Vacation Journal: Okolehao Trail

When it finally stopped raining, Chris was ready to take the family hiking. Okolehao Trail is very close to my parent's condo and is one of our favorites. Here is a family picture at the trailhead. There is a stream that runs under this bridge. David would have been perfectly happy to drop leaves and sticks into the river and watch them float downstream... and just pass on the hike! This activity probably comes natural to children, but we always think of Winnie the Pooh and his game of Pooh Sticks from our read alouds.

Hiking sticks are very important. My Dad was sweet enough to save the kid's hiking sticks for them in his garage... the ones they picked out last year! By the way, this trail basically takes you straight up the mountain. It is hard work just to hike it... but my sweet husband likes this trail so much he actually pushes Lia up the mountain in her jogging stroller. I have no idea how he does this but he must burn about a thousand calories.

Nana and Emily had lots of quality time to talk on our hikes. They both enjoyed this time.

No... Chris isn't checking his email. He pulled up the GPS to see where we were on the mountain. Technology is pretty cool.

We remembered there were wild orchids on this trail from last year and were very happy to find a few. Emily always has the job of picking flowers for our dinner table each night and she takes this work very seriously.

Lizard!

We were proud to identify the Koa tree by its sickle shaped leaves. Koa wood is highly prized by the Hawaiians for its hardness and is used to make outrigger canoes, surfboards, hardwood floors, etc...

So yes, it is great excercise to hike up a mountain but the best part of working so hard is the view you are rewarded with at the end. You can see beautiful Hanalei Bay behind us. I also made chocolate chip muffins to enjoy at the top. The thought of those muffins kept us going as well.

Emily did her job well. She gathered a beautiful bouquet to take home.