I just got back from a trip to Hawaii, the Big Island.  The occasion?  My wife and I celebrated our 30th Anniversary!  Yep, 30 years ago she took vows with me.  We’ve had our share of ups and downs but this trip was definitely one of the ups.  Five years ago we went to Maui with our family for our 25th Anniversary.  This time around it was just Cristy and I.

We landed at Kona, rented a 4WD Jeep and drove up to the North side of the island.  We stayed at a B&B in Kukuihaele about 1/4 mile from the Waipio Valley.  The house was basically a studio bungalow and the scenery was absolutely stunning.  The house is set on the side of a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

For 5 days we gorged ourselves on fish and fruit, visited beaches, gardens, waterfalls and ate more fish and fruit.  The reason for the 4WD Jeep was so we could visit the Waipio Valley and beach.  The drive down the road was quite a thrill.  Steep mountain road grades in the Western US are like 6-8%.  This road was a 25% grade!

Since pictures are worth far more than words…