On Frenchman Mountain

Here’s a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhVFnj9eJcI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sandra had her first performance for cheer squad at an assembly…she did fantastic!

Today was a visit to the Hilo farmers market, the botanical garden, and Akaka Falls…

We spent most of the day at Volcanoes National Park…no active lava flows this time but the kids got to see steam vents, massive lava fields, a lava tube, and learned all about the formation of the islands.

On the fourth day of our vacation, we make the long drive from sea level to 13,000+ feet to the top of Mauna Kau. The girls got very silly and sleepy due to the altitude change.

Day 3 was a lazy day, no pictures…day 4 took us to the top of Mauna Kea, a 13,600 foot rise just a few miles from the coast.

On our second day on the big island, we visited the black sand and green sand beaches.

The green sand beach was a three mile hike in and it was over dusty, hot, and rough terrain only passable with a 4-wheel drive with plenty of clearance. Luckily a local gave us a ride in and out.

The green sand was an olive color. Katy was knocked down and drug out with a large wave. After the initial shock, she went back for more wave-challenging fun.