We had the girls’ weekend at Caloundra from 16th to 19th March. It was a really nice weekend as always. We had dinner out a couple of times and went to the beach. I travelled back to Brisbane on Saturday for my Softball Grandfinal. Jeff, my Dad and my Poppie watched me play. After a very hot and competitive two hour game we WON!!!! We couldn’t believe it. It was such a fantastic feeling. I drove back to Caloundra after the game and celebrated with everyone there.We arrived back from Hawaii on the 8th April. The first couple of days before the rest of the clan arrived were spent at the Marriott Resort. We had a nice hotel room that overlooked the pool and the ocean. We were able to watch whales splashing around in the ocean from our balcony. I got a chance to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where we hiked for approximately three hours to visit the Thurston Lava Tube and the Kilauea Iki Crater (a dormant volcano). It was pretty impressive. The hike was approximately 6.44km (4 miles) through a native rainforest and across the crater floor which was 3.9km (2.4 miles). The last time Kilauea Iki erupted was 1959 and it was still steaming. A little unnerving but I handled it. Unfortunately none of us got a chance to see fresh lava as the direction of the flows change everyday. But it was still pretty cool.
We did a lot of snorkelling, lounging on the beach and shopping. I bought an underwater camera for the snorkelling and got a few pictures of turtles and fish. I discovered that it’s not easy to take pictures through a camera that’s in a thick plastic waterproof case when you have goggles on. The weather was perfect everyday. Jeff was able to play a couple of games of golf. We drove to Hilo which is on the other side of the Island and visited the Japanese Gardens, Rainbow Falls and a local market. I found that the east and west coasts were completely different. The west coast is primarily a tourist spot; lots of resorts, cruise ships and souvenir shops. It is also mostly made up of volcanic rock. The east coast is more populated by the locals and is much prettier.
We all had our own condos which were only a couple of minutes drive from each other. Jeff, his parents and I stayed in a condo village called Mauna Loa Village by the Sea. His sisters and their partner/friend stayed in another condo in a different resort as did his Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Jeff’s cousin, Laura got engaged to her now fiancé Scott while we were there. They will probably wait about a year and a half to get married so hopefully we will be able to go.
It looks like Jeff’s parents will be coming to visit us around this time next year. It will be good to finally show them where we live.
I think that’s about all. Hope all is well with everybody.
Take care.
