May 6, 2017 - Tanya's Trip to Hawaii - Day 5 - Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation,​ Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 17 DAYS

It's Saturday and I have no clue where the week went!! Boy, did it fly by.  Could be because i had completely packed days starting from last Monday.

The good news is, it was one of the most productive weeks I've had in a while!  

Last night the girlies had their Father-Daughter Dance, as you know, from all my prep over the past few weeks - shopping for dresses, getting them altered, styling hair, doing nails and the rushing around yesterday.

They both looked so cute!  The theme this year was "the 80's" which neither kid was too thrilled.  It seems that the new "committee" has lacked creativity in the past few years by just choosing "eras" as their theme.

I chaired this committee for a few years, and boy, did we get rave reviews for our themes, decorations and food!!

Oh well, not everyone is equally creative.

The good news is, the girls had fun, dancing, being with their friends and being part of the festivities.

Kelsey ready to go (c) travelincousins.com

Gianna was going for the 'big hair" look since the Dance theme last night was "the 80's" (c) travelincousins.com

Gianna looks so much taller than Kelsey with her heals on (c) travelincousins.com

I had asked them both to take some photos AT the dance, since they both had their cell phones.  Unfortunately, neither of them did! OH well.

Another big week of events starts May 15th.  Gianna has her band concert that night, followed by my first born's 13th Birthday on the 16th.  
​Trust me, it's going to be a busy week!!

Before, I realize it, May 22nd will be her and I'll be headed for my little trip to Las Vegas for a few days.

Moving right along...
Tanya continues on with her visit on the "Big Island."  

I must admit, I'm having a great time piggy backing her tours and adventures all week!

Today, lets take a look at three of the places she visited yesterday - 

Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation

This award-winning coffee company is located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, offering "only the best Kona Coffee the world has to offer" according to their website. 

Family-owned and operated is one of the reasons Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation has been so successful at maintaining quality and insuring that it continues to be one of the most reputable names in 100% Kona Coffee.

And the proof lies in the fact that it has now won over 16 awards in a five-year period of time!

Organic Kona Coffee is one of their specialties and which is described as the most nutty and chocolaty 100% Kona Coffee’s around. They are also certified Kosher by K-OFK, Organic by GOCA, and hold the Seal of Quality from the State of Hawaii.

(credit: mountain thunder.com)

Farm Tours include free tasting, dry-milling, sizing, gravity table, color sorting tour, roasting facility and bagging facility tour.   And best of all they are free!


​Mauna Kea - the WORLD'S TALLEST SEA MOUNTAIN

(credit: geology.com)

Very interesting.. according to Geology.com: 

Mauna Kea has an altitude of 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) - much lower than Mount Everest.

​However, Mauna Kea is an island, and if the distance from the bottom of the nearby Pacific Ocean floor to the peak of the island is measured, then Mauna Kea is "taller" than Mount Everest.


Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Island

(credit: shannontech.com)

Having seen lava on Saturday, Tanya is off to see if she can find more!!

This time, she will be visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, also located on Hawaii Island (the Big Island), located 30 miles southwest of Hilo.

Within this National park, there are two active volcanos - the Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. I can only imagine the great pictures Tanya will capture!!

The Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth and is sometimes called "the world's only drive-in volcano."  

​The chance to witness the primal process of creation and destruction make this park one of the most popular visitor attraction in Hawaii and a sacred place for Native Hawaiians.

In additional to the actual volcanos, there are also a number of phenomenal sites to see...

* The Crater Rim Drive passes steam vents, which I'm guessing, my dear cuz will enjoy!

* The Jaggar Museum, which features volcanology exhibits and a viewpoint overlooking Halema'uma'u Crater is located within the park and on Tanya's agenda for today.

* The Thurston Lava Tube (aka Nāhuku) is marked by thick ferns at its entrance.

The Chain of Craters Road weaves over lava. Trails crisscross the park.

Founded in 1916, the Park encompasses 333,000 acres from the summit of Maunaloa to the sea.

There are 150 miles of hiking trails through volcanic craters, scalded deserts and rainforests as well as a museum, petroglyphs.

Maunaloa, last erupted in 1984 and Kilauea has not erupted since January 3rd, 1983. The extraordinary natural diversity of the park was recognized in 1980 when it was named a World Biosphere site by UNESCO and in 1987 when the park was again honored as a World Heritage site.

Anyway - I'm off to get my day going!!

Here's to fun and smiles today!!
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop 
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: HAWAII

HELLO Weekend! ALOHA from the Big Island!

Good morning from our lanai (c)travelincousins.com

Guess what I finally had - my first cup of Kona Coffee since getting here!!!

We went to Kona Coffee and Tea based on my friend Kristina's recommendation and BOY WAS SHE SPOT ON!
​Sooo good. Sooo smooth. Sooo Delicious :)

I actually spent a good portion of the day checking things out based on Kristina's recommendations:

There was the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park - where I got to see a Honu (Green Sea Turtle)!!!

Kaloko (meaning "the pond" in the Hawaiian language) is a site of fishponds used in ancient Hawaii is on the North end of the park.

Sign into the park (c)travelincousins.com

Here we are! (c)travelincousins.com

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (c)travelincousins.com

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (c)travelincousins.com

Playing around with a selfie stick (c)travelincousins.com

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (c)travelincousins.com

​And then there was the Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation where we had an excellent private tour explaining everything under the sun about Kona coffee.

It was rainy out and we were up in a Cloud Forest Reserve - of course of the day we didn't bring our ponchos. LOL

At an elevation of 3,200 feet (the highest that coffee can grow at) this plantation grows coffee beans at the highest elevation of other Kona coffee plantation and is the highest coffee plantation in the USA.

The experience was soooo cool and super educational too!       I highly recommend it!

Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

Cute farm kitty at Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

Coffee blossom at Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

Labels ready to go at Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

Burlap sack at Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation (c)travelincousins.com

​
DID YOU KNOW: Kona Coffee can ONLY be grown in the Kona coffee belt.

The Kona coffee belt is only 3 miles wide and 20 miles long otherwise it is just Hawaiian Coffee!

100% pure Kona coffee is a rare commodity exclusively grown in north and south Kona. The high elevation, constant cloud coverage and rich volcanic soil from Hualalai Volcano in the upland slopes of Kona create an ideal environment for harvesting this unique Hawaiian coffee bean.

​In this "coffee belt," Kona coffee is produced by over 600 mostly small farms for a total of about 2 million pounds of green Kona coffee beans annually.

​Next up was a real biggie for Dave because we were heading to Mauna Kea - the WORLD'S TALLEST SEA MOUNTAIN which is the perfect location for some of the world's best telescopes!

Looking out at Mauna Loa and the from Mauna Kea (c)travelincousin.com

​Driving up from sea level to almost 14,000 feet in under 2 hours is not a feat that you can accomplish in too many places.
But that is all that it takes - oh that and a 4wd drive vehicle as well, in order to be above the clouds and reach the summit.

Craters above the clouds (c)travelincousins.com

Big ol telescopes (c)travelincousins.com

Telescoping opening for the night (c)travelincousins.com

On top on Mauna Kea (c)travelincousins.com

Awesome sunset (c)travelicousins.com

What's going on in there? (c)travelincousins.com

Shades of the sky (c)travelincousins.com

Look ma it's snow in Hawaii! (c)travelincousins.com

Dave's highlight of the trip (c)travelincousins.com

Dave was all about the technology and telescopes. While I was there to watch the gorgeous sunset and to be standing at the summit of the WORLD'S TALLEST SEA MOUNTAIN - which was pretty darn cool!

Sunset behind the Keck telescope (c)travelincousins.com

The one thing that was not really in our favor today was food and our meals. I had breakfast plans that fell through because of us losing track of the breakfast hours.
Then I also had plans of bringing something for lunch and dinner - since everything seems to close fairly early (9pm ish) and there really aren't any dining choices at or near the Mauna Kea.

But when we had stopped by the local health food store - it was all in vain because they really hadn't had much of anything to offer me, my picky self and I.

And this point still with no breakfast I suggested that we head back to Evolution Bakery Cafe - since they were close by and a sure thing.

But lo and behold, after watching the sunset and waiting to leave the summit until the last minute possible, Dave opted against us staying at the visitors center to do star gazing and in turn we would head back to Kona just in the nick of time to order some take out dinner.

We went to an Indian restaurant - Dave's favorite cuisine, and brought it back to the hotel to chow down. However although I asked for mine to be mild - I think they wanted to kill me - holy crapolies was it HOT.
So hot that I couldn't enjoy it or even eat that much of it an ended up tossing it.

Hopefully I don't encounter any food issues today. Fingers are crossed.

We are heading out into Hawaii Volcano National Park in hopes of finding more LAVA!!

Check back tomorrow to find out how successful I am.

Until then, and may all of your dreams come true.
-T