disturbing the Honu....oops!

We ran into this turtle while walking around the blue lagoon at Kiholo Bay. We stayed a good distance away from him but he still SLOWLY slid away from us once he saw us.

"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more."- JS

AHOP received wonderful news last week. He has been extended an offer to become a first year analyst with a major bank in NYC. Words can't even begin to express how excited he is to have this opportunity.

the blue lagoon at Kiholo Bay

A massive Pacific Storm has brought 7 straight days of rain to the Volcano. This past weekend we decided to ditch the rain and head back to the leeward side of the island once more since those lucky ducks rarely seem to receive rain. It's crazy how one side of the island can receive super-duper amounts of rainfall throughout the year and the other side, only 40 miles away, may only get about 10 inches!

During our short trip to the "hot and dry" side we stumbled upon a giant blue lagoon. The blue pond was 1/2 freshwater and 1/2 salt water. The water was freezing but still refreshing to swim in because the weather was so hot. We saw oodles of "Honu" (Sea Turtles) and even ran into a few while swimming thru the lagoon.

6 Honu sun bathing in the same place at the same time. What a rare site!


Walking on the LAVA ROCKS on the island we swam to in the middle of the lagoon- ouch!

Veteran's Day

One HUGE difference I have noticed while living in Hawaii is the large presence of military culture and military life on the island. Hawaii is full of military bases, special military hotels (goodness I work at one!), stores for the military, and special programs just for military families. It seems that nearly everyone living here is in some way related to a soldier in a close way- brother, sister, father, son.



This past Wednesday we had a special Veteran's Day Ceremony to honor the vet's and nearly 250 people showed up at our little event on top of the volcano. I was a co-Master of Ceremonies with a Sergeant from Hilo, HI.

Kealakekua Bay and Captain Cook

Yesterday we drove to Kealakekua Bay on the west side of the island. This bay was such a hidden little piece of paradise and a historic one too. The bay is where Captain Cook first discovered Hawaii in 1779. Upon reaching land Captain Cook was first thought of as a special God but was later discovered as being immoral and killed. A monument is placed in his honor at the entrance of the bay but is only accessible by swimming/kayaking because of high cliff walls- we didn't have a kayak or time to swim to the monument and back by dusk.

There was an amazing array of fish in the clear, clear water. It would've been great to have an underwater camera! At times I felt like we were swimming and fluttering around in a movie. The bay is home to a large reef and the water is relatively calm compared to other areas around the island. We saw several families of spinner dolphins around sunset, jumping, spinning, playing. And I can't forget to mention the donkey. I'm not quite sure how he fits into the story but he roamed around the beach all day, eating everyones food, walking on my towel, and trying to walk over me.

Fuerte Avocado

One of the fun things about living in Hawaii has been learning about new veggies, fruit, and food in general. Once in awhile someone in the office will bring in the harvest from their trees and plants at home. Last week I brought home an avocado. After a bit of research I think I've determined it's a Fuerte. Who knew there were other avocados besides the Haas? You would be hard pressed to find one of these green giants anywhere in IN. Unfortunately we cut it open a bit to early.

Check out the size of the seed!

Yanks Win

I watched the Yankees win the World Series tonight from Volcano, HI. AHOP watched from NY, NY. I'm assuming there was a little more hype in the city than we had here on top of the Volcano.

a storm rolling in

Kayla and I walked to the Summit of Kilauea yesterday just in time to see a storm rolling in from the north.

Halloween in Hawaii!

We had a work Halloween Party/Parade at the end of the day on Friday. There was a competition between each department but ours didn't win. We were beat by the Giant Sushi Roll from the Food and Beverage Department and the Zoombies from Administration.




Groups Department


Giant Sushi Roll