Fun With The Fam

Phil's Mom, Sue, and his two youngest sisters, Ellie and Maddie, have been visiting over the last ten days.
IT HAS BEEN FABULOUS!
We had tons of fun, which was easy with these guys. We explored a lot of the island that Phil and I haven't been to in awhile. We went kayaking at Captain Cook, four wheeling out to Green Sand Beach, hiking in Waipio Valley, whale watching in Hilo Bay - we hit all the hot spots!
The whale watching was amazing. We saw a calf and cow pair; apparently the first calf of the season. The calf was playing around the protection of its mother who stayed near the surface most of the time. We were really fortunate to see a couple of complete breaches by the calf and a lot of tail splashing from the adults in the area. It was a pretty windy and rocky day out on the boat, as evidenced by my sacrifice to the Ocean Gods, but overall it was a high light of my vacation with the Bonins!
Ellie and Maddie also visited UH Hilo as a possible school to transfer to next year. I'm trying not to get too excited (no pressure girls!), but it would be so great to have aunties around next year, maybe even living with us.
Even though I wasn't on vacation for the entirety of their visit, now that they have left I feel like I really have to return to the real world.
Thanks Maddie, Ellie, and Sue for a great time. It is always wonderful when family comes to visit.