Lighthouses and Luaus

From our house on Anini Beach we could see the 

Kilauea Point Lighthouse so we decided one day 

to take the quick drive over and check it out.

The area is a bird sanctuary and the area surrounding the 

lighthouse is just covered with beautiful birds.

A little education along the way is always good.

The lighthouse was originally built in 1913.

And even though we saw a light from our house 

every night...it is no longer a 

"working lighthouse"

You can still see the big light,

but this little one sitting out front is 

what actually lights up the shoreline.

I got a little tickled at Austin, because he was really excited to 

see a working lighthouse, but when we got down there and saw

what it was he dropped his shoulders and said

"I feel like I have been robbed"

I guess we need to get on the hunt for an actual 

"working lighthouse" and make the trip!

There were several species of birds that make their home on the 

side of the cliffs around the lighthouse.

It was really beautiful to see.

A quick family shot...

it was a little windy out on the point.

Working or not 

it was beautiful to see.

The ocean was a beautiful blue and we enjoyed watching

the waves crash on the rocks...

And even caught a glimpse of a large sea turtle floating off

the shore... it had to have been big, because we were very far away...

One last photo from the road and we were off...

This little guy hopped down on the ground and looked like

he was posing for a picture.  His little red head was beautiful.

Next we were on to our Luau.

Smith's Tropical Paradise.

It was funny to be going to an authentic 

Hawaiian Luau with a name like Smith...

but it really was a family affair and they were all 

originally from Hawaii.

There were a TON of Peacocks and Peahens on the property

and they were doing their own thing and did not seem to mind

that we were there at all.

We all stopped and took a family photo on this little

red bridge and then headed off to walk around the grounds before dinner.

This little Peacock was looking for a girlfriend and almost would not 

let me off the bridge...

Austin really enjoyed watching the Peacocks.  He would stand back

and watch the Peacocks follow around a Peahen and try to fan his 

feathers and shake them to get their attention.

One Peahen in particular caught his attention. 

She would run off any other Peahens that were around this one

certain Peacock, but when she was the only one around and he 

would flaunt his feathers for her, she would turn her backside to 

him and walk away or act like he was not even there.

Austin watched quietly for a while and from a safe distance

and then turned to Scott and explained what she was doing.

Scott started to laugh, put his arm around Austin's shoulder and said,

"Son...you can learn a lot from a Peacock..."

Austin looked at him a little confused and Scott said,

"It is like that for men and women of all kinds in this world...

we try and try to impress them and they just ignore us..."

So, with that, Austin's first lesson on dating was in the books!

Hopefully, he will have better luck with the ladies than his little

Peacock friend did.

Jackson and Papa enjoyed watching the big fish that were swimming 

in the pond.

A view of the lovely lake area.

And more of Aunt Leisa's favorite flowers...

I can smell them now.

Before dinner we enjoyed watching the Imu Ceremony

where they uncovered the yummy little piggy

that had been cooking underground all day.

The Imu is the underground oven where they cook the 

Kalua Pork that we ate at our Luau.

They uncovered the underground oven and 

removed the leaves and rocks they used to steam

the pig and then we were off to dinner.

Pender...Table for 14...

Here is a shot of our group waiting our turn to go 

up and fill our plates up!

Jackson posed for a quick picture with Aunt Leisa and 

then we were off to an amazing show that took us 

through the cultural history of Hawaii.

It was a wonderful day in the islands...

We still have a few more adventures before we

have to head back home...

come on back and see what fun we find next.