Relaxing and Exploring on the Island of Hawaii

 Part two of our Hawaiian vacation brought us to the Big Island, and this part of the trip was much more relaxing. Lots of gorgeous sights and spaces to explore right within and around the resort!

Plumerias have been a long time favorite flower of mine and I loved walking past the trees and putting them in my hair

I spent a good hour or so just watching the koi swim around. I think this is just my piscean nature, I'm so attracted to water and flow.

Isn't this a gorgeous water lily? I'd love to have a koi pond in my own backyard.

Off Highway 19, it appears there isn't much to see except for long stretches of cooled lava, but if you pull over and explore, you'd be surprised at what you might find.

What initially seems like dry, barren land is actually rich with volcanic soil and life. If you look closely, you can actually see the ripples and textures that are left behind after the lava cools.

There were lots of wild goats along the highway, and I even found the remains of one.

Now, I'm not a forensic scientist of anything, but just humor me for a moment--I have a hunch that this goat was hit by a car. I spotted it along the highway and a lot of the bones were shattered/broken. This area seems so empty, but the decomposing bones are a pretty clear indicator that there are animals and critters living in the area.

Right at the edge of the resort there are a bunch of tide pools that I like walking through in the morning. This time around the tide was too high so I spent most of my time walking along the shoreline, which was all coral.

I also got to meet some of the resort residents...

This trip was too good to me. Remember when Ferris Bueller tells the audience, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"? Well, I thought about that and I spent the last night sitting by the shore and watching the waves. If this trip has taught me anything, it is to slow down and just breathe. Look around, smell the flowers, breathe the air, and take a moment to be present. I've been back for a week now, and honestly, it's hard to slow down, but looking at these photos again, I felt like I was brought back to a place of peace.

Until next time, Hawaii!