"7 Days of Paradise" Day 2 - Part 2

 "7 Days of Paradise" Day 2 - Part 2
from Kimber King's Blog, "Life of a Wahm"
(read previous posts at www.lifeofawahm.com)

So after our snorkeling experience, it was time to get out and explore this beautiful island.  Luckily we brought along our "Tom Tom" (that has saved us from a ton of fights over the last year)! 

 

If you don't have a Tom Tom, wives, husbands, this is a must have if you are ever going to travel and especially with kids!  Seriously...next birthday or holiday gift, this is a no-brainer!

Anyway... we actually didn't have a destination in mind.  We just started driving north and as we drove along the beautiful island, the mountain range in front of me was just stunning!   I'm from Utah and I'm used to the majesty of big mountains but this one was just covered in GREEN and had a layer of clouds, almost fog that just seemed to descend and hang out daily over it, casting a huge shadow.....it's just truly something to behold.

As we drove, I put "parks and recreations" into Tom Tom and it came up with Iao Needle.  Now silly us, this is a major tourist attraction but since we just kind of do our own thing, we just happened to stumble up on it.

As we drove up the narrow canyon towards it, I felt like "Sawyer and Kate" would run out of the jungle carrying rifles at any moment (for you "Lost Fans")....

Anyway, the Iao Needle is really beautiful! 

Hawaiian story behind the Iao Needle:  The Hawaiian god Kāne is considered to be the procreator and the provider of life. He is associated with wai (fresh water) as well as clouds, rain, streams and springs. Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the underworld, is represented by the phallic stone of the ʻĪao Needle.

So yes... the Iao Needle is a phallic symbol.  LOL  As we were reading about Kanaloa, actually at Iao Needle, it spoke of him as the god of the oceans and so jokingly I told Stew from here on out, he was "Kanoloa"  (since he is such a fish and at one with the ocean).  Like a typical guy, he took to the name right away ;)  So Kanoloa was born!

After we left Iao, we journeyed back down the canyon and Stew stopped by a fruit stand and bought some fresh papaya and avocado. 

We then drove through the town there that was really cute and quaint and up another curvy road to a beautiful ranch at the top.

After that, it was getting dark and as we drove back, we saw a familiar site, Outback Steak House!  So after a long, active and fun day, that "wedge salad" and fresh coconut shrimp really hit the spot!  YUM!

Check back for Day 3's adventures at www.lifeofawahm.com