elcome to the journal for April O’Hare Photography! Here you’ll find all of my latest photographic outings with the couples, families, seniors and small businesses that I get to work with and make beautiful photographs for. You may also see a personal post here and there discussing my life or my travels with my teeny family of one husband and three cats! Sometimes I even write advice articles with tips to help make your photo experience better which you can check out under the “Educational” category.  

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Hawaii Honeymoon: Part II (The Big Island)

March 20, 2013

Some frond plants photographed along the trail in Lava Tree State Park

We went back to Volcanoes National Park that evening to see it in the dark. I was able to get this by placing my camera on the longest timer possible and setting it on the ledge. I feel warm just looking at it!

A view of the tree house from the back patio.

A view of the first level from the lofted bedroom area in the treehouse

The last leg of our trip was the Hilo area. This was a view of the bay in Hilo from our Bed & Breakfast.

Looking out from the kitchen onto the porch from our treehouse in Volcano

Love that this tree has “bones.”

G’s hair is pretty stylish.

Posing with the Lava Tree Molds at Lava Tree State Park

Inside of the Thurston Lava Tube at Volcanoes National Park

A view of the kitchen in the tree house.

There’s the working bathroom! Have you ever seen a tree house with running water?

Shadows of the observatories as the sun sets on Mauna Kea

Look at this tiny plane we had to fly on to hop islands!

Comfiest bed ever! And the view from the bed too!

Watching the surfers on Memorial Day near Hilo Hawaii

We drove all the way to the very end of the Akoni Pule Highway on the northside of the Island where the Kohala Forest Reserve is.

Took me a few tries to get this one right:)

Stopped by Rainbow Falls in Hilo

Along the way we made some stops like the Puako Petroglyphs near the Fairmont Orchid

G does an impression.

This was a game they used to play at the Lapakahi State Historical Park.

We look like grungy hippies.

First stop in Kona was to get our java fix on the Mountain Thunder Coffee Tour.

This is one of my favorite shots I got. I really wanted to get the moon with that sunset:)

These nice people from Newfoundland let us ride in their four wheel drive rental SUV so that we could go on the tour at the top of Mauna Kea. I got this shot of them braving the freezing cold to hike up one of the cones.

G was the one who was really excited about going on this freezing cold boring tour (haha) so I had to get a shot of him nerding out in front of one of the observatories. I’m not positive, but I think this one is the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope.

G really wanted to go to the top of Mauna Kea (where it’s FREEZING) for the tour of the observatories. I’m not sure, but that silver one in the foreground could be Gemini.

That wood burning fireplace provides a lot of warmth during the rain showers that frequent Volcano.

A view from the other side of the living room area.

We also stopped by the Lapakahi State Historical Park which is the site of an old fishing village from 600 years ago. They rebuilt this hut to show what it was like. I decided to test out the napping area.

A view of the sea from the Lapakahi State Historical Park

The Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea at Sunset

Those stairs to the left lead up to the loft area where the bed is located.

We really wanted to hike all the way out to the Papakolea Green Sand Beach on the south side of the island, but we just didn’t have enough time before sunset and no lanterns or flashlights to guide us through the rocky terrain:(

He <3’s me!

Here we are at Akaka Falls near Hilo, Hawaii There’s not nearly enough waterfalls in Hawaii, ha!

The perfect store for us. G scored a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt here and I got a few pretty glass bottles to add to my collection.

Haha…sorry for the profanity but we thought this towel hanging in a shop in Hilo was funny:)

One of the things we really wanted to do was stay in a tree house on this vacation. So we decided that we’d stay at Skye’s tree house in Volcano where we stayed for a couple of nights. I can’t recommend his place enough. It was definitely a highlight of our entire trip and I would LOVE to go back. One of our tours in Volcanoes National Park ended up getting canceled due to low enrollment and we didn’t even care because we wanted more time just to relax in the tree house. You have to check it out:
http://volcanotreehouse.net/
Below is the entrance to the tree house. Look how lush it is! You can’t even see where the house is:) Bonus, there is a friendly cat hanging around sometimes.

The front door from the inside.

Chillin’ in Hilo

Awwww…just the coffee kitty:)

Is this not the creepiest plant you’ve ever seen? I’m still scared of it. I think it’s called a Hapuu Fern.

G is so handsome:)

We were cozy in that tree house. I want to retire and live in one:)

This guy greeted you as you walked up the stairs to the treehouse

Had to check out the seahorse farm even though it cost us a pretty penny. http://www.seahorse.com/

I love how some of the volcanic rock looks like it just got done melting.

Also at the end of the Akoni Pule Highway. So gorgeous!

Probably my favorite from the Big Island of Hawaii

There, there let’s balance that last one out with something a little less scary.

Awww…one of the last photos taken. We relaxed in a park in Hilo before heading back home.

Akaka Falls near Hilo

Part two of our Hawaii honeymoon is on the blog today:) After we spent about a week in Maui we flew on a little plane over to the Big Island of Hawaii and spent about another week exploring. We started off on the Kona side of the island where we toured some coffee plantations, went to the seahorse farm, and even attempted to stand up paddle board when the waves were too weak for real surfing. We also drove over to Volcano to explore Volcano National Park and stayed in a tree house which I have to say was the highlight of our trip. There is nothing quite like slowly waking up with your new husband in the world’s most comfy bed as the rain softly patters against the roof, all while in a tree house! If you ever make it out to the Big Island, I can’t recommend staying at Skye’s tree house enough. It’s a one of a kind piece of art and completely hand built. It’s also 30 feet off the ground and it even has a real shower, kitchen and working toilet! You have to check it out: http://volcanotreehouse.net/
We finished up our Hawaiian honeymoon by staying in the Hilo area and even went all the way up to Mauna Kea where all of the observatories are located.

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  1. Kate says:

    That moon shot is to die for! I’m dying to go back to Hawaii.

  2. April says:

    Thank you Kate! And I am totally dying to get back there too. I had no idea I’d love it as much as I did and I’m trying to plot ways to move there one day;)

  3. jose says:

    Buenisimas las fotos de hilo!!!!!saludos desde argentina