In honor of Hawai'i's 50th anniversary of becoming a state, I didn't have to work last Friday, so I flew to the Big Island for some sunsets, field day games and pub peddling. It was my friend Molly's birthday and she had some fun festivities planned for her big day!
We landed in Hilo just in time to rent a car and take a trip to Mauna Kea for the sunset. It was only my second time up the volcano, so it still amazed me how lunar the landscape looks!
The summit of Mauna Kea is around 14,000 feet, so we had to pass through the clouds on our way up. Here's a view looking down to some of the observatories.
Even though it was August, it was still really cold at the top! Very strange to go from 85 degrees at sea level to 40 degrees at the summit! I thought I had planned for enough layers, but I still had to run back to warm up in the refuge of the car every once in awhile! Here I am with the mountain shadow in the background (the sun sets on one side of Mauna Kea which casts a shadow on the other side- pretty cool!).
A spectacular view of the sunset!
From the warm shelter of the car, I kept running outside to capture the changes in the cloud formations- at one point, we saw a Apatosaurus (formerly known as a brontosaurus).
Self portrait of Molly and Me (Paula would be proud)!
There was an awesome moon that night too- absolutely beautiful!
The next day, Molly and I headed into town to help with party planning. I was sent off to the Hilo Market to pick up lunch and some fresh veggies. The farmer's market in Hilo is an institution and it's so cool to go and look at all the fruits and vegetables. I ran into two groups of people who commented on my Georgia Southern T-shirt- you never know where you are going to meet fellow southerners!
Molly's birthday celebration was in combination with another friend's birthday, so it was the 30 and over Solids vs. the 30 and under Polka-dots (we didn't actually have anyone fall in between, so I'm not sure what we would have done. Molly and I took our costumes very seriously.....what do you think of my cape?
There were lots of field day games including a water balloon toss......
a hula hoop game (to win, each team had to hold hands and then pass the hula hoop around the entire team).....
and an egg toss.....here's the before......
and here's the after......
It was so much fun playing in the park that day. We had lots of little kids running up to see what we were up to and we got some of them to play (they must not have field day here!).
After the last of the games, we began the scavenger hunt/pub peddle at Coqui's Hideaway (Science Info for the day: coqui frogs were accidentally introduced to the Big Island from Puerto Rico. They have thrived and multiplied and out compete many of the other native amphibians). 
We had clues that led us to each site around town and we all had bicycles (or 1 skateboard) to get from spot to spot. We weren't allowed to leave each bar though without completing a task such as walking backwards, talking completely in a made-up language or singing a Michael Jackson tribute song at the karaoke club....
We ended the night with snacks at Ken's Diner- I had the Macadamia Nut Pie! Delicious! Oddly enough, Molly and I matched the decor! 
Thanks Molly for a fun weekend and a little R and R on the Big Island!
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