Vacation. Twenty. Fifteen. (part 2) -- Hawaii

After LA, our vacation continued for nine days in the Big Island of Hawaii. We flew into the Kona airport, which is quite different from the Atlanta or Nashville airport that we are used to. It is so small, is completely outside, and baggage check/security takes all of about five minutes. We were already loving the slower pace. The island was so laid back, not crowded, and had plenty of adventure to keep us entertained. There are SO many stories, exciting ventures, and fun times from our trip, but I will share a few of our favorite highlights here.

Flying to Hawaii!

• We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort in Waikoloa. The resort was beautiful and even had dolphins on the premises. They also had birds in the lobby. We so enjoyed watching them!

• Food - We had some of the best Hawaiian food @ the following places: 

               1. L&L Drive-In (Hawaiian BBQ - resembled more of a Japanese style meal)
               2. Island Fish & Chips (the best fish tacos! - we actually ate here three times)

               3. Volcano House Restaurant (baked mahi mahi @ a restaurant that's over 150 yrs old; Mark
                   Twain actually ate there, and you have a view of the Kilauea volcano from your seat)
               4. Puna'Lu Bakery (southernmost point - bread pudding, yum!)

               5. Fresh Malasadas (Hawaiian doughnut from a roadside vendor)

               6. Lava Lava Restaurant (wonderful teriyaki flank steak with coconut rice and bok choy, as
                                                        well as fresh seafood chowder while seated right on beach/water)

                        *** This restaurant may or may not have been the reason for a 101+ fever and sick stomach for 72 hours.

               7. Kamuela Provision Company, KPC (candelit dinner @ sunset overlooking the ocean)
                         ** BEST food we had the entire time. We had baked mahi mahi and fresh baked Ono
                             (which is like swordfish), alongside potato risotto and sauteed spinach. They also
                             served baked bread with fresh garlic hummus, and we ordered the best onion rings
                             made with sweet Maui Onions fried with Filo Dough; it was like a dessert and
                             appetizer in one.

• Evening Volcano Tour with Kapahokine Adventures
  We got to visit the Kona Coffee Farm (the only American grown coffee, and the only kind of coffee that I can drink black). Then, we visited the black sand beach and got to explore lava tubes (where molten lava flowed through and basically left a tunnel). We hiked through the rainforest and finished at the Kilauea volcano, where we got to see the amazing glow at nighttime. This was an all day adventure and fun one at that!

 

• Island Breeze LuauI now understand why they say once you've been to one luau, you don't really feel the need to go to another one. However, it was FUN for an experience (and probably would have been more fun had I not been so sick that day). We got to try a lot of foods, including Poi, which I am not a huge fan of. The Hawaiian banana bread was amazing, though!
  
  

• Kona Church of Christ
  We were so missing our church back home, so on Sunday we decided to check out the Kona Church of Christ. It was a small group of about 20+. We met in a small building (with no AC), had an open discussion Bible lesson, and sang songs from the hymnal per requests from those in attendance. I loved the simplicity and genuine, heartfelt fellowship of the service -- a reminder of how God intended the church to be. At the end, we held hands and sang "A Common Love" as people from all over were united in praise to the Father. After the service, we were given fresh grown oranges from a church member, and he showed us some coffee trees, coconut trees, and some local advice for the island. Come to find out, this guy actually went to Mayfair (our home church) for a year. We met another family at the service who was visiting Hawaii, and they were from Madison County, as well. Small world!

Fair Winds Snorkel TourWe went out with Fair Winds charters for an AM snorkel tour. We discovered that we are not big fans of the large charters and prefer the small, more personal and interactive groups. Nonetheless, we had a great time exploring the coral reefs and seeing the beautiful fish. (Although, I am glad that Paul decided not to tell me about the "small" shark that he saw until we were back on the boat). Not cool. Not cool at all.

• ATV Outfitters TourOne of the best tours we had was with ATV Outfitters. We went down to the ocean, through rainforests, through private lands that were once sugar cane fields, and even had a refreshing swim in a 60ish degree waterfall/swimming hole. Splashing through mud puddles, riding down semi-seep inclines, getting whacked in the face by rainforest branches - we had SO MUCH FUN! Our tour guides were also 5th generation natives to the island, so it felt like a local adventure rather than a mere tourist attraction.

• Iruka Manta Ray Tour
  This was by far our FAVORITE adventure in Hawaii! Swimming/snorkeling with the manta rays is a Travel Channel Top 10 Things to Do in your Lifetime -- and we understand why!! I was so stinkin' nervous about doing this, and all I could think about was Steve Irwin and the stingray. Not to mention the fact that Manta Rays aren't exactly cute and cuddly. However, I learned that Manta Rays do not have stingers nor teeth, so they are practically harmless - other than the fact that they are MASSIVE. These things are about 3+ meters wide (9-12 ft). We swam/snorkeled with them for a bit seeing them from a short distance; then, as it got dark, we were given a lighted raft to hold onto. The light attracts the plankton that the Mantas eat, so they literally swim right up to you - touching you! Thankfully, we had on wet suits. Yes, I wanted to scream. No, I couldn't because I would have lost suction on my snorkel gear and swallowed a lot of ocean water. It was the most terrifying and satisfying adrenaline rush!!

***Photo credit: I had to get these photos from the web/their site because we did not have
an underwater camera; however, this is exactly what it looked like and what we saw!

These are just a few highlights from our trip, but we enjoyed it so much!! After 2 weeks of vacation, 2 hotels, 2 rental cars, lots of eating out, tons of adventure, and 7 plane trips (including long layovers), were were ready to return home! We also missed our Dapper dude quite a bit. He has grown so much, but he is less bitey, has lots of kisses, and loves to shake hands! 

 

We loved our vacation, but we are also loving our blessed life back home!! 

Until next time...