The day after school got out we flew to Hawaii. We started on the Big Island and stayed in a beautiful house in Kona. It had a master bedroom area with his/hers bathrooms, a koi ponds, an infinity pool, hot tub, huge kitchen pre-stocked with snacks, an office, two bedrooms, one with two twins and a sitting area and bathroom, and another with a king bed and bathroom, and finally a guest house with a bed and kitchenette. It was perfect for our family, Jared's parents, and Jared's co-workers, Tonya and Will to have our own spaces but still enjoy time together. The acreage was huge with fresh fruit trees and wild boars (and roosters that woke us up around 4am). We had to sleep with the windows open since there was no a/c, so it was difficult to drown out the roosters. But everything else about it was perfection and we just loved it and would happily go back. The owner's hosts live in their own house up the drive-way and would come down to chat and teach us to feed the koi. We celebrated David's first birthdayon 5/29. I had arranged for a catered meal of traditional luau type food, and a custom made smash cake, and birthday cake. Sorry for the overload of David pictures, but he was just SO cute and thrilled to have his own cake to destroy and consume. Here are the pictures from day 1, 5/29.
That night Joan and I swam with Manta Rays in an ocean bay. You go out when it's pitch black. It was an INCREDIBLE experience that I recommend for EVERYONE. They have surf boards with lights attached that make the plankton glow and attract the manta rays. Manta Rays are HUGE, these are not the size of your average sting ray you see at the aquarium. You hold onto the board and have to stay afloat, and never let your feet drop. You have a snorkel on and just keep your face in the water. And scream. Like excited "This is AMAZING" screams. The rays come within inches of your body and face. I get easily motion sick on the ocean and after 10-15 minutes of floating on the surface of the ocean and breathing through the tiny tube of a snorkel felt just miserable. I threw up 4 times on the way back to the harbor. Since it's so dark there's not really a horizon to watch to try to help the nausea, wo while that part was pure misery and embarrassment, the experience was once in a lifetime awesome.
On 5/30 we swam with dolphins with the same excursion company, on the same boat, as the previous night. They track the dolphins and in the morning is when they come back to shallow water after being out eating all night. You cannot touch or disturb them, just swim near them.
We had rented the boat as a private excursion just for our small group, so they served us fruit and drinks and did what we wanted to. After being in awe at the dolphins (also amazing and you should do it), we headed to a better snorkel spot. Swimming with the dolphins didn't make me sick because we were constantly swimming and following them, but I did take a break and did not snorkel. Halle LOVED the dolphins and snorkeling with the fish, but Eli was a little nervous about the whole idea. On our way back to the harbor it came on the radio that there were some Pilot Whales. Apparently this is incredibly rare and once we found them BOTH of our guides jumped in the water, abandoning ship. They were so excited. It is actually illegal to intentionally swim with and follow the whales, but we were quite far from them, and made sure not to disturb them or get close. After finishing up our excursion we headed to a small beach by the harbor where we heard there was a good chance we'd see turtles. And we saw lots. They're so beautiful.
We did not want to pay for a big luau, and none really have great reviews as far as the food is concerned. Since I bought luau food for David's birthday, I did some research and found out about this free event at a shopping area where they have luau type dancing. They also had a lei making area that was also free and so cool for us each to make our own fresh flower lei.
On 5/31 we drove the 2+ hours to Volcano National Park. Along the way we stopped at a black sand beach.
First we did a little walk/hike to an area where beauitful moss and flowers are starting to grow back. I can't remember or find the trail name.
Afterward we drove to the Thurston Lava Tube, which is just a very short walk, but very cool.
Next up was the Kilauea Iki Trail. This is a lava lake from 1959. It is still so hot very far underground that steam is still rising because not all of the lava has solidified. The steam flowers growing back, and the steam in the area was amazing, as was the 2 mile hike through the rain forest to get there.
Finally was the Jaggar Visitor Center where you can see the current eruption that began in 2008. If you're at the right angle you can see the red lava, but it's quite far away and difficult to see and especially to get a picture of.
Then it was time to make the drive back to the house. Obviously it was an exhausting day for grandma and grandpa.
6/1 was our final day at the house so we took the time to relax, swim, and play. David was in quite the kissy face mood at this age and it's adorable. We had a private chef come and make dinner for us in the house. She makes the meal in home and her assistance serves each course as it's prepared. She was generous enough to bring something separate and kid friendly and serve that up first so we could get the kids in bed. The adult meal probably didn't start until closer to 8. I can't recall how many courses we had, but I think it was around 7. It was done by Katherine of Outrageous Gourmet.
After the meal as she was cleaning she stayed to chat. She talked to us about relaxation and the cool things you can do with your mind. She got Joan to clear her mind so much that she had spoons sticking to her!
Part of the lovely wildlife in the house were these monstrous spiders. It's the nature of the outdoorsy nature of the home. It was immaculate but you just can't stop the spiders and lizards from coming in.
On 6/2 we flew to Oahu to spend the last half of our trip in a house on the north shore. The house was tiny with three small bedrooms and a small kitchen, but sufficient (Tonya and Will headed home because they flew in 5 days before us, and we stayed 5 days after them so the office wouldn't be empty for a full two weeks). We had to kick everyone out come time for David's nap because we were in tight quarters and needed it quiet, but who wouldn't want to be kicked out to this landscape?
On 6/3 we hiked to Waimea Falls. They have a lot of botanical and historical sites along the way of this huge paved pathway. We also went to a huge lot with a variety of food trucks and various other vendors to enjoy.
They provide life jackets so you can swim to the falls. The water was FRIGID and I was the only one to make it to the waterfall.
We also stayed at the house and explored the beach just down the steps from the backyard. The benefit of this house is that as David slept, I could hang out in the hammock or on the sand and still be very close to the house.
On 6/4 Jared and I relaxed at the house while David caught up on some sleep and Jess took Joan and Halle snorkeling. Joan can spend hours upon hours snorkeling. The woman is unstoppable.
Our final day, 6/5 was spent on the beach. The beach by our house was rocky, so we couldn't really play in the water, so we walked south until we got to this point. We took some boogie boards and just played. The kids wouldn't really get in the water, but I got all the way in and was diving under waves and it reminded me of Galveston beach in Texas where we would regularly go play when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure the kids thought I was going to drowned, but I was in heaven and having a blast.
We also found a protected beach with awesome snorkeling (says Joan) and sea turtles.
We drove to the Dole pineapple farm. We didn't spend too much time there, and this is the only picture I got, but it was fun.
Jared and Eli had nap time! How cute are they??
We got a message that our flight was delayed a few hours. It was already a red eye flight, but now we were leaving closer to 3am rather than 11pm. So we put the kids to bed at their regular bed time, Jared and I finished packing and also went to sleep and we all got quite a bit of sleep before heading to the airport. Jess and Joan were staying in the house one more night, so we're lucky we weren't sleeping in the airport that night.
And that was the end of our busy, but also relaxing and amazing vacation. I felt like we had the perfect amount of busy and relaxation for it to be bonding and rejuvenating. I can't wait to go back! While in Hawaii we closed on the sale of our home, and so we were heading home to a new adventure of closing on the home we purchased, packing, and moving within a couple of weeks.
