While on the Big Island, we knew we had to visit volcano so that all of Tristan's dreams could come true. We enjoyed driving along the Hamakua Coast and made a few stops along the way. Our first stop was Waipio:
Occasionally, I find these two doing this and it makes me smile:
Tex's for some Malasadas.
Tristan fell asleep in the car, so Betsy and dad went and explored Laupahoehoe with the rest of the gang. Betsy loves when her hair blows in the wind. It makes her so happy.
Then it was Betsy's turn to sleep in the car. When we arrived at Akaka Falls, we woke her up and took turns holding the 30 lb. little girl up and down the stairs.
Thank you Dustin for volunteering:
Dad and Betsy getting ready to scare Tristan and Tutu:
They were scared out of their minds!
The falls were very beautiful. Every time we come here, I can't help but try and imagine if I could ever jump from the top of the fall, if I were in a life threatening situation. Like being chased by wild indians or something. Those are normal thoughts right?
It was VERY muggy and humid here. Mosquitos were swarming and Betsy's hair was springing.
Half the the group continued on to the volcano. We started out with the video at the visitor's center, and then headed over to the Thurston Lava Tube.
We stopped at one of the steam vents. The warm steam felt really nice because the air was freezing!
We made it to the Jagger Museum and got a better look into the crater. Did I mention it was freezing here? The crater is about 4,000 ft. above sea level. We were not dressed for the weather change, but we made the best of it.
This is where the tragic accident happened. The whole incident is kind of a blur to me know, but I think that Betsy was having a hard time listening to us, she was screaming and crying really loud, and she was distracting the park ranger's big presentation to the group outside the museum, so we had to try and take her away from everyone. Christian and I were kind of getting frustrated with the kids and we were ready to take off. Christian brought the stroller over and grabbed our Nikon from the seat so Betsy could hop in, but somehow the strap of the camera got snagged on the stroller and ripped out of Christian's hands and then shattered on the ground.
This was the last picture taken with our beloved camera:
The rest of the trip we enjoyed Tutu's surprise birthday party, some slip n slide in the front yard, and Mauna Kea beach. On the last day, Christian joined everyone on a hike to Anna's pond while I packed our bags to go home. We had a blast and it was so fun to see everyone again!
