HAWAII 2013 - Celebrating 20 Years of Bliss

We finally made it back to Hawaii to celebrate our 20th Anniversary- April 30th, 2013.  We went the first time for our 10th Anniversary and because we loved it so much we knew we'd try to go back every 5 years.  Well, life always throws you a curve ball and for our 15th Anniversary Mike was out of work and looking for a new career.  Not an easy time for us.  Hawaii would have to wait.  Well, we overcame that trial in our lives and moved ahead 5 years to our 20th.  We definitely were going to make it to Hawaii this time.
20 years is a long time but It's been a wonderful journey and I love Mike more and more each day.  We've been together through the ups and downs of life and it's all been a blessing.  I love you Mike!

 Because we explored new beaches each day on the Island of Kona, I had to get a shot at what we were looking at.  I couldn't get enough of the white sands and turquoise ocean - it's breathtaking.

 We did a lot of exploring on Kona.  There are so many ecosystems on the island.  At first glance you would think it's all very ugly, the black lava rock covering most of the land.   But  that's what makes the beaches that more fabulous because if you search you can find the most beautiful beaches.  This day we hiked into  lava fields to find Turtle Bay.  And we did see turtles.

 Another beautiful beach.

 Inside the Lava Tubes at the Volcano National Forest.

 Going on our hike down to the Volcano Crater.  It reminded us of walking on the moon.  You could see the steam rise out of the ground and you could feel the heat.

 We loved being together exploring and hiking.  Of course Mike always had to make a competition out of it.  One of the hikes said it would take 2-3 hours.  He said, "Let's do it 1 hour."  Always trying to getter done.  We did and passed a lot of hikers along the way.

 Checking our the ways at the black sandy beach

 Our little set-up when we were trying to keep shaded after we burnt ourselves the day before.  

 Another beautiful beach.

 The Kona Temple.  We have always gone to the temple on our Wedding Anniversary.  It actually had the same floor plan as the Spokane Temple so I felt like we were home.  

 The Waikea Valley.  Talk about a hike.  It was a 25% incline road 1 mile lone down to a waterfall (more like a trickle), and black sandy beaches.  We didn't get pictures of how steep is actually is.  Again, Mike made a goal to get up the hill in 30 minutes.  It takes most people an hour.

 We had such a great time exploring, hiking, and spending time together.  We just forgot to get pictures of us snorkeling.

 Happy 20th Anniversary.  Maybe we'll come back for our 25th.