Maui

So after the big island instead of going home...we went to another island.  I'm so glad we did.  Jed had a conference in Wailea and it was nice to have some time just to sleep in and relax at the beach in the afternoons.

Noey and Liz making a sand castle at big beach...AKA shark attack beach. This is where there were 2 people killed by tiger sharks last year.  Apparently the tiger sharks appreciate beautiful beaches too.  We didn't see any sharks but had a great show put on by a mom and baby humpback.

Cool car...I told the girls to stand in front of it and this is their pose.  So funny.

We went for a walk along the boardwalk at sugar beach which was filled with spiders....ewww...they were way to big for my taste.

We went to La Paruse Bay which is the southern tip of Maui and saw another pod of spinner dolphins swimming about.  There was a red sand beach, a white sand beach, a black sand beach and a beach made up almost entirely of white coral pieces.

Sunset at Polo beach

This was one of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen.

I wish I had my good camera but I got some decent pictures with my phone.  The girls were running and dancing and having a great time.

Big Island

   

Okay, we've drunk the koolaid.  I used to know a few people growing up that would go to Hawaii every winter and think how spoiled they were.  Well, now I guess we're turning into those spoiled people.  There is just something about Hawaii that just makes me want to retire and move there come back again. It is totally opposite Alaska in the winter and is such a welcome reprieve from subzero temperatures.  The humpback whales have had it figured out for a while...Alaska summers and Hawaii winters.
This time to get our Hawaii fix we visited the big island for the first time.  We joined Terry and Lisa for a week and enjoyed fresh food on our beautiful ocean view patio, awesome snorkeling and coral, Swimming with a pod of dolphins,  going to Volcano National Park, Visiting the grounds of the Kona temple, going to "bubble gumps" and several great beaches.  It was a fantastic trip.

 Noelle and Liz in front of the caldera of the volano.  Not much lava action was going on when we were there but you could still appreciate how the volcano makes an impact on this "relatively" new island.

View from our condo.  It was amazing.  The sunsets were beautiful and the surf was really really loud.  You pretty much had to close the sliding glass doors in order to hold a conversation inside.

Where's Lizzy?

Family selfie by black sand beach

Sunset over the tide pools.  These were right outside our condo and the girls loved exploring this area. 

We even found this guy right outside sunning himself.  The girls took all of their self control to try to give the turtle his 10 ft of space required by law.

Grandma Lisa running to hop into the ocean before her feet burn.  Hapuna is a beautiful beach but it is lacking a lot of shade so the sand was HOT.

Elizabeth's black sand recliner.

Mama in the bahamas

My friend Stephanie and I attended an  American Academy of Pediatrics conference at the Atlantis resort in Paradise Island Bahamas.  The Caribbean was warm and sunny and exactly 100 degrees warmer than Fairbanks on the days we were there.  The Atlantis resort was crazy amazing and also crazy expensive.  There were fees for everything during the day but at night it was free and they had some amazing aquariums and shark tanks. All in all it was a fun and educational experience.

lion fish

View from the balcony

Atlantis at night.....a ghost town.  The pools close at 5...WHAT?  Really weird.

Beautiful ocean and beach

Stephanie and I enjoying the beach

View from the water taxi of Atlantis