Mel (Mike's dad), Marie (Kelli's mom), and Terry (Mike's mom) make new friends at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (aka "Place of Refuge")
St. Benedict's (aka the "Painted Church") Catholic Church. Father John Velge, a priest from Belgium, painted the inside of this church between 1899-1904.
We went on Captain Dan McSweeney's Whale Watch tour and saw quite a few whales, though not as many in previous years. Unfortunately, Mike forgot the camcorder in the van, so we didn't get any video!
A Manta Ray came swimming up right next to Captain Dan's boat. These gentle creatures only eat plankton, but are upwards of 12-15 feet across and look like a bat or a B-2 bomber in the water.
One of our favorite places on the Big Island is the Pololu Valley on the north end of the island near Hawi. It's a spectacular view both from the top as well as from the valley floor and the beach.
To get to the valley floor and beach, you must travel down a rocky trail down the side of the valley about 450 feet in elevatopm. Needless to say, it's much easier going down than going up, which was NOT appreciated by some members of our group. Everybody's mood improved, though, after a stop at Tropical Dreams in Hawi for their AWESOME ice cream!
Here are some coffee beans growing at Greenwell Farms. This year, rather than just sample all of their coffee, we went on the tour as well, which was surprisingly interesting.
Here Mel & Terry walk on coffee beans as they dry in the sun. (It sounds gross, but since they still must finish processing the beans, it really doesn't make any difference.)
Greenwell's specializes in coffee today, but they also grow other fruits. Here, a bunch of bananas are just about finished growing.
When the crop of bananas are done, the entire tree is chopped down. A new tree then grows from the stump, and the process starts all over!