Volcanoes, Tsunamis, Warning Signs and Black Sand

Well, I'm back with more vacation pictures from Hawaii! I had no idea how many of you lucky bloggers have had the chance to live in this beautiful state!

  Now we're on the Big Island, well, really we are at home in Florida.....I wish we were on the Big Island right now, but we are in these pictures.  

Moments before this picture was taken it was really raining hard. We had traveled so far from Florida to see lava and volcanoes and it was rainy and cold......Really??  A small meltdown and $160 worth of Volcanoes National Park windbreakers later, we were ready to go see the park.  Here we are by a steam vent.  It was rainy, but the mist you see is hot steam from boiling water just a few feet below in that hole.  Yes, it was hot by the steam vent.  I am the second to the right in this picture. Not the second tallest in the family anymore.  Before I know it I will be the shortest....maybe I'm shrinking??  Surely those boys are not growing that fast?     

 More steam from the ground.  It was amazing.

 This is a crevice where lava once shot 1900' up in the air.  In 1974, I believe.

An interesting spot in the lava flow.  I expected to have to look to find lava.  Boy was I wrong!  There is hardened lava everywhere you turn!

The end of Chain Of Craters Road was covered by a lava flow in 2000.

 No caption needed!

 The sea arch, also at the end of.....well now it's the end...... of Chain Of Craters Road.  An amazing sight!

 Cliffs of lava.

 That night we came back to the park to see the glow of molten lava in the crater. Maybe a once in a lifetime view.  Can you believe that people used to go right up to the crater believing they could determine when it would blow?  Yikes!!  We saw pictures of wedding ceremonies being performed by the edge!  

 Yes, this picture is very similar, but it was such an amazing sight to see at night I had to put them both in.  You can't see any glow during daylight hours.

 Back at our resort, birds were up chirping outside, loudly I might add, before the sun came up!  They weren't doing all of the activities that we were to be getting up that early!

 I had never seen a sign like this before.

 Note the surfboard.  I'm sure that wasn't the original purpose of the sign!

One evening we took the Saddle Road to the Mauna Kea Visitors Center, elevation 9,200', to watch the sunset and see the stars after dark.  We didn't go all the way to the summit because anyone under 16 years old was not advised to go any further than the Visitor's Center due to the lack of oxygen at the high altitude, and the drive was treacherous for our 4x4 rental SUV.  The most sophisticated collection of astronomy facilities in the world are located at the top.     

The view from the Visitor's Center is amazing!  It is above the clouds! After dark we could see more stars than I ever thought there were in the sky.  There was absolutely no light pollution. Volunteers from the University of Hawaii had telescopes set up for visitors to use.  The night sky was just unbelievable.    It's location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean makes it an excellent place to view the night sky.  Mauna Kea is 13,796' above sea level and is sacred to Native Hawaiians.   When measured from the ocean floor, it is significantly taller that Mt. Everest.

 Should you really be seeing this many warning signs while you are on vacation? One day we hiked down the Pololu Trail to a black sand beach.  It was very, very steep, but totally worth it! 

The view of the black sand beach from the beginning....or top...of the trail.

 Didn't I say it was worth it?

A black crab on the black sand beach.  The sand was just amazing.

  At some points we were the only people on this beautiful beach.

 This was the scene behind the beach.  Beauty everywhere you turned!

 A view from the trail of the northern end of Hawaii. We thought the land in the distance was Maui.......my youngest son was sure it wasn't.  There was no convincing him.  It's a good thing we didn't change his mind because he was right!  It was still Hawaii!

I'm glad so many of you are enjoying memories of times in Hawaii through my pictures. I hope you share pictures of your travels this summer too.

Aloha!! I'm back from vacation in Hawaii.....

We had a wonderful time on vacation in Hawaii! After spending many, many hours......about 14.......in airplanes and airports on the trip from Florida, we made it to Honolulu!  Thank goodness for in-flight movies! I was able to watch three on the way out. No sleep on the flights for us, we were too excited!  We would regret that later....       

The view from our room on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.

 Another view from our room of Honolulu.

 Some of us love to dig holes, deep holes, in the sand......on every beach they can find.

 Sea kayaking out to an island bird sanctuary was challenging.  4.5 miles without an outboard!

 Seriously?? From here to that island on the left?  In a kayak?

Everyone has to learn to surf while they are in Hawaii.  Well okay, everyone but me!  Someone needs to be in charge of the camera right?

My little guy tackling the big waves.

A view of Hunauma Bay.  I was amazed by the colors of the water.  Look at all of the coral.

One of the many scenic points where you can stop on a drive around Oahu.

 A moving visit to the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

 My submariners on the USS Bowfin.

 A view of Diamond Head Crater from the top.  Kayaking, hiking one mile up a volcano with a 99 step stairway, when do I start vacation?

 We didn't remove any coral or lava, but we did take lots of pictures (The Brady Bunch curse scared us).  This picture is from Bonsai Pipeline Beach in Oahu on the North Shore.  Can you see how the grains of sand are so rounded? Nothing like the black sand we would see later on the island of Hawaii.  Check back soon to look at those pictures. We also took some time to drive around the island and we stopped and ate at a Shrimp Shack that had been featured on HGTV.

After exploring Oahu we flew to the big island of Hawaii and saw plenty of lava, many sea turtles, a black sand beach and Volcanoes National Park.  I have lots more I'd love to share with you!  I'm sure you would love nothing more than looking at my vacation pictures!  LOL!!  I'll split them up in a few posts, including one about my visit to Quilt Passions, a quilt store in Kailua Kona, Hawaii that was featured in the latest Quilt Sampler magazine!   

Fourth Of July Quilt Show and Tell!

This is the Tagalong Schnibbles that I completed last year before I started my blog.  I had been reading blogs for awhile and I loved those LePetite projects, so I made one on my own with Bar Harbor fabric.  We did live in Maine for awhile you know!  It took me a lot longer than a month to finish this one.  I've learned that I get more done with a deadline. 

My Flag Day Farm quilt.  Fabrics and pattern from Moda.

I love how well this backing fits the quilt.

Love this star quilting!

Stars I randomly placed all over the quilt!

One of my first quilting attempts!
It took me forever  to make.....I think I've come a long way!
It's a pattern from the book Weekend Quilt Projects.

And I can't not include Candy Bar Pinwheels,  the LePetite project from May that I made with patriotic fabric scraps. 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Quilted flowers from a project I designed on EQ6.

Here is a peek at my gardening progress this year and some quilt gardening I've done in the past.  I hope your summer garden is growing well. How many quilters garden too?  The plants I've seen in blogland gardens this season are amazing!  Do quilting and gardening go hand in hand?  Leave me a comment and let me know if you have a garden and what you are growing.  I'd love to here about what quilters are growing in different parts of the country and in different parts of the world!  How does your garden grow? 

My clivia is finally blooming again!!  It hadn't bloomed in a few years and I was inspired by one of Needled Mom's posts showing pictures of her blooming clivia to do some research to see if I could fix the problem. 

The answer was either more water or fertilizer......I kicked it up a notch on both with amazing results!
Thanks, Needled Mom! 

Do you see my friend?  I only saw him right before I was about to trim this area of the bushes.  I'll bet he's glad I  saw him!

Habanero peppers make yummy salsa and guacamole!! 

Banana Peppers are great on sandwiches and burgers.

Copper takes a minute to smell the flowers......I think he likes to sneak his picture on my blog too! 

Quilted sunflowers are just as nice....and last longer. 

The garden sunflowers are getting tall.....its funny to watch the squirrels try to climb them to get the seeds!

Right now we need to water often!  We could use some rain!

 So let me know how your garden grows and what you are growing in it.  I'd love to read your comments!  Also, I'd like to thank some new followers for reading my blog.  It's always nice to meet some new friends and know someone is reading all of these posts! Enjoy summer!

Time for Recess with LePetite!

Recess........even though school is out!!

What a fun pattern! I'm thinking it's my favorite Schnibbles yet!  No wonder Carrie named it Recess...... no points to match, just playing with the fabrics.  Choosing the color placement from my Origins charm packs certainly made this Schnibble fun to make.

We are pretty busy here today......more on that in a few weeks......so I'm going to make this short, but don't forget to visit Sinta and Sherri in the beginning of July to see all of the lovely quilts in the LePetite parade.  Thanks for stopping by to visit!  

WIP Wednesday With Lots Of Summer FIP Too!

Backyard camping- Everyone wants to help put up the tent!

 What is FIP?  Fun In Progress of course!  Summer is starting out with a bang at our house with some backyard camping, Diet Coke and Mentos fountains, and a big sixteenth birthday!

 Put Diet Coke and Mentos together and stand back.......quickly!!

A special cake for a special birthday!  Do any of you golfers recognize this hole?    

This is the WIP - Recess! 

The LePetite project for June is Recess, designed by Carrie Nelson. I have it all laid out and ready to sew together.  It's lots of fun too......mostly playing with colors.  Playing is what's going on here this summer!  I'll be back to show you the finished project very soon, once I wash this Diet Coke out of just about everything!

School's Out For Summer! And Fun Treats Too!

Tomorrow is the last day of school!  WooHoo! It will be so nice to be less scheduled than we are during the school year and to have more time for fun, relaxation, vacations and quilting! What are you looking forward to this summer? Lemonade, ice cream cones, sand, palm trees, more time for quilting?  Leave a comment for me and let me know!

Prizes!

I received a prize for my April LePetite from Carrie awhile back, and I'm finally sharing pictures today.  These may not be the best pictures I could have taken, but the card was full after a few shots, so I'm just working with what I've got!  Collections for a Cause- Faith fabric, the book Fat Quarter Winners by Monique Dillard, a copy of  Quiltmaker's100 Blocks, autographed by Carrie and Rosie, and some great fabrics in a clear Schnibbles bag were included in the package. Amazing mail! Thanks Carrie! Until I had a chance to read through Fat Quarter Winners, I didn't realize that it was from Open Gate Quilts, the designers of the Fit To Be Geese Ruler that I love.  There are some wonderful quilts in this book!

Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater- Yes, its still wrapped in plastic.  I plan to keep it in that neat little package until I use it! Don't you love the way they wrap it up?

In the same week I was lucky enough to win a giveaway at Sugar Spun Quilts sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop! I guessed which new line of Christmas fabric from The Fat Quarter Shop was Vickie's favorite and then I was chosen by the random number generator! Christmas quilt here I come!  Thanks, Vickie and The Fat Quarter Shop!

On a different note, this afternoon I mailed pillowcases to Carol.  If you aren't aware of her pillowcase project go read about it, and see if you can help!