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Today we tried to sleep in as late as possible… so we were up by 8. 😉
We went over to Mauna Lani for breakfast and spent a few hours wandering around enjoying the scenery, looking at the fish, sharks, & the stingray in their ponds. (I knew I couldn’t take everyone there any sooner because we would’ve all been sad to go back to the hilton!)
Afterwards, we decided to drive to the top of Mauna Kea so we could get a view of the island from that 9,000+ feet altitude. Unfortunately dad does not adjust well to be out too so we came back pretty much as soon as we get up there (which was fine with us all anyway since it was cloudy and cold up there).
Finally, we ended our trip where we always go before the airport… Tommy Bahamas Café. No one looks tired yet, do they??
Soon it’ll be off to the airport and home sweet home….
This morning David & I went whale watching with Captain Dan’s Whale Watching Tour. it was a great trip! We saw a bunch of humpback whales & a bottle nosed dolphin. The highlight (besides each other’s company, of course) was seeing a huge mama with a calf who kept doing half breaches:
(I took a bunch of other photos, but I’ll spare you the repeats… and let’s face it, all the ones of the whale’s backs look basically the same… 😉)
While we did that, mom & dad
Today was David and my 3rd wedding anniversary so we got to do something we wanted to do on our honeymoon: fly over the Kilauea volcano in a helicopter with no doors!! We were excited that mom & dad were up for it (despite a slight discomfort with heights!) & headed out this morning for the 90-minute drive over Saddle Rd (through the middle of the island).
It was totally awesome!!! (And it smelled yummy like campfires!!)
We were so lucky – we got to see a bubbling lava pot that cooled over within the 4 minutes we were circling it (pics below). Our pilot Peter said that it was quite a rare thing to see & even he was excited about it!
We also saw rainbow falls and Hilo Bay from above. It was awesome!
After landing, we went to Cafe Pesto for lunch in downtown Hilo (ok, not great – mostly gluten on the menu!) & then set off to drive the Hamakua Coast (about 4 hours including stops).
It was so gorgeous. It’s what I think you expect Hawaii to look like: lush foliage, stunning coastal views, & spectacular waterfalls.
Two of our favorite stops were Laupahoehoe Harbor:
and the sacred Waipio Valley lookout:
But in all the stops, one thing was constant: Mom was having a ton of fun running down every path she found leading somewhere beautiful!!
It was so great to see her having so much fun exploring like a little kid! 😄 (I know Dad enjoyed it as well, though I think he was glad to get out of the car by dinnertime….)
We didn’t get any pictures of paniolo (cowboy) country, because it was very foggy & mist-ical (get it? get it? 😉) coming back inland through Waimea. It is gorgeous though – it always reminds me of the rolling green hills of Ireland (*sigh*). We did see a surprising sight though as the sun set near our hotel…
We had a lovely dinner at 3 Fat Pigs restaurant and then went back to our hotel. It was a full day and a memorable one (as you can tell from the gorgeous pics!!)! 😄
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This morning David and I attended the timeshare presentation that gave us the half-price stay. They were very nice and low pressure (good job, Hilton), but it wasn’t for us.
We got out of there in time for breakfast & met up with my parents. We’d decided to go over to our Hawaiian home (Mauna Lani resort) to swim & snorkel in their beautiful beach. Dad didn’t want to be out all day in the sun, so he stayed at our resort to relax and enjoy the grounds here, and I dropped David and Mom off at the beach. (I had to run an errand in Waimea.). I finally met up with Mom & David around 3pm, and as you can see (below), they were enjoying the peaceful, shady grass just above the sandy white beach.
David & I snorkeled and swam while Mom relaxed and read her book. It was a lovely afternoon that ended with us walking leisurely back to our car through the ancient fishponds lovingly cared for on the Mauna Lani land. We saw a bunch of fish leaping out of the water – some nearly a foot above the surface! – but as soon as Mom’s camera was out they all hid back under water! (Or jumped out of the water in the pond behind wherever she was looking!!)
When we finally got back to the car (around 5:30), we realized we were all quite hungry, so we picked up Dad and went off to Kohala Burger and Taco for grass-fed burgers, fish tacos, and dole whip. On the way there we drove up into North Kohala with a gorgeous view of the ocean, whales, & sunset.
Overall, it was a nice relaxing day – which was perfect since tomorrow will involve a long car ride, a “doors-off” helicopter ride over the volcano Mauna Loa, waterfalls, & the Hamakua Coast! Woohoo!!
I (Ariana) needed a down day today, so after a late breakfast, David and I took the long path around the lagoon back to our room. It turned out to be a REALLY long walk because there were 3 sea turtles (Honu) in the lagoon, one of which was very happy to be fed leaves and flowers by my beloved hubby!
I headed off to the spa to sit in the jacuzzi and get an 80-minute Naupaka White Flower Treatment at the Kohala Spa at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. It was a nice treatment & spa, and I emerged very relaxed. While
I did this, David went to the fitness center and for a walk, and my parents went up to the King’s & Queen’s shops for a day of wandering & shopping.
For dinner, we went to the Kamuela Provison Company (KPC) on the property. We had a snarky waiter, but delicious food, so in the end, it was a success!
Today was a leisurely island day. We had a big breakfast overlooking the man-made lagoon & then headed out for a driving tour to show mom & dad more of the local area.
(Mom & Dad were up early, so they did the 8am island orientation & learned all about the resort & island. Despite being new experts, they didn’t want to plan the rest of the week! What?? 😉)
We drove south, stopping at a gorgeous scenic overview, where unfortunately, a giant bee mistook me (Ariana) for a bright pink flower and stung me. OUCH!!! 😩
We then went to our favorite organic Kona coffee farm, Mountain Thunder, and took a tour to learn how the grow, pick, process, & roast the coffee. The funniest part was watching the chickens scrape and peck at the ground!
We then drove through Kona town and headed back toward the hotel (with a quick grocery stop) since we were booked in for the hotel’s luau tonight!
Check out mom & dad learning to hula:
…and some more pics from the luau:
See a video here of hula dancers from the luau.
And click here to see a video of one of the fire dancers in action.
This will be our third trip to the Big Island. We visited in September 2012, first, trying the Kalani yoga resort (nice, but not as luxe as we really wanted – though we did meet a great new friend) & then back to our beloved Mauna Lani. It was like being home again, it felt so good to stay there: this time with a heavenly oceanfront balcony. (Big breath in, big contented sigh out. 😊 Ahhhhhhhh…..)
Today though, is the first time my parents have experienced Hawaii and I’m excited to show them one of our favorite places in the world.
We got a special deal to stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (just down the shore from Mauna Lani), so we thought we’d check it out. We already knew we love the area & the hotel looked gorgeous, so we figured it’d be a great place to share with Mom & Dad.
It’s not Mauna Lani (nowhere else is 😉), but it’ll do for the week, and we have good company so that’s the best part!
So… I thought Golden Gate Park was a grassy area where you could view the Golden Gate Bridge. Boy was I wrong!!! My favorite was the Japanese Tea Garden, and I could’ve EASILY spent the entire day just mediating there, smelling the luscious plant and flower aromas, and listening to the waterfalls….
Then David & I went across to Sausalito, sat at a bay-front table at The Trident, and he ate “the best crab [he’s] ever had” while Diana & Bill went back to Fisherman’s Wharf.
Finally, we crossed the Golden Gate & were dropped off right in front of Ghiardelli Square, so we called Mom & she came to meet us for ice cream sundaes!
All in all, it was a magnificently peaceful, soul-reviving day after all the city time & Alcatraz yesterday!
David & I decided that since my parents had never been to Hawaii (& likely wouldn’t without lots of encouragement!), we should invite them to come with us when we came out again. To our surprise, not only did they say yes, they didn’t cancel! 😉
(A BIG shout out of thanks to our respective house/ dog-sitters, Colleen Gardner & Bill Powers! It’s great to know our beloved 4-leggeds are being loved & our homes cared for!)
To make the trip easier, we started off with 2.5 days in San Francisco, breaking up the 12-13 hours of flying into manageable chunks. After arriving and checking into our lovely Kimpton Hotel (The Argonaut) in the Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, we had lunch at Scoma’s, in-room massages, and then watched a movie. (I’m counting this as day 0 since we were so tired!!)
For our first full day, we decided on Big Bus Tours as our hop on/ hop off bus service to learn about the city’s history and sights. It was a good tour, and we got a good feel for the city as a whole.
After doing the full tour loop, we got off at Pier 39 for an excellent lunch at the Pier Market and Restaurant where we had a lovely view of the sea lions sunbathing.
Then, David & I boarded the boat for Alcatraz and Mom & Dad went back to the hotel for a siesta. Alcatraz was a good tour (albeit somewhat morbid, except for the beautiful gardens, views, & sea birds) & even the cold didn’t keep us from learning. 😉
Once that was done, we met up with my parents to do the Big Bus night tour. It was icy cold, but had gorgeous views of the Presidio & the city lights.
We finished the evening with dinner at The Blue Mermaid (our hotel’s restaurant) & went to bed – exhausted from a full day (& maybe some jet lag)!
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