May 30- Kona, Hawaii

Aloha! Hawaii is beautiful and we have gotten some much needed sleep. Many thanks to our families who helped make the wedding such a beautiful day for us and to our friends who helped pack us up and get us out of Brooklyn. Thank you also to everyone who wrote comments and emails to us-- internet time is at a premium, so we cannot reply individually to everyone, but we really appreciate hearing from you all!
We got to into Kona, on the west coast of the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday, though we can't say the same for our luggage. No need to feel bad, we had bathing suits with us, and really, what more do you need here? We promptly went to the farmer's market for some fresh papayas and pineapple and then straight on to the beach where we swam with sea turtles. After all of the madness of the last few weeks, we were thrilled to be able to relax and cook an intimate dinner for two with some of the local vegetables we picked up at the farmer's market. We ate our meal on our balcony, overlooking the ocean.
Sunday we went to "Puuhonua O Honaunau," the Place of Refuge, where all of the ancient Hawaiian kings were buried. It is considered the most sacred spot on the Big Island to the native Hawaiians. We saw some replicas of ancient Hawaiian huts and of course, tiki statues.


Then we walked along the coastline, made completely out of lava. We peered into wading pools and saw sea urchins, black crabs, and some sea cucumbery looking thing. After such a long hard morning, we had to just spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach.
Yesterday, we vegged out on Hapuna beach, a beautiful white sand beach on the Kohala coast. We divided our time evenly between playing in the waves, walking the beach, and napping in the sun, so as to have a well rounded day. The water was bluer than you could ever believe water to be. And yes, Grandma, we wore lots of sunblock. Last night we dined at the Fairmont Orchid hotel and watched the sun set over the palm trees, the lava, and the hula dancer. It was just spectacular!



Today we are headed to Kilauea (a live volcano!!!!) to see where all of this lava really comes from. Every year, the lava flowing into the ocean adds 20 acres to the Big Island (or so we were told by a drunk retired plumber we met on the beach). Tonight we will spend the night in Hilo, on the eastern side of the island and check out some waterfalls tomorrow.
Talk to you in a few days!
Aloha,
Ari and Jillian