Big Island Minimoon

Our wedding was my third trip to Hawaii in 4 years (Mr. Mek's 2nd trip), between that and having lived on Oahu in my younger years, I have already done almost everything there is to do on Oahu...times 3. This time I wanted to do something a lil' different, so Mr. Mek and I decided to fly to the Big Island for a few days.


We stayed at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC), which is a cottage and resort based at for active and retired military. Not only was is super affordable, but it is located right in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We had a cute 1 bedroom cabin with a jacuzzi tub and fireplace, ALL to ourselves.

source for top right photo

Just like on Oahu, the weather was less than desirable. Initially, we had planned to hike the volcano ourselves, but since it was cold, windy and very wet, we ended up taking a van tour instead. We were the only ones on the tour though; it was like we had our own personal tour guide that day. :o)

Kilauea's blistering lava flows meet the sea

Craters, lava, museums....nice way to spend a cool rainy day.

Pele, the volcano goddess.

We walked though a 500-year old lava cave formed when an underground channel of molten lava drained from its cooled walls forming a massive, hollow chamber. A rain forest awaits at the other end of the tunnel.

KMC had a lot of indoor activities (thank goodness!), besides spending time alone in the cabin (ahem!), we had some drinks and went bowling (they also had an arcade and a movie theater).

Yeah....we suck. Mr. Mek's Wii bowling skills are no match to real bowling.

After a week + of family and friends, it was really nice to take it easy and spend some alone time together. And then....it was back to the "real" world. Blah!

Ohhh Hawaii...'til next time.

Our "honeymoon"...mini moons..I mean, many moons ago.

The weather was unusual for Hawaii. While the winter months are usually cooler and rainy, it was extremely windy while we were there. And while the weather was still 20 times better than March in Central PA, it was still not swim suit wearing, beach swimming weather. We were in Hawaii for a total of 11 days. It was our wedding and mini-moon rolled all into one. Here's a quick rundown of some of the things we did:

You already saw us hike Diamond Head; we also did a small hike on Maunawilli Falls Trail. Lots of mud, (man made) stairs, and a cool refreshing waterfall.

We did this hike the day after our wedding, remember when I said that I got eaten alive on our wedding day? I was not exaggerating! Need Proof?!

Oh what?! You can't see them? Here...let me point them out to you...

Seven. 7. Seven misquito bites and that's only on one arm. Forget my other arm or my back.

Went shopping at the Aloha Swap Meet (one of my favorite things to do when visiting Oahu)! We meet my girlfriend there and, totally unplanned, we were wearing the same shirt. How middle school are we?!

We didn't go swimming, but we still made it to the beach.

Mr. Mek spit rhymes over beats made by street performers in Waikiki.

We par-tay-ed with our friends!

Has no idea what's going on in these two bottom photos...but they crack me up every time I see them.

We went to the Dole Plantation, got a lil' pineapple ice cream, took a train ride to toured the pineapple fields and ventured through the pineapple maze (for 2 hours!).

And our Hawaii mini-moon didn't end there, we then took off for the Big Island for a few days. More to come!