We got on the road at 8:30 this morning and headed to Waimea Canyon. Steve and I have been to the canyon before several times and we figured that the girls should at least see it. They have come all this way after all. That said, it's a 2 hour drive each way and I wasn't completely sure they would love the day. But they did!

We were blessed with another dry day, even at high altitude. We have pants and jackets and cameras in hand when we got out and over-looked…

A very nice man volunteered to take our picture. Lots of wind. Luckily my hair was mostly glued in place.

I like these unposed photos taken from behind. A person's personality comes through in a way that it doesn't when they are smiling at the camera. It's unguarded.

This is the Grand Canyon of Hawaii and near the rainiest spot on the planet. It's nice to have enough sun to see your shadow.

We went to another overlook where you can sometimes se the ocean. Not today. It was wetter and colder and less clear. I cajoled a big smile out of Elanor.

Lola will offer a smile for the camera in a flash…

I am the mother of boys and girls in general sort of crack me up. Lola and Elanor are different but mesh very well. I'm enjoying being around little girls. They see the world differently than do boys. For one thing, not every stick is a weapon.

On the way off the mountain we stopped at this cool place…

You park off the road. The water was flowing and it was an amazing spot for a phot. Lola said that in this photo it looked like I had photoshopped in a different background. An astute observation.

I got these shots while the girls were digging up a bit of red dirt. Isn't that a great backdrop?!

We got down in time to eat lunch in Waimea. Got ice cream, stamps, boxes, and found a ladies room. All good things. Then it was off to Spouting Horn. We didn't get a great photo. We had time to stop at Poipu Beach. We were unprepared for the beach and it was late in the day so we stopped knowing we'd be there for only about 30 minutes. The girls were very happy.

Tomorrow is a Poipu day. We'll go prepared to spend several hours. And depending on how well we apply sunscreen, we'll go back on Thursday, and Saturday morning. It's an hour's drive each way but the beach is so worth it.

Now, just a note to crack up the adults… Steve and I are each reading a Stephaie Plum novel on the beach. Years ago Steve ran out of something to read on a trip and I gave in one of these. Darned if they are a fun beach read even for a guy. Every book is basically the same and who cares if there is sand in the book. If I could eat wheat I'd be craving donuts…