Journey to Mt Lam Lam

If I had to choose a favorite day of my parents' visit, it would have to be the day we climbed, as a family, to the top of Mt. Lam Lam. It was on our wish list for our time together, but the decision to fit it in on the Friday after Thanksgiving came when my mom asked, "Hey, where is that picture at the top of your blog from? I want to go there." And so we went. We started up the hill  45 minutes before sunset. And by up, I mean up. The first third of the hike is particularly steep, and all of it is, to some degree, in the weeds. My parents did great tackling mud and gravity to make impressive headway up the slope.

 Pausing halfway up the mountain to stare at the blue ocean and rolling green hillside

Tall sword grass sways around you on all sides

We made it!!

At the top, a breathtaking view of the whole island and the surrounding sea in all directions

And my mom got to take pictures with the beautiful crosses 

she has been staring at on my blog for the last year and a half.

 Sunsets sure make for fantastic backdrops around here...

We somehow managed to choose the evening with the prettiest sunset 

of the entire two week visit... lucky us...

Up until this day, this Friday after Thanksgiving, 2011, I had never before climbed a mountain with my parents. And here, 9,000 miles away from home, at an age approaching retirement, they crushed it. And in return, the land and the sea and the sky put on a show for us all. A show of beauty and breeze, majesty and simplicity; in essence, nature's grace. A moment in time when the sun sets as it has every single day since the beginning of time. And yet, never before quite like this.