HI: macadamia nuts, Waipi'o Valley, Akaka Falls

Monday, after Hapuna beach, we stopped at Hamakua Nut factory for samples and family gifts. 

We drove to 12:00 on the island clock.  I was content to visit the Waipi'o Valley overlook, but R faced the challenge of descending the crazy steep long road using the Jeep's 4WD.  I hiked down, but then caught a ride back up with him (it was hot, and long and steep!).  I was grateful that the rain temporarily stopped while he was driving, so that the road wasn't slick.  the Jeep's air conditioning was nice.  it was also nice to exit the jeep and feel warm ambient temperature.  we even loved that after getting out of the water at the beach, we didn't have to dive into a towel for warmth, but could feel warm while air drying.

This is a once-thriving farm community. i thought that i remember reading there were a lot of taro farms until a tsunami came and now only a few remain.  valley is known as the Valley of the Kings.   measures a mile wide at the coast (black sand), and almost 6 miles deep, sheltered by cliffs reaching almost 2,000 feet.

it's hard to see, but here is a car that crashed down the cliff years ago.

 

the signage warnings scared me. R in the Jeep going along the muddy road at the bottom.

Malasadas are sweet treats. hole-less donuts coated in sugar with optional filling.

spotted a wild turkey? with her babies.

 lots of folks had the same rental Jeep.

drove to 2:00 on the island clock.  beautiful banyan trees.  it was just a short loop walk to see Akaka Falls. lush with tropical foliage and birds singing.  lots of smiles despite so much rain!

I loved the green everywhere.  like my mother taught me to notice. we finished out the day by driving to 3:00 on the island clock to Hilo and eating the last malasada.

HI: Hapuna

I took an early morning walk around Kona, I saw the sunrise over one of the volcanic mountains.  saw kids waiting for the school bus and also found the LDS temple at the top of the hill.  saw the historic princess's private ocean pool.

 

We explored a lava tube along the side of the road.

We drove one hour north to 10:30 on the clock, to Hapuna Beach.  This is one of the most famous beaches on the island.  A half mile of white sands and again, crystal clear water.  It just doesn't get any better than this.  

This trip was my first real vacation for which I've planned the itinerary (and i didn't do it without help from cousin K). anyway, the point is that I wasn't sure how much we could pack into each day.  fortunately, we had lots of time for extra activities and didn't feel rushed.  as I'm looking at the photos, I'm feeling ready to go back and spend more time there ... maybe we will.

HI: Kona, Kua Bay

Although i started out as a night walker, I've become a morning person.  I liked the way jet lag worked for us, because it meant that I woke up earlier than others in HI.  I took several nice quiet early morning walks.

Cousin K helped us find Uncle Billy's Kona Bay Hotel - a great budget hotel just a block from the water and walking distance to all the shops.  E would have loved the pool.  I think that we got in the ocean every day of our vacation, but we didn't get in the hotel pool.
Kona is at 9:00 on the BI "clock".  We started our trip here and traveled clockwise roughly along the coast.

 

I don't know the names of all these plants, but I loved how they grew everywhere. The pink flowers are ones that we grow on the mainland, but in HI they grow profusely as a ground cover!  The green/yellow shrub is one that I have as a houseplant on top of my fridge, but in HI they grow huge.  I took several pictures over our trip and resolved to come home and at least re-pot mine to give it a chance to get bigger.  The plumeria is beautiful and smells sweet.

 We wasted no time getting to a gorgeous beach.  K recommended Kua Bay/ Manini'owali Beach.  not too far north of the airport, just across from a Veterans' Cemetery.  She said it's where they take visitors when they first land on the plane and the last place they go before flying out.  A smallish white sand beach that has great boogie boarding.  they have public restrooms and freshwater showers.  No shade, so bring sunblock.   the water was crystal clear and beach not too crowded at all from 9-11am when we were there. 

R got us some waterproof pouches that could hold our cell phones and a few cards, so that we could take those in the water with us and feel comfortable leaving other belongings by the towels while we swam together.

After our morning beach excursion, we walked around Kona a bit. 

 

We saw some great trees on the BI.  

I'm so glad to see this salad that I ate on the first day.  It was really hard for me to eat vegetables while traveling.  I guess I started being sensitive to costs and carbs were cheaper.

There were two beaches right here in Kona, but we didn't swim here.  we had already been in earlier, and were exploring other things.  cousin S did though, jumping in after our dinner! :)
The Mokuaikaua Church is the first Christian church in HI, New England style construction because of the New England missionaries that had brought the church.

 replica of the ship Thaddeus that brought the missionaries.

 I explored the shops.

 We met cousins K&S for dinner.  they are a lovely balanced couple and I'm so glad that they are my family.  Hope we can remain friendly for a long time!  I'm sure they will always be having cool family centered adventures.

sunset.

HI day 1

We have so many good things. We have a great little family and a great extended family.  We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a vacation.  E got to bond with UT cousins for the whole week.  He enjoyed some independence and grew a little taller, I think.
R and I flew to the Big Island of Hawaii where we relaxed and smiled all week long (proof in the following 200 pictures).  i think it was a success!  we did miss our kiddo, but know that he had a blast.  thank you so so much to my sisters for totally covering childcare and entertainment.  Knowing that he was in good hands helped us to enjoy our travels without worry.
The other amazing family member to thank is our cousin K.  We met cousin K just a year ago, and what a joy she is.  We met at a family dinner (prompted because Ms. AJ's friend somehow asked my maiden name, connected that to K's twin, and now Ms AJ and i are friends!) just before she was moving to HI.  I have checked in on her via blog and when we decided to visit HI, it was so obvious that the BI was full of FUN and beauty.  I wrote to cousin K and she shared priceless itinerary ideas.  with our house sale and move, and my novice vacation planning skills, there is no way i could have planned such a thorough and lovely trip without her help.  she told us about places that we never would have known to visit just from reading the travel guides.  her excitement and enthusiasm were contagious.  thank you so much to cousin K for sharing your energy and family adventures on your blog!!  there are more places to see and places worth seeing again, and snorkel gear to be used... so maybe we'll get back out there before she leaves.
I'll use some of her words here because she's a better writer than me.

E and I took an uber and then light rail to the airport.  I was able to fly with E to SLC.  C picked us up AND then took me back 6 hours later.  i totally owe my sisters.  i hope they all come visit in our new house and let me make them dinners and give free room and board for a vacation.

It was fun to try soduko on the long flight.  sister A and Dad inspired that.  we arrived to a pouring abnormal rainstorm in Kona.  the airport has covered areas and lots of wet open areas.  :)  but it was warm. ahhhhh.

thanks to R traveling every week for work, he has "frequent flier" status with the rental company, we got a deal on a rental.  He chose a jeep and voiced gratitude for that decision many times.  we had some 4WD experiences and some rainy weather also.

Buster

summer evening walk in a big dog park with trails.  We met up with our friend Ms. J and her Great Dane Buster, as well as a sweet little stick to your side marshmallow dog Lilah (E called Delilah and we decided we like that better) she is watching.  E loves the dogs!  which is good since we'll probably be adding one to our family soon.