December 30th we headed back to the mainland, and stayed in Phoenix for a few days to attend the Clemson/OSU playoff game.  Clemson won, and went on to beat Alabama for the College National Championship!

We celebrated mom and dad's 20th anniversary on the beach!

or headed down to the beach to relax, or paddleboard.

Back at the resort, we enjoyed the lazy river...

We passed dolphins, viewed whales in the distance, and swam with the turtles.

The next day we slept in, enjoyed the resort, then boarded a catamaran for an afternoon of sailing.

We also toured the USS bowfin, the Pacific Aviation Museum and the USS Missouri, where WWII ended.

Touring the USS Arizona memorial was very moving.

We spent the 26th visiting the Pearl Harbor memorial.

The water was strong, and the waves were 30 feet tall!

We rented a car after breakfast, then headed to the North Shore to view the waves.

We celebrated with Mickey, at the character breakfast!

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Christmas Day 2016!

Dinner, a show, and dance lessons!

The next day, we headed back to Oahu, checked into the Aulani resort, and headed down the beach to Paradise Cove for a Luau!

All new land created by the lava was responsible for the growth of the Big Island

Past the church we boarded bikes, and rode to the sea to watch the lava spill into the sea.

The painted church was moved, just before an active volcano was getting ready to cover it in lava.

Volcanos National Park had beautiful trails, and views of active volcanos.

We snorkeled with Big Island Divers where we saw many fish...but no Manta Rays!

Along our drive we found fruit stands where we tasted local fruits.

We stopped at Akaka Falls, on the way to Kona. While narrow, they are taller than Niagra Falls!

We spent the next few days at Coqui Cottage and taking day trips around the island.

It took only 3 hours to hike back down.  We arrived about 30 minutes after sunset.  Our heads and stomachs felt better to be back at 9,200 feet and eventually our home at sea level!

The rise in altitude made it hard to breathe at times...but after 7 hours we made it to the top!  We followed a path at the peak, around multiple astronomical observatories and viewed the cloud covered ground below.

The higher we hiked, the more snow appeared.  While we expected it to be cold, the warmer weather made us shed our clothes as we hiked!

We started the hike at 8am at 9,200 feet.  The base of Mauna Kea is 19,000 feet below sea level, and once at the top, you have climbed the tallest mountain in the world.

We settled into our home in Hilo, then arose early the next day to hike Mauna Kea.

We boarded another plane, headed for the Big Island.

We arrived on Oahu, greeted by native Hawaiians.

We finished finals, drove to Phoenix, and were up early for a direct flight to Hawaii!

They danced in 5 performances of A Christmas Carol.  Cate was a gravedigger and ghost.  Caroline was a ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, and a tapper with the Ghost of Christmas Present.

We spent a few evening and the weekend in Alamogordo, preparing for A Christmas Carol.  In our spare time, we ate, shopped, and hung at in the Patron Café.

Afterwards she and Barrow helped mom and dad celebrate their 20th anniversary at De La Vega's.

Cate played her viola in Sierra Middle School's Orchestra Christmas performance.

The Christmas tree was up, and Mapache found a new place to nap!