some locals and if you wanted a meaningful job that was not associated with the tourist industry you had to leave the islands. I chewed on this for awhile. Say I did move here and had a great job, what would be offered to my kids outside the tourist industry? Is there anything wrong with that? I could see how people could become jaded living here because it looked like those who had the best jobs or most successful businesses were not natives, meaning local for many generations. I'm not sure how I feel about it but I do think that I need to not take for granted that I can be here enjoying this and be very grateful for being here.

Kailua Kona

A Day at Hapuna Beach

Wow, what an extraordinary time we had today. The kids played in the water, built sand castles, body surfed and boogie boarded. So did Cristy and I for that matter. I also went snorkeling off a spit of rock that jutted into the sea there. I only had some crappy equipment that was left at the condo but it was good enough and fun enough for all to have a great time. We slathered SPF 30 and 50 on multiple times but still got cooked on the places we missed. We Will definitely be much more conscientious next time we go out, that is for sure. After a fun filled Saturday at the beach, we went out to Dinner at a place called Huggo's. It was pretty good and the view was phenomenal. We really couldn't be closer to the beach than we were. We got home tired, exhausted and cooked but very happy.

Click the pics to see the album

Hapuna Beach

Dinner Out

First Day in Kona

We got to the condo at the Sea Village in Kailua at 1pm after jetting out from Honolulu. We settled in and immediately went grocery shopping to stock up for the week. Prices, while higher, are really not that bad at all. Our condo rocks and if it were any closer to the ocean, I would get spray from the seawall. Since this is the "newer" part of the island, there are very few beaches with sand but some great snorkeling areas. We were exhasusted and forced ourselves to stay up till a whopping 9pm, a respectable 1 am for us. We are heading out to the beaches in the morning and will see the volcano and waterfalls later in the week.

Sea Village at Kailua-Kona

First Day of Vacation

Well, the big Cressler Family Vacation has officially started. We landed in Honolulu on the 26th and settled in for a night at the Aloha Hotel on Waikiki. It was not the 4 seasons but it did the trick. It was a short walk to the beach and we headed there immediately. The kids had a blast and so did the parents. Max was a little worried about the waves at first but with a little coaxing, he was rolling around in the surf in no time. I realized that for all my effort, I was still the whitest dude on the beach. Ah well, that is what SPF 1000 is for I guess.

Waikiki

Dinosaur Quarry

Cristy and my Aunt Teresa took the kids out into the desert to this dinosaur quarry. They said it was incredible. Supposedly there are thousands of juvenile dinosaurs that all died in a 1000 sq ft area with no signs of trauma to their bones. They jokingly said that they had all died of smoking out behind the school, a nod to the far side. On the way back they had a major blowout. You can see the tire in the pics, it literally just split in two. Luckily no on e was hurt and the could pull over but this is in the middle of the desert and they had seen no one coming out. They had just pulled over when suddenly this British dude named Lennie pulls up and helps them out. They were very thankful because I don't think either would have figured out where everything is and how to run it. All is well that ends well and THANK YOU LENNY!

Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

Cristy Turns 40!

Yep, Cristy turned over another decade yesterday and did we have fun. I did a major roast with her friends and family here. It was a complete surprise because I had played like I wasn't going to do anything for it. I printed out tons of her kid picks and I also made T-Shirts with the best shot of the lot. I am going to post a couple of these along with the family and party shots we did.

The big present was the trip to Hawaii we are leaving on this Thursday. It is going to be a blast!

Cristy's 40th birthday

7 peaks water park

While Cristy's brother and family were in town, we went to a really great water park and had a blast. It was hot, around 103, so the water felt incredible. We did get burnt but not too bad. It was a ton of fun though and a great bonding opportuntiy. Notice the orange slide. It was incredible...incredibly steep that is.

When Max finds a camera

Here is what life looks like to a 4 year old. The only ones he didn't take are the ones I took of him. I have eliminated the ones with fingers in front of the lens.

Alex's Violin Recital

Alex has been playing violin since Dec last year and has his first real recital. He actually is not bad at all. Two of the pics are vids I took. The sound isn't great but it will give you an idea of how he sounds. I think he is fantastic after only 6 months.

Max graduates from Preschool.

Max actually looks like a grumpy old man next to his class mates. He also takes after Cristy as you can see how much shorter he is than everyone else. He is definitely our little angel... or is it Devil Baby? The jury is still out on that one

Max turns 4!

Max turned 4 on May 23rd and he is now officially a big man. We wre not allowed to even mention the word "Baby" around him. He loves Dora and Diego so that was the theme of the party. He was spoiled as usual but we had a fun, water filled day in the yard. Super Soakers, slip and slides plus running through the sprinklers. Ah, to be a kid again.

Father and Son campout

We went again this year except this time Max cam e along. We had a blast. Those kids did not stop climbing and playing until they literally passed out. It was warm but not too hot yet and no sunburns. you can see from the intro pictures how tired Max was when we finally got home.

Spring Soccer

Alex played, and I coached, his soccer team again this year. They did really well and Alex is becoming a brick wall of a goalie. Even the other coaches compliment him. I am very proad of him, and the rest of teh team. they all did an excellent job and cam away with a winning season. Max found the camera and took a coupl eof these pics so enjoy.

Mike and his Bro go racing

Ah, how I love to go fast! My brother and I were able to get our cars on track race day for GT Live in late April. We actually did pretty well but my bros MR2 had some significant mechanical problems that prevented him from finishing. Mine is the White STi. Only got passed twice but much better drivers than I. Like I said, it is A LOT of fun! The track is a 4.25 mile 23(?) turn behemoth that hosts some world class road racing. Plus the staighaway with huge left hand sweeper separates the men from the boys. Enjoy the pics. We sure did making them.

Easter 2007

OK, So what does it matter I took a 4 month hiatus!!! Lets start filling what has been happening. The pics you see are from Easter time frame and contain some good and some bad shots. We actually lost the camera at my brothers house and these pics didn't get found until just recently. I hope you enjoy them because we sure do. We also love how the yard comes into bloom in spring. Enjoy.