creepy crawlies

Kona has a ton of insects crawling around all day and night. It is something that a person must make peace with if they intend to live in this tropical environment. We leave our doors and windows open 24/7. Luckily the local gecko and cat populations keep most of them in check.

Yesterday the office girl Jasmine set off a bug bomb in the shop at work. Amongst a ton of dead roaches, there were these two guys crawling around just hours after deployment. They are quite creepy, and they get to be twice this size. These were about 5 inches long. I have spoken with several people that woke up to find these in their beds at nite. Those that have been stung say it hurts pretty bad, a bit like a scorpion I believe. We harrased these guys for awhile and then left them for the office girl to find in the morning ;). Dont worry, she has a good sense of humor!

Bikin' It

We did so many fun things with our families while they were here. Not in any particular order, I'll start going through a few of our adventures. We'll start with the bike ride of a life time.

A few weeks ago I joined 14 of my family members, including my sweet Mema, for a bike tour of one of the few presently erupting volcanoes in the world, Kilauea. The ride was 16 miles long, and it was breathtaking. We rode by craters, lava tubes, fern forrests, and lava fields. Our tour guide Eric was extremely knowledgeable, with degrees in geology and hawaiian studies. I can't imagine there could have been a better person for the job.

This picture was taken at the entrance of the Thurston lava tube. Some lava tubes on the Big Island are as long and wide as a New York City subway. I'm not sure how big the Thurston Lava Tube is, but its definitely the biggest one I've ever seen. It was very dark and cool inside, and water was dripping from the ceilings. Eric told us that ancient Hawaiians used to cut the tops off of gourds and set them in the lava tubes to collect water. It is supposedly some of the purest in the world.

And here's Mr. Muscle man Alex....

p.s. that rock weighs like 2 pounds. it only looks heavy.

The tour ended with a picnic lunch and a van ride to a winery, which we all agreed was terrible and could definitely be nixed. I believe its the only winery on the Big Island, and it left much to be desired. The wines were all extremely fruity, and needless to say, we did not care for them. But it was my Mema's first wine tasting, so that made it more fun.

We're Hitched!

Last Sunday concluded the most wonderful and beautiful week of my life. We had all of our family in town for a celebration of our lives together, and it was beyond any words I can find to describe it. I cannot begin to make you understand how incredibly blessed and touched we were to have so many of our closest friends and relatives all gathered for three straight days of love and laughter. The weeks prior were very stressful, to say the least, but I would do it all again a thousand times over to experience the gift we were given. Thank you so much to all of you that were here in person and in spirit. We cannot thank you enough for sharing this time with us. We are blessed beyond words.