Looking at Hawaii

School is back in session here and our summer is pretty well wrapped up.

  Next weekend a Labor Day soccer tournament will keep us busy and our thoughts will be turning to pumpkins and cooler weather.......At least we can think about cooler weather, even if it will be awhile before we get any!

To finish up the hot month of August, I'm going to some share pictures from from the Hawaii trip that we took this summer. Summer went by so fast!  It  seems like we were in Hawaii yesterday!

A fabulous pool and rope bridge at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. We stayed here when we were on the Big Island of Hawaii.

 This bird apparently did not want his face to be spread all over the internet.

 This is the first Saffron Finch we had ever seen. 

It was interesting to see so many different kinds of flowers and birds.

This ginormous flower was just amazing! 

This Banyan tree was huge! We spent a day traveling around the Big Island in search of beautiful Hawaiian waterfalls. 

  

Muti-tiered Umauma Falls in the World Botanical Garden. 

Another view of Umauma Falls from the trail in the Gardens.

The boys on their way down many steps to Akaka Falls.

Akaka Falls are about 420 feet high.

Rainbow Falls near Hilo on the Big Island.

We found these amazing falls while exploring off the trail near the boiling pots.

The luau we attended was a big hit with the boys. Throwing spears, eating lots of food, and dances involving flaming sticks added up to some happy campers.  This native Hawaiian game that we played before the luau was a favorite with warrior boy. 

Don't try this dance at home!

Snorkeling and enjoying the scenery from the Hula Kai was a highlight of our trip. 

 Look at the view from our boat!

The Kona Coast is sometimes called the Gold Coast because there are so many Yellow Tangs in the water.

 This Teenage fish looks familiar.

Two kinds of sea urchins.

 This is a humuhumunukunukuapua'a. Say that three times really fast!  It's the state fish of Hawaii.  It's not always easy to find so we were thrilled to get a picture of it! 

Maybe JoAnne can remind me of the identity of this fish.  My DH took this picture when we were snorkeling with JoAnne and her husband in Hunauma Bay. 

That's all the vacation pictures for today! If you are still reading this thanks for sticking around. I really enjoy seeing other bloggers travels, so I thought I'd share ours too. 

 I've got a few more posts planned about our Hawaii trip. We saw some really, really hot lava, stayed at the new Disney Aulani resort, and took some pictures of Hawaiian quilts that I still need to share. I hope you'll be back!