Author Archive

Stuff to do – Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Visit the Volcano!

The Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is open 24 hours a day, year round. It is also home to the Kilauea Visitor Center, and the Jaggar Museum where you can get a little schooling and culture on the volcano. Please note that there is an entrance fee to the national park. The entrance fee will cost you $10/car (including all passengers) and is good for 1 week.

 

Some fun things to do while in the Volcanoes National Park is to drive the Crater Rim Drive as well as the Chain of Crater Road.  At this point in time, part of the Crater Rim Drive is closed due to volcanic activity (between the Jaggar Museum and the Chain of Craters Road junction), but things may change between now and September. Other great places to visit in the park are the Kilauea Visitor’s Center, the Volcano Art Center & the Volcano House Hotel (which is conveniently located right along the Earthquake Trail, or is it the trail that is conveniently located at the exit of the hotel? I guess that’s up to each person’s perspective!)

 

Unfortunately at this time, you are unable to hike out to the surface lava flows easily. If you are an avid hiker and want to torture yourself, you are welcome to back pack out to the lava flow from the end of the Chain of Craters road. For the experienced hiker, you are looking at a 9-11 mile round trip hike. 9-11 miles round trip, no sweat you may say… Just take a word of advice, 8 years ago Corey and I make a similar hike out to the surface flows from the end of the Chain of Craters Road. Our round trip was maybe 4-5 miles. Those 4-5 miles took us a good 8+ hours (granted there was some serious goofing off involved, but a good portion of the time spent was walking) to make it there and back. Choose wisely about your course of actions because the hike is now days, is not just 8 hours.

 

Here also is a list of a few hikes available in the park for your perusal.

 

And on one last note, good news is you can currently see the lava flowing into the ocean (aka fire hoses)!   Hawaii County has opened up a public viewing area of the lava flow.  Make sure to check the current conditions by calling (808) 961-8093.  The viewing area may be closed due to hazardous weather conditions.

Invitations

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

So I now know why one purchases wedding invitations instead of making them.  Aahhhh.  I never would have dreamed that creating, editing, printing, double checking, doing it all over again, and again, and a 4th or 5th time again, would be such a huge challenge and a head ache.  At least I can say, we’re almost done.  I honestly think that making the invitations will be a snap compared to what we’ve been doing recently.  All the hard work has gone into the designing and editing, making the invitations will be as easy as creating an assembly line.  I think by now I’ve recruited enough victims, I mean volunteers, to make the process go pretty quick.  I believe you all will be pleasantly surprised when you see the final results!!

Flights to Hawaii

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

And flight costs are back up…

Some fun in the sun activities

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

At the Fairmont Orchid there are lots of activities you can take part in!  For instance, a 1 time payment of $65/person will give you access to the Fun & Sun Activity Pass.  Good for your entire stay at the Fairmont Orchid.  Things included in the Fun & Sun Activity pass are, snorkels, masks and fins, soft-top surf boards, kayaks and even small fishing nets.  You can also take introduction classes on how to surf, how to snorkel, tide pool excursions and more!

 

The Fairmont Orchid also is home to the Orchid “Beachboys”.  Don’t forget to go visit them at the Beach Shack.  They “Beachboys” also offer kayaking/snorkeling tours, fishing, and surf lessons.  Activities are on request, by appointment only.  Contact the Beach Shack (808-887-7524) for reservations and pricing.

Next item off the list

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

And the dress shopping is over!  That’s right, I purchased my wedding dress last night.  One more thing done.  Now I just have to sit back as patiently as possible and wait for it to be be made, shipped and delivered.  Off to the next thing on the list!

We’re booked, are you?!?

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Corey and I are booked.  Plane ticket and hotel.

We’ll be arriving on the 16th, do not feel obligated to arrive that soon as your presence is not required until the 18th!  We’ll be leaving on the 25th after spending some quality time with the beach, sand, and a few Mai Tai’s.

What are your travel plans?  We like comments so tell us what you are doing!

At a loss

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

I’m at a loss… 

We’ve booked our date, our location, time, and even dinner is booked.  The hard part is done.    The remainder of our wedding arrangements will commence in June, 3 months before our wedding.  That’s where the cake, flowers, dinner, etc will be discussed and finalized.  Now what am I supposed to do with myself.  I’m at a total loss for something to do.  It’s like this huge let down has occurred after all these months of looking and deciding.

I suppose, if I wasn’t avoiding it, we could start browsing through invitation styles, but I like the avoidance of it, it’s more productive to me ;o)

The date is set!

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Our contract has been signed and we are allowed to release our wedding information to you! Corey and Sydney are getting married!

Sydney Burch and Corey Runge will be getting married September 18th, 2009 at 5:30 pm. The wedding will be held at The Coconut Grove on the beach at the beautiful Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawai’i.

A dinner reception will follow the wedding festivities, please join us on ‘The Knoll’ at Brown’s Beach House from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

The Fairmon Orchid is located 20 miles north of the Kona Airport on the Kohala Coast and offers a variety of recreational activities.

Almost there…

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Well folks, we are one step closer to having wedding information for you!!!  I know, it’s been a long time and coming.  We got our final draft of our contract with the hotel.  Once it is signed and the down payment made, we’ll have a good amount of information to share with you.  Unfortunately, we can’t divulge any information until the contract is signed (as stated in our contract).  So hang tight, we should have some goodies for you by the end of the weekend!!!

Hello world!

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

Welcome to Corey and Sydney’s wild and crazy wedding blog.