Hawaii- Part 2, Molokai

Molokai is a smaller island in Hawaii. 10 miles wide, 30 miles long. Life runs a lot slower there. They don't have any major Costco's or grocery stores, or any major stores at all. The island only host a few thousand residents, and they live off the local organic farms and shops. This is why it's called "Hawaii back to nature". There isn't a lot of tourism, and the locals like to keep it that way. Visiting Moloaki isn't for seeing and doing and snapping photos...it's more for becoming part of the culture and the island itself. This is where Brian really "unplugged". We loved it. We just lived "molokai-style" for a few days and already miss it. It was such a nice break from our regular hectic, crazy life. 

 Tuesday was a travel day. It was also Valentine's day and Brian surprised us all with fresh-flower leis. They were beautiful and smelled even better than they looked!

 

This is Brian's favorite thing Zoey does....cuddle and snuggle his arm. It's so cute. 

We traveled in a little 6-8 passenger plane. Four of the seats were for our family, so we were a large part of the flight! It was exciting, but I could feel each smallest bit of turbulence and it made my stomach fly to my throat each time, so I was a little nervous on this flight. 

Oahu from the air (we also saw whales from the air)...

Curious boys looking out the windows....

Wednesday morning, Brian took Jackson fishing to catch his first fish! He loved it, they both did! The first reel had 3 hooks; Jackson lowered it to the bottom and came up with 3 fish! This was "Captain Clay." He was a great guide. Jackson caught around 20 fish in about 90 minutes, and decided he was done. So I came to pick him up at the wharf and Brian went out for a private fly fishing excursion. He didn't get a catch that day, but he did get to see a ton of sea turtles and stepped in a pod of "harmless" reef sharks!

We did the same thing we did on Oahu...beach in the morning, naps in the day and beach late afternoon. Jackson helped himself to the sunscreen..... we luckily had no sunburns this trip (ok--Brian got a little burned on his calves from his fishing trip, but htat was all)!

From this point in our vacation, it gets a little hazy as to what day it was, and when we did what....but we also visited a local macadamia nut farm. The fresh nuts were creamy delicious! Zoey fell in love with them! They also enjoyed cracking the nuts with the hammer....

Molokai is home to where the lepers were banished in the 1800's. This is a lookout to that secluded colony ( you can only see it from personal invitation, mule ride (no road entry), and have to be over 16 years old....it's very exclusive). It was a bit chilly and windy at the top but the view was amazing!

Just beyond this colony, are the largest sea cliffs in the world...also only available to see from a plane or boat charter at certain times of the year. We weren't lucky enough to see the cliffs this time, so we'll have to go back! We have seen photos and they are impressive!

We loved, loved, loved our little beach bungalow! It was perfect! This is the view of the beach from inside....

There was a nice yard for the kids to play in when they weren't on the beach...it also had great views of Maui and Lanai from here. 

The last day we were there, we went to church at the local ward, which was a part of the Maui stake and the Kona Temple President had come to speak. It was a great service. We had to check out right after church, but had a few ours before our flight, so we took a drive around the island. pictures just cannot capture the beauty....

It had rained the night before, and after the clouds cleared, we witnessed a waterfall!

Some impressive sea cliffs, just a glimpse at what the other cliffs might be like!

Zoey's favorite treat on the island...local doughnut holes served on a stick! Our last indulgence before saying goodbye!

Man, I miss it!