Weekend Adventures and Thanksgiving

This week we had Thanksgiving at Lindsey's work and it was great. We have spent a lot of our Thanksgivings away from family over the past couple of years, but we've managed to make most of them have been very special and different. This year, we went out to the farm where Lindsey works two days of the week. All of the kids in the program made a big meal at each of the three camps. It was so nice to be able to see the beautiful setting that Lindsey gets to call her second office. Typically, it's closed off to non-staff, but I was able to check it all out on T-day. So, we ended up having a meal with about 12 of the kids, some staff, and the owner of the program. About 20 of us ate the huge meal sitting at one enormous, round picnic table in the middle of a forested farm, it was really nice.

We headed up the Hamakua Coast this weekend just to see some sights that we haven't explored yet. Another fab trip.


Here's one of our new favorite meals: turkey burgers with goat cheese, beets, and purple sweet potatoes...mmmm.


Surf beach, we just went this last weekend.


Here's a shot of Mauna Kea behind downtown Hilo.

Thanksgiving

Lindsey drives an hour and a half each way to work two times a week, but what a drive. We have a couple of shots of the route down here and then us at the camp.

When you get to about 2000' feet of elevation (after starting at sea level) it's almost always raining, but your pretty sure that it will stop when you get to about 4000'.

Then, you drive through the National Park, which is mostly desert on the drive, but is just gorgeous.

There are a ton of macadamia nut orchards on the way.

Here are some eucalyptus trees.




(Lindsey's turn) This is where I work....and this is the view the kids have from the first farm/camp. This place is called Nalu, which means Wave in Hawaiian and the focus of this camp is on reflection and self-care (finishing your 3 organic meals a day and drinking 3 Nalgene's of water). The little houses are a students hale, where they are protected from the elements.

This is the last farm: called the Ohana, which means family in Hawaiian. It is our oldest and biggest farm. The second farm is called Kuleana, which means personal-responsibility.


This is where I lead group therapy sessions with the kids!


This is the nursery.

Plants kiddos are planting in the nursery.


The kids decorated for Thanksgiving!



This is a Hawaiian Imu. The kids dug a huge hole, started a fire, layered wood/rocks, and put in the ham/turkey for 5 hours. They covered it with banana leaves and stalks, and a burlap sack, and wet the burlap. It was delicious!!!
This is Bri and I's drive north of Hilo. A huge tsunami hit this area in the 40's.


Bamboo forest at Akaka Falls.


Bri and I spotted 4 wild pigs in the woods as we were walking on the path at the falls! I said we better watch out for mama! Huntint wild pigs is a sport here.


Hamakua Coast.


Akaka Falls.

This is about 7 miles from our house!

A pretty flower Brian spied.