On Wednesday 2-22-17
we drove down to SanDiego and stayed with Lexie for the night as our flight was early the next morning. Shout out to Mattie for driving us there at 4AM!!
Our flights both went super smooth over there. We were worried about Ivy since she was barely 3 months old, but she was a total champ and everyone said what a good baby she is!
----> Ivy's first flight!!! 2-23-17
Kona International Airport, we have arrived!!!
Ivy is rocking her little Hawaii outfit of coarse!
Day one- 2/23
The Kona airport is interesting-it is all open and outside, not an indoor building, it was cool. At first when we looked around we got a bit worried because we could just see a lot of barren black rock and deserty looking landscape. If you had dropped me off here blindfolded, I would never have guessed I was in Hawaii.
We get off the plane and feel the cool Hawaiian breeze- the only clue I got that we were actually IN Hawaii.
Jer grabbed a rental car, and we head north to explore and found ourselves on the bumpiest road heading to what we hope is a beach. We hiked around a bit and stumble on a pretty white sand beach. The ocean is a perfect temperature, even in the winter. We put on our swim suits and Jer takes off snorkeling while I wait for Ivy to wake up. Once she does we put her feet in the ocean for the first time! Right from the get-go, we realized that this island is different than the other Hawaiian islands. There is a ton of volcanic rock everywhere, the island is younger than the others so there aren't white sand beaches around the entire rim of the island. We were a bit skeptical, but as the days went on, we fell more and more in love with this island.
We grab some food near the airport. I was just feeling awful- dehydrated and hungry and exhausted and still in some pain from birth aftermath. (Which I've later realized that the salt water has actually helped!)
Kekaha Kai Beach Park
We explored around a bit while we waited for Merilyn's plane to land. Once we got her we headed down south to Kona. Stopped to eat at a noodle place. Ivy had a huge blowout... awesome. Cleaned her up and headed to our condo. It was an awesome place, stocked with beach gear and everything we needed (except when the airconditioner went out... oh well)
Jer and mer went to Costco to stock up on some food and supplies for the week and I cared for Ivy and showered and unpacked. We snacked and headed to bed after a long day of traveling.
Day 2, Friday 2-24
Aloha Friday! We took it easy in the morning, since we are still in our time zone. Hawaii is 2 hours behind us. our condo was right across the road from an awesome beach with world-class snorkeling. We would have snorkled there every morning, but unfortunately the beach park was closed the rest of the time we were there due to a sewer leak (EWWW) which they found the same day we went snorkeling. The ocean life is abundant on this island and there is beautiful coral reefs everywhere. Jer saw a manta ray and we had a great time seeing all the varieties of fish around.
Jer and I went snorkeling, then him and Mer went. <- this was our routine as someone always had to stay with Ivy. People thought we were crazy taking our 3-month-old along with us, but we had a blast and we like hanging out with Ivy! I just kept her to her little schedule and she was a happy girl the whole trip.
We had breakfast, packed up the car and headed to captain cook. We rented kayaks through Bayside rentals http://www.
This was my second favorite snokel spot out of all the places we went (and we snorkled A LOT!) The water was really clear, the fish were gorgeous. They say sometimes you can even see dolphins and whales out there... we did not, but we still had a great time kayaking out to the spot and exploring around. After Jer and I went, Him and Mer took a turn while I hung out with Ivy and Seani!
The best "office" in the world!
Ivy knows how to vacation!
Honauau & Kahaluu-Keauhou
Went to the place of refuge Monument Park.
In old Hawai'i, if you had broken a law, the penalty was death. Perhaps you had entered into an area that was reserved for only the chiefs, or had eaten forbidden foods. Laws, or kapu, governed every aspect of Hawaiian society. The penalty for breaking these laws was certain death. Your only option for survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the nearest pu'uhonua, or place of refuge.
As you enter, the great wall rises up before you marking the boundaries between the royal grounds and the sanctuary. Many ki'i (carved wooden images) surround the Hale o Keawe temple, housing the bones of the chiefs that infuse the area with their power or mana. If you reached this sacred place, you would be saved.
Today, you may visit Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, and still feel the spirit of peace and forgiveness that continues to surround and bless this special place.
The Pu'uhonua is still considered a sacred site. Therefore the following restrictions are in effect. No commercial filming, nudity, beach chairs, towels, mats, beach umbrellas, coolers, picnicking, pets, weddings or wedding photos, smoking and recreational activities such as frisbee throwing, football tossing, etc. are not permitted. Please help to preserve the Pu'uhonua as in the ancient times.
This fun day was coming to a close, so we stopped at the grocery store, ate Hawaiian chicken back at the condo, and played ticket to ride... I WON!!!!!!I FINALLY beat Jeremy! Went to bed.
Day 3, Saturday 2-25
We went to Southpoint walked around there, saw some whales in the distance. South point funnily enough is the southernmost point on the island AND in the United States!
Here is some cool old Hawaiian stuff still chilling.
Some, who are brave enough cliff just down into the ocean and then climb back up the ladder from a broken old dock... I was not brave enough of coarse!
Do NOT come here at night... you may fall right into this hole.
I car could just come tumbling down here.
People can jump into this as well, but you have to time the ocean swells. Not my cup of tea either!
We had lunch in the car really fast and then hiked the 2 1/2 miles (which felt like 10 under the hot sun of coarse we were worried that Ivy would get too hot the whole time) into the greensand beach or Papalokea, we did later realized it was a big mistake to hike because it was a hot, shadeless, dusty long hike. This phenomenon was named the color due to a large deposit of semi precious Gem called Olivine liberally mixed with black sand. After ancient volcanic irruption's created Pu'u o Mahana the ocean went to work dismantling it. We hung out and swam at the greensand beach for a little bit.
The sand was cool to see and the water was gorgeous, but honestly, I would have been fine skipping this 'phenomenon'.
We then hitched a ride back to the parking area from one of the locals wanting to make some money.
Naalehu
Our next stop traveling south and toward the East of the Island was the Black sand beach where we snorkeled with a few turtles. Conditions were a bit rough but the Blacksand was super cool!!
Volcano National Park
--Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is on Hawaii Island (the Big Island). At its heart are the Kīlauea and Mauna Loa active volcanoes. The Crater Rim Drive passes steam vents and the Jaggar Museum, which features volcanology exhibits and a viewpoint overlooking Halema'uma'u Crater. Thick ferns mark the entrance to the Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku). The Chain of Craters Road weaves over lava. Trails crisscross the park.--
These rocks are incredible to see. You can get a great picture of an old erupting volcano, damaging everything in it's path, creating new earth and lava rock.
I was imagining what it would be like to watch this stuff gush out of the earth and then dry while it was still dripping down.
Look at these colors!
The rocks are super light, you could hold up a big one with just 2 fingers.
Amongst all the ruin and devastation, new life can still grow!
Then we walked through a LAVA tube which was awesome.
Right there in (what felt like) the middle of the jungle, BOOM there is a big hole in the earth, created by lava.
This was my favorite thing to see.
Then we checked out the steam vents
Then we went to go into the town of volcano and got dinner at the lava rock café. I got fish tacos and passion fruit cheese cake for dessert. Jer had soup and salad for an appetizer, prime rib and macadamia nut pie for dessert. Mer had ribeye stake and coconut cake for dessert. DELICIOUS!!!!
Once it was dark, we headed up to the Jager museum where we could look out at the fresh lava flowing. It was INCREDIBLE!
Being right there as it rained in the night, the lava bubbled out of the earth and turned the sky red with it's glow. It was a reverent sort of experience, witnessing new earth form that was younger than me!
After that, we we drove the 2.5 hours back to our condo/home base.
Day 4, Sunday 2-26
Spent the morning snuggling my babes!
Jer had some mango juice on his finger and Ivy LOVED the taste of it!
She's started grabbing on to my hair in a death grip! ouch!
Mer went to church and then we took a road to try to get an overview lookout of Kona bit it was very overcast. then we kept driving north and took a detour to Hapuna beach and did some major boogie boarding. (We almost made it to Waimea, the cowboy town). Hapuna had the perfect waves for boogie boarding. We had to pry the board away from Mer's hands if we wanted a turn haha, I'm pretty sure she boogied for 2-3 hours straight! It turned out to be an overcast but warm day.
Naked beach baby!
After spending time at Hapuna we went to Maona Kea and had amazing five star dinner. After a great appetizer and pina colada, I got mahi-mahi Jer got New York sterloin steak, and Mer got ribs. They have a floodlight that they shine out into the ocean from the hotel, which attracts shrimp and other fish that manta rays eat. In tern the manta rays are often spotted over here. We waited until dark but had no luck seeing any manta rays. I guess the waves were too rough.
Day 5, Monday 2-27
This day was our beach day. Jer and I left Ivy with Mer, and went over to two-step and snorkeled where the old Kings used to come. It was great snorkeling!! Our first time leaving Ivy!
Of coarse, she was happy to be chilling with grandma!
After two-step, went to the old Airport Road beach, parked over there and then walked about half a mile over lava rocks to PAIWI bay.
Pawai is tucked out of the way down at the northern end of the Old Kona Airport. This secluded bay is a protected marine preserve and frequented by locals. It provides some killer snorkeling just off shore and great tidepooling along the coast.
We found an awesome "blow hole" type of thing in the rocks. It is crazy how much the ocean rises and sinks, and then sounds like it breathes at the end like some sort of dragon... I realize I am the worst at trying to describe these things but oh well.
Jeremy really enjoyed the snorkeling here. The waters were more rough and it was rugged and raw snorkeling. We saw a turtle chilling! We couldn't stay very long, or even go out onto the beach since it was holy land.
We have been SO impressed by the snorkeling here. The Big Island is the youngest of all the Hawaiian islands. Older islands like Oahu and Maui have had time to erode, filling their surrounding waters with sand and silt which can limit visibility. Big Island’s Kona coastline is mostly rocky shore, and desert land conditions produce very little runoff. This make’s Kona’s waters some of the clearest in the world
We then tried to hit up this other beach called Kua bay but it really wasn't that great of a sandy beach. So we headed up to mauna kai beach which was really awesome. It's a beautiful beach, with nice white sand right by the resort. The waves were calm and it was nice to chill there and boogie board a little. We found a hidden gem of a trail that went all the way along the coast into the sunset!
And... how cute is this picture?!!!
Once it got dark we checked out the light to see if we could see in the manta rays, but no luck again. On the way back home we got some Killer Tacos which were delish and went to bed. <-- Every day we were packing so much in that we could barely bring our things in from the car once we got back to the condo before we just wanted to close our eyes and sleep! No books were read, no puzzles were finished.
Day 6, Tuesday 2-28
We got up early and headed out to Hilo. We wanted to be sure to get a taste of all sides of the island, and since it's such a huge island (which we were not prepared for) we had to break up the days and do A LOT of driving. We took the route through the saddle between the two volcanoes (Moana Loa and Moana Kae) which was cool. Again, not a very pretty drive in terms of it being HAWAII, but beautiful in it's own way.
Once we got to Hilo, our first stop was to see a rainbow Falls. It was basically a big waterfall on the side of the road. It was POURING rain, and quite touristy, so the stop was a quick one.
Then we ate at the famous Ken's pancake house. I got ox tail soup, Mer got macadamia nut pancakes, and Jer got Poko Moco. We drove down Banyan Drive. Here banyan trees were planted by famous people. It is a beautiful Street .
Here I am next to Amelia Eckhart's tree!
Hilo is a rainy rainforesty type of place!
The next stop:
Lava Tree State Monument.
Off of Pahoa-Pohoiki Road, southeast of Pahoa Town and in the district of Puna is Lava Trees State Park. Take the 0.7-mile loop trail in this 17-acre State Monument to view the unusual lava molds of tree trunks. In the 1700’s, lava flow swept through the area, coating the trunks of Ohia trees, leaving tall lava molds of the tree trunks in their wake, frozen in time.
This was an incredible sight to see! Since the Ohia trees were so wet, the lava didn't completely absorb them. They were all hallowed out and crazy cool. It was like going back in time.
PUNA
Then we headed down to Puna and tried to go to the champagne ponds but they were in these gated communities and since Ivy was with us, we weren't keen on trespassing and hiking around all day to try and find them. So instead we went over to Wai'opae Ponds AKA the Kapoho tide pools- We still had to go through the "Kapoho vacationland private community" but this was the BEST snorkeling that I have done so far on the island and in my whole life! The water was really shallow and quite calm as it was protected by some rocks up ahead. The shallowness was scary because I didn't want to cut myself on the coral reef, but at the same time the water was blue, pristine, and I could see so many colors of coral and TONS of different kinds of fish. Even really big ones!!
My biggest regret on this trip if forgetting our GoPro camera and not buying a waterproof case sooner. I WISH we were able to take pictures of all the brilliant fish and coral reef we saw at Wai'opae ponds. Jer and I went out first, as per our usual gig, and them him and Mer went.
When Jeremy and Merilyn went out they swam with a turtle, lucky ducks!!
http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/snorkeling-kapoho-tide-pools.html
I'm going to attach some pictures that other people took at these tide pools so I can always remember the experience, and these pictures don't lie!
A little piece of science nerd in me over here: I loved seeing how the crabs have adapted to the black lava rock. I never saw a red crab, only black ones! #survivalofthefittest
Then we went to Hawaii botanical garden where it was pouring rain and about to close, which actually made it a wonderful experience! We zipped around the park in an hour taking everything in as quickly as we could
It was great because we felt like we were the only people in there and the rain made it just magical!!
I've never seen such a thick, lush, green, gorgeous place in my life!
After these epic botanical gardens we stopped at a little café on the way to Akaka falls and got the most delicious wrap, nachos and fresh fruit smoothies. Smoothest smoothies on the planet! Then on to Akaka falls which is a 442ft waterfall! Double the length of Niagra falls!
Another beautiful trail walk, the most green I've ever seen with so much growth... Why can't my garden in Bakersfield look like this? haha
Day 7, Wednesday 3-1
Mers last day. We stopped at The Donkey Ball store to get some chocolate balls. There were balls of every kind, it was quite hilarious!
and then went to this Japanese place for breakfast... it was quite gross actually haha
Went to Puako bay
(put Puako in GPS, park at telephone pole 120, kitty corner to a church, water is 150 yards from there).
Mer and I snorkeled first this time. Our goal was to see turtles and we did! One cruising in the deep & floating on the water and two swimming and eating near the rocks. As I was snorkeling around with my head under the water I HEARD SOME WHALES!!!! It was crazy cool. Once we came back to shore, Jeremy was all "did you see that pod of whales swim RIGHT by you?!" I guess they were super close, we didn't see them but we sure heard them. We were already at the edge of the coral reef where things get spooky! I went out again with Jer and explored around some more. Snorkeling sure makes you tired!
We stopped at Hapuna to get some more boogie and beach time in before Mer had to be at the airport.
After dropping Merilyn off at the airport, we ended the night getting stuck in some traffic and then stopping in Kona to get pizza at this Brewery. Seriously though, THE BEST pizza I have ever had!
This is a terrible picture, but Ivy fell asleep nuzzled in my shoulder and that may have been the best thing that happened all day! <3
We went back to the condo, exhausted and had an early night.
Day 8, Thursday 3-2
Good morning!
Our first stop of the day was to Koloko state park to see the turtles.
Next, on to Kiholo bay.
There is supposed to be some good snorkeling here and a cool phenomenon of where the fresh water and ocean water meet together. This makes the water murkey on most days and therefore, you can't see much snorkeling. WE started hiking out there, but it's a grueling couple miles over soft beach sand and lava rock. It was hot and Ivy wasn't super thrilled about the trek, so we stopped half way there and called it good. Everyone headin back said it wasn't really worth the hike that day. However, we did see some brilliant mansions and "the Queens bath" on the way back!
The original "Queen's Bath" is located in Kalapana on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. It was formed after a lava tube collapsed and filled with fresh water supplied by natural springs. In ancient times only the Aliʻi (Royalty) were permitted entry to the sacred waters. In 1983 Kilauea Volcano erupted and in 1987 the original site was destroyed by lava flow. This tide pool was used for what it sounds like; it was a royal bathing place. It was also used as a place of relaxation when an Aliʻi needed to "wash off the stress".
There is supposed to be some good snorkeling here and a cool phenomenon of where the fresh water and ocean water meet together. This makes the water murkey on most days and therefore, you can't see much snorkeling. WE started hiking out there, but it's a grueling couple miles over soft beach sand and lava rock. It was hot and Ivy wasn't super thrilled about the trek, so we stopped half way there and called it good. Everyone headin back said it wasn't really worth the hike that day. However, we did see some brilliant mansions and "the Queens bath" on the way back!
Jer, being the dare devil that he is, jumped right in and started edging his way through the tube. It was pitch black in there and, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty freaked out... plus we left Ivy asleep under a tree up above #motheroftheyear
You can barely see Jeremy's face behind me here in the dark... did I mention we were INSIDE AN OLD LAVA TUBE??? CrAzY! I'm still mind blown when I think about it!
The "beautiful" drive on the way back.
We walked into town, down Ali'i drive to get a shave ice, visit the ABC store and window shop.
Day 9, Friday 3-3
First things first, we had a chocolate and fruit fondue for breakfast!
Below was the view from the condo where we stayed, it was glorious!
Below was the view from the condo where we stayed, it was glorious!
This kid sure knows how to vacation!
Cleaned up, packed up and checked out of the condo.
Kalaoa
We headed North to have a beach day up toward Kalaoa. I told Jer that this trip has been so much go, go, go, see this, do that, that it hasn't felt really relaxing, we we decided the last two days we should have some down time to rest from our trip haha
Here is an old Lava tube just on the side of the road north of the airport. Hiking in isn't advised since it's crumbling, so we just took a look and kept on driving.
Kalaoa
We headed North to have a beach day up toward Kalaoa. I told Jer that this trip has been so much go, go, go, see this, do that, that it hasn't felt really relaxing, we we decided the last two days we should have some down time to rest from our trip haha
Here is an old Lava tube just on the side of the road north of the airport. Hiking in isn't advised since it's crumbling, so we just took a look and kept on driving.
Kua Bay
As we got down to the sand people had just left the perfect spot that we took over. It was a beautiful and sunny day. The sand was soft and we were also surrounded by lava rocks. Up the way you could see Mauna Kea and looking down we saw the most gorgeous blue water with a turquoisey shallow and deep blue pockets.
Jer took his snorkeling gear out to see the fishes by the rocks and what did he see????
A REEF SHARK!!!!!
Eye's wide, heart pumping.
Some swear words may have been said through his snorkel and he 'calmly' flipped his flippers in the opposite direction of the shark. Pretty neat!
Ivy was a good girl and slept and chilled in our little blue tent.
A Pina Colada shave ice for the win.
We packed up after we started getting sun burned at Kua bay and randomly got the most delicious doughnuts on the side of the high way before stopping off at Puako Bay where Jer took a quick snorkel. He saw a baby Manta ray and an Eel! Ivy and I hung on the rocks while we waited.
I took a ton of pictures of Ivy in this little beach dress because it used to be mine when I was little...
Even though I'm pretty sure my kid looks nothing like me!!!
I
Then we headed for the Hilton. 
wow wow wow.
We now understand why people pay to stay in a resort and then never leave to go and explore the island!!!
We checked into our gorgeous room. Full kitchen, pull out couch for Ivy and a heated toilet seat, bedae included! woop woop
Almost our favorite part was our free DVD rental and popcorn! There was even a PlayStation in the room!
We now understand why people pay to stay in a resort and then never leave to go and explore the island!!!
We checked into our gorgeous room. Full kitchen, pull out couch for Ivy and a heated toilet seat, bedae included! woop woop
Almost our favorite part was our free DVD rental and popcorn! There was even a PlayStation in the room!
We were right by the outdoor lobby, beautiful gardens and grounds with nice walking trails and the grill, bar, and pool! We went for a dip first thing. I rode down the slide and we played under the water features. We took Ivy swimming for her first time! She loves the water. We even put her head under very quickly with no complaints from her!
After swimming for a while we pulled ourselves out, bathed Ivy and let her nap and showered and got ourselves ready for dinner. This, on day 9, was the first time I had actually gotten ready the whole trip! Mind you, I still didn't blow dry my hair or put on Make-up... We were just swimming and in our swim suits the whole time.
Anyway, I had the most delicious hamburger I've ever had with a virgin "blue Hawaii" drink and Jer had an arugula, strawberry, feta and macadamia nut salad. (My mouth is watering just thinking of it!)
Anyway, I had the most delicious hamburger I've ever had with a virgin "blue Hawaii" drink and Jer had an arugula, strawberry, feta and macadamia nut salad. (My mouth is watering just thinking of it!)
We enjoyed a perfect weathered evening and listened to the live music.
Honestly, this whole trip has been such a whirlwind with just "go go go", "see this", "hike this", "must do this", that to be able to take my time for an evening shower and not be so exhausted at the end of the night felt glorious.Headed back to our room to watch our DVD and put Ivy to bed. ... the most comfortable bed and sleep I've had in 10 days!!!
Honestly, this whole trip has been such a whirlwind with just "go go go", "see this", "hike this", "must do this", that to be able to take my time for an evening shower and not be so exhausted at the end of the night felt glorious.Headed back to our room to watch our DVD and put Ivy to bed. ... the most comfortable bed and sleep I've had in 10 days!!!
Day 10, Saturday 3-4
Our last day :( we had a delicious buffet breakfast at the Hilton, drove up to the Polulu look out to see the very north most tip of the island. On a clear day you can see Maui which is only 30 miles away to the North. We then went in to Hawi and saw King Kamehameha's statue and then got Coconut cream and Orange dream ice cream at the Tropical Dream ice cream shop.
We then drove to Lapakahi state historical park to do a last snorkel on the island. We saw awesome cauliflower coral, yellow tang and forcepsfish. This was a village whose grounds were settled almost 700 years ago. They stayed here because of the great fishing, sheltered cove and rich soil. It was fun to learn about all the different Hawaiian 'tribes' that settled along different parts of the island and how they interacted with one another.
I wasn't so lucky my last day snorkeling- it was hard getting into the water from the rocks and I got all cut up! That stinging though! ouch
We headed back to the resort for some pool action. Would you look at this place!!!! Gosh, it was a dream. After we chilled with our Pina Coladas at this pool, we went back to the other side where the pool was a bit smaller and there were less people.
The weather was gorgeous, We were relaxed and I finally read about 4 pages of my book!
(note to self- traveling with a baby is not that relaxing... my days of falling asleep at the pool are over!)
The resort had a dolphin pool, and a shark pool.
Waterfalls everywhere
And one happy little hula girl! She liked being in the pool with us and we even dunked her under the water with no fuss!
In the evening, we showered up and got ready to head to the airport after getting some dinner. Our redeye flight was delayed, but the flight itself was as good as red eyes go. Ivy was such a trooper being so good on the plane and sleeping well and being her smiley self. Best of all, her ears didn't bug her! Mattie was there to pick us up once we landed in San Diego and we drove our tired tooshies home sweet home.
We had such a great time in Hawaii, awesome memories were made. I would highly recommend this as a "maternity leave" trip- not because of my not so awesome bikini body, but because it's Hawaii, and who wouldn't want to be on maternity leave in Hawaii!!!
Things for next time:
-Manta ray night dive
-Mauna kae observatory to see stars above the clouds
-helicopter or boat ride to see the lava
- hike to the lava
- a hike somewhere in Hilo/spend a bit more time exploring there
- champagne pond
-makalawena (page 160)
-arch city coastline hike (page 204)
-honomalino bay (page 170) see reef shark there
Regrets:
-Not bringing the GoPro. Only getting a waterproof case a few days before leaving.
-Losing our disposable waterproof camera somewhere
-Losing our disposable waterproof camera somewhere
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