Things I have been lovin' all January...

Beach time...aaahhh, beach time...

Good news...

Sunsets...and the sun that comes before them. Come to mama vitamin D. ;-)
Clouds with silver linings...Cool trees on hikes...Hikes along lava fields...past some wild goats finding a driftwood swing along the hike...

stopping for a rest at black sand beach with waves crashing against the lava...

beauty on the beach...

And, sadly, in amongst that beauty (way out the lava field on a secluded hike-in only beach)...

plastic garbage. W and I picked all this up in only about 5 minutes.

Hike up a ridge with a breathtaking view...(this is only part way up)

Plants and flowers actually growing instead of being covered in snow...

(I even found this tomato plant growing out of lava bits) Favourite fruits and veg grown locally...

(real tomatoes that tasted like real tomatoes - bliss!)

Other fun sights and things to do...
and the flowers....I love me the flowers... And my favourite hike on the 2nd island we went to was this one - on the Kalalau trail along the Na Pili coastline.that stretch of beach was where we were headed.
It was one muddy hike. Critters like crabs... red-footed boobies... whales...(you can just see him breaching there - not a great shot as it was taken from up high above the ocean at the lighthouse)

as well as green sea turtles, dolphins, eel, octopus, and much more.

A canyon hike...
And enough down time for knitting warm woollies for our return...

socks from my Kool-aid yarn and a woolen cowl.

and one Norwegian house slipper from the most unusual pattern.

If you want to see a few more pics I've posted on our shared blog too.

On our way to the airport to come home my 13 year old said to me, "Being here is like hitting the 'pause" button." That really struck me. As a person who for years has wished for a pause button to slow things down in our lives so that we could take time to enjoy it more I really liked hearing that from my son. Our month on the islands is like a pause button and we are very blessed to have it. We spend our time with no have-tos and only want-tos. It was a very good month indeed.

P.S.- thank you all for your comments and compliments on this blog. I was away all month so not able to respond to them all but I appreciate them very much.