Hawai'i Day 8 - Maui and Honolulu Aloha

Everyone knows, one of the top Maui attractions, and Hawai’i in general, is “Sunrise at Haleakula”.

 

Haleakula is an almost extinct volcano, in its final death throes, which apparently is the reason Maui exists. Almost 10,000 feet up above sea level the peak is supposed to provide a magnificent light show for sunrise, sunset, and stargazing.

 

We asked the resort for a wakeup call, and also set our alarms. 3:45 we were awakened and started to groggily pack up our hotel room. Luckily we had done a lot of the packing and prep the previous night, so it was a drop quicker. By 4:30, very efficient bellhop in tow, (you really get used to this lifestyle) we were on the road. The drive to Haleakula according to GPS, is about 1 hour. In the dark night we set out in our trusty Jeep.

 

The roads were windy and twisty, much like the road to Hana. Eventually, about an hour into the trip, we reached the entrance to the park. Although we had already paid entrance fee on a different entrance for the Seven Sacred Pools, our entry had expired and we had to pay again. $10, and an encounter with a grumpy park agent, we were off winding our way to the top of the Haleakula volcano. They say as you drive up, you can see the crater which formed when the lava flowed, but we couldn’t see anything in the dark and mist. The sky was cloudy, but we were hopeful as the higher we climbed the clearer it got. The stars got closer and closer as we got higher and higher. We were feeling the elevation in our ears and stomachs, at least I was, and it’s not all that pleasant. Near the peak, I was feeling lightheaded.

 

At last, we reached the top. We saw a little house in the distance, I guess that’s where the tourists go to see the sunrise. Despite dressing in layers, 2 shirts, 2 leggings, 2 hoodies, it was brutally cold up there. NYers will laugh, but yes, it was 35’ with a fierce wind and I missed my North Face coat and gloves! With about 30 minutes till sunrise, we went out and braved the cold and wind. It was SO COLD!!! The wet cold seeps into your bones. We huddled up and tried to keep our minds off the cold, but the cloud cover was so heavy, this wasn’t looking promising. The best sunrises at Haleakula are when there are some clouds, but not a full cloud cover. We waited and it felt like forever til 7:58. Slowly, the lining of the sun became visible, but not much else. The entire mountain was shrouded in fog and mist. We couldn’t see the crater or the views at all. One of the tour guides started doing a sun dance and yodeling away, and it seemed to work. We all cheered enthusiastically when the sun broke through the heavy clouds and peeked out over us all, warming us a drop with its warmth and rays. Behind us, a rainbow appeared through the clouds. Despite not being able to see much, it was still beautiful and a very special experience. Definitely not to be missed, but hopefully with better weather.

We thawed in the car, and then rolled our way back down the mountain, heading for the airport. The weather was awful, rainy, cloudy, very dank and dark. We were awarded with some beautiful rainbows though. A drop of the mountain was visible in the light, but no major viewpoints, it was simply too cloudy. We couldn’t even sit on a beach until boarding, it was pouring rain.

We had to go through our food bags, and the car, which was an adventure in of itself, but I’ll spare you the gory details. We were at last, leis around necks, checked in, our luggage checked all the way to JFK thanks to the nice Hawai’ain Airlines clerk. That was a huge relief as it spared us luggage charges thru Delta, and additional check ins in Honolulu. Of course, we met up with our new friends, we looked cool, calm and collected, as they breezed through check in. Since they actually cook on vacation, they shlep less..

 

We boarded our 25 minute flight to Honolulu and lickety split, arrived in Oahu. There was an agricultural check and they wanted to take our tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, sugar snap peas, avocados and god knows whatever else we had crammed into our shopping bags. The security lady suggested we go make a picnic and come back so we did just that. We settled down in a grassy area (despite the rain) and ate our lunch. After we rid ourselves of the extra stuff we were off to our gate.

Flight uneventful, 6 long hours to Los Angeles. Kosher Coffee Bean awaited, Frappuccinos, YUM. The airport was FULL of our kind, presumably, they all got free tickets to LA. Most religious families didn’t go as far as Hawai’i. I personally think anyone that goes to Hawai’i with babies and kids, needs their head examined.

 

Another 5 hours, and we were in NY. How did that happen??? Where did the whales and black sand beaches go???? Of course, we lost our extra luggage, but not our checked in carryons. We filed a luggage report, and got into a cab… home. I’m not sure why we left.

Hawai'i Day 7 - Maui

Here's the thing about most vacations. You're either exploring or relaxing. It's very hard to juggle between the two. On our last day, we wanted to use our time productively, without overtiring ourselves out.

 

The surf was much calmer on this Sunday morning. A dream to awake to rolling waves and mostly blue skies. We quickly called the concierge to schedule some whale watching, and got ourselves prepped for another perfect day at the beach. The whaling boat was set for 12:45, which gave us a couple hours to enjoy the sun and surf before the trip out. We packed up lunches, and went back to the beach. Laying out in our lounge chairs, just enjoying the awestriking beauty surrounding us on all sides. As described previously, across the water, Lanai island, and over on the left, Molokini, the small bird sanctuary crater.

 

12:45, my friends’ (I opted out of a boat trip), ride appeared, in the form of a small motor boat (I’m not sure of the type, look at the pic and let me know), which pulls up about 30 feet from shore, and you need to dodge the waves to hop onto the ladder while holding your belongings above your head to ensure their dry arrival on the boat. It’s quite comical to see the people trying to hop onto the ladder of the boat while big waves pull the boat back out to sea. It’s all part of the fun J. I videoed them jumping up and getting soaked.

 

I rented some binoculars to enjoy the whales from shore. You can actually see them spout, and then jump out of the water while splashing their tails back into water. These are Humpback whales, they live near Alaska, but come out to the warmer waters of Hawai’i to mate and have their babies, they do not eat out here, and lose about a 1/3^rd of their body weight, and then they go back to Alaska to feed and continue the cycle. Amazing how they know where to go, and find their way back every year. Whaling season is Dec-May. During whaling season, jetskies are not allowed out into the ocean, and it’s illegal to approach within 100 yards (about a football stadium) of the enormous creatures. However, they are allowed to approach you. No one will ticket them for that. My friends were out for about 2 hours, and enjoyed the views from Molokini, and further out in the waters. They described the experience as pretty unforgettable as you truly do see the majesty of these whales up close. They were even lucky enough to see 2 breeching whales one on top of the other, jump out of the water, pretty close to their boat. Wow. I mean, you can’t even see a whale in an aquarium, so excluding the Discovery Channel, seeing them up close is really special. Right before their boat started heading back, I was able to see the same whale they saw from the binoculars. I think it was right next to their boat and made a huge splash with it’s tail. Awesome! The captain put a microphone into the water and they even heard the whales singing.

 

When they came back they regaled me with their whale tales on the boat. I’m happy they had a good time, and of course, what’s a boat ride without free drinks J

 

Clock was ticking and we had a big Hawai’ian evening planned, what better way to end a perfect Hawai’ian vacation than with a Luau!!! Booked at 5:15 for the Old Lahaina Luau, we quickly dressed, grabbed our things, and got into the Jeep for our 45 minute drive out to Lahaina for our Luau. Unfortunately, the weather was clouding up and it started to drizzle. The scenery on the way to Lahaina was breathtaking. We did this trip Saturday night in the dark, but there is absolutely no way to even describe the views. How can one put words to Paradise?? On one side towering cliffs and green hills, similar to how I imagine Ireland looks, on the other, crashing waves, and lava cliffs with bright blue water. On the highway, we saw a boat not far from shore and seeing the familiar splash we now know to look out for, all looked towards the water to see an gigantic tail jump out of the water and splash back in! A whale show, right there from the Lahaina Highway!!

 

The rain was getting heavier, and we started to worry about our outdoor Luau. Arriving, we many people standing outside thatched huts, waiting for the Luau doors to open. They handed us programs, a special ingredient list as we said we are on a special diet, (yes please, I would like the Pohole salad without the Octopus please), and white orchids for our hair. Remember, flower over right ear for single, left ear for married. Wedding bands, Hawai’i style. They handed out ponchos to protect us from the medium drizzle, it really wasn’t so bad, but the chairs did get wet. The Luau was set up with lots of tables and chairs around a round grass platform stage. The food was buffet style, with servers looking very native, ushering people to their seats so the show can get started. After all, due to the rain, we were already delayed. As we walked in, we were handed Mai Tais, or punch (our choice). We took the punch as a cool prop for our pictures, but knew that we couldn’t drink any of the mixed drinks. Of course, as soon as we walked in, the moment we were most awaiting, the Leis!!!! You can’t go to Hawai’i and not get lei’d!!! The flowers are gorgeous purple orchids hanging on a string, and look so cool, oh so cool!!! Now we are really Hawai’ian!! This does not compare with our plastic Safeway Leis we wore for Shabbos. !!

 

I didn’t see the pig roasting on a spit, but as this Luau is known to be more traditional, I’m pretty sure it must have been there. I did see lots and lots of food. Sadly, they were all out of Glatt Kosher pig, so we were unable to partake in those gluttonous festivities. I did see lots and lots and lots of food, and lots and lots and lots of people eating their hearts and cholesterol out. Tons of buffets, all set up tastefully, Hawai’ian style. The bar was in another thatched hut, but even though I asked about the ingredients of the juices, there was no way to confirm how they were made, so we had to stick to Vodka and Rum. I’m not much of a drinker, I find the alcohol taste bitter and unpleasant, but my friends enjoyed the Coke and Sprite with a kick. The frozen Pina Colada slush looked sooooo good L

 

The servers kept trying to convince us to check out the food, thinking we had some kind of allergy, yet will find something we can eat, so a couple of us went to look. On the way, we ran into the manager, and so eager to please, after all this Luau was NOT cheap, he found us some whole pineapples, bananas and cantaloupe. Armed with our plastic knives, we cut into it and enjoyed the delicious, juicy, sweet and succulent fruit, glatt kosher style. The situation was quite comical, after all, we knew what we would be getting into, none of this was a surprise at all. Due to the rain, the small Hula and craft stations on the side were canceled, so we didn’t have the opportunity to learn Hula dancing from the experts.

 

Who cares about food, the authentic Hawai’ian Luau was about to begin!! We moved our chairs up closer to see the dancing and shrieking. They came marching in with fire torches, and acted out the story of Polynesian settlers who originally found and settled the island. Interesting, how the native Hawai’ians/Polynesians pronounced the name Ha vI, which sounds like Hebrew- Ha Iyy (the island). I wonder if there is some sort of connection or its an uncanny coincidence. Who knows??

 

We really enjoyed the dancing, those hula and grass skirts are awesome. They shake their hips while barely moving any other part of their body, and it’s really cool. After the show, they were all thrilled to take pics with us, acting all goofy and silly. So much fun. Someone stole our cantaloupe, he claimed that he found it on his table, yeah right.

 

We unfortunately didn’t have time for a quick swim on our last night in the Makena resort. The pool was really lame anyway. They had one round 6 foot pool, one round shallow baby pool, and an above ground Jacuzzi, the kind someone would have in their backyard. We got back, packed up, (cleaned Oreos off everything, don’t ask) and set our alarms for 3:45 AM.

 

Tipsy and silly, and drunk on vacation, we fell into bed for a few hours.

Hawai'i Day 5-6 - Maui

Friday in Maui paradise dawned beautifully. We awoke knowing today was going to be a chilled beach day, relaxing and enjoying the raw sublime beauty surrounding us. The sun was brightly shining, the birds chirping, and the pounding surf right outside our porch/window.

We sprayed on a thick layer of sunblock, packed up our beach bags, and without further ado, were beachbound. 

The Makena resort has a private beach with chairs, umbrellas, and attendants who walk around pouring guests ice cold water. Seriously, this is the life. 

From our beach we have a clear view of the Lanai island in the distance, as well as the Molokini Crater, about 3 miles away. The water is crystal clear, when the waves aren't throwing around the sand, you can see straight down to the bottom. It's truly a paradise on earth. When people describe Maui this way, they really aren't kidding. The crater is a small sacred untouched island which is a natural bird sanctuary. People aren't allowed on it to ensure the preservation of the natural beauty. Apparently the water around Molokini is so clear, you can see between 100-200 feet down. The snorkeling and diving out there has a legendary reputation. 

From the shore, you can just look out and see whales breeching and blowing air out through their snouts. There are so many, you just see them over and over during whale season, Dec-May. Lots of boats go out on whale watching tours, our hotel's tour drops off and picks people up right from the beach, no harbor. It's really funny to see the passengers try to jump on and off the boat between bouts of strong waves. 

We had some company on Fri, a friend I encountered thru the Dan deal, who actually knows some mutual friends is also here in Hawai'i, and the 2 of them joined us to chill on the beach.

As it was getting closer to Shabbos, we wrapped up beach time, said goodbye to our new friends, and took a short drive to the local Safeway. As we were debating which plastic leis to purchase, a man with a kippa started talking to us. Turns out he's the rabbi of the not so small (do you blame them for wanting to live in Maui), Maui dati leumi community and shul. Too bad we hadn't considered this earlier, we could've spent shabbos in that neighborhood. I'm personally happy with chilled hotel shabbats. He showed us the "kosher section", which consisted of grape juice, Manischewitz wine, and gefilte fish. No thanks. 

Armed with our leis and hair flowers, (making sure to put them on the right for unattached), lots of cucumbers, and a few other Shabbos necessities, we made our way back to our hotel. As we prepared, we peeked over our balcony to see the glorious sunset. 

Friday night was our schnitzel, vegetables, chummus and a meal mart precooked meat slab. Just pop in micro for a few mins, and you're good to go. Not my taste, but my friends seemed to enjoy it. We knew we had to leave our porch door open as closing it triggers the AC, so we got to enjoy the Maui island air. Exhausted, we all fell asleep pretty quickly. 

Shabbos morning we awoke to the sound of a lawnmower. Coming from NYC we have plenty of our own noise and do not need to hear a lawnmower in Maui. We tried to complain but it didn't cease. Deciding to deal with the consequences of that later, we ate lunch and went down to the beach to soak up the Maui sun. It wasn't as sunny and hot as Fri, but not too bad despite the few clouds. 

The afternoon was very relaxing, we watched a wedding of an Alaskan couple, whale watched, and then walked to the shores of the Makena golf course to get as close as possible to the sunset. Absolutely breathtaking. 

After shabbos we called the hotel and got some credit for the disturbance, and then drove out to our new friends in Lahaina (45 mins away) for pizza night :) 

Unlike us, they cook on vacation so we enjoyed pas Yisrael, cholov Yisrael pizza and fries. A real treat, felt just like home. 

Another 2 perfect, relaxing days in Maui. Will we ever want to leave?! 

Hawai'i Day 4 - Maui

Still dark, our alarms roused us bright and early for another day in Hawai'i. In the dim light we were able to see the outline of the beach in our backyard, and indeed, it was pretty. It was a beautiful sunny warm day in Hilo, which is actually very rare, as it rains there almost every single day. Thankfully, my ankle felt much much better, and wrapped in an ace bandage, I was fine. What a relief!!! 

We packed up (don't be fooled by how easy I make that sound) and hopped back into the car to the nearby airport to return the rental car and check in for Maui. 

The airport "volunteer" who offered to help shlep our luggage was upset when we didn't tip him. Anyone who can afford to retire to Hawai'i does not need our dollar tip. Sheesh. 

The airport interior looked like an old living room from the 1960s. As our usual, we boarded by last call, and were the last ones onto the plane. Once again, we were the only whites, the rest of the plane was Asian. I think they were here from Japan and flying to some sort of reunion. Personally, I don't think Japanese should be allowed on the island at all after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but I kept my opinions to myself... Perhaps they repented. 

The flight to Maui was about 25 minutes from takeoff - landing. On my tripadvisor travel app I read for the duration of the flight, I discovered a travel guide app for our next activity, The Road to Hana. Upon landing, I promptly purchased it. 

Arriving in Maui, we went to pick up the rental car and sadly realized we are spoiled and no longer comfortable in a standard car. As it's vacation, and money is flowing like water, we upgraded ourselves to a nice Jeep. 

 

Onward to Hana! Our travel app was money well spent. For $4.90 we got a very interesting tour guide, who briefed us about the sights on the way. Without him, dubbed by us, Hoku, we would have had no idea what we were actually seeing on the drive. The app works with GPS, and there was no cell service for hours, yet Hoku worked flawlessly. Score 1 for Tripadvisor.

The Road to Hana is a curvy, twisty, windey, drive circling the Haliakula volcano. Some 600 hairpin turns, and I believe 50? (unsure exact num) one lane bridges. The actual distance is only about 60 miles, but takes between 3-4 hours on average. The going is very slow, the turns are pretty sharp. The sides of the narrow roads are lush green vegetation or breathtaking ocean vistas. As we climbed higher, we saw more jungle. There are many places to stop along the way, but one day isn't enough to cover them all, so we decided to stick with Hoku's advice. 

Our first stop was an arboretum, a nursery of exotic trees brought over to the island from all over the world. Pomellas, limes, grapefruit, rainbow eucalyptus, bamboo to name a few. 

Next we came upon a waterfall, which Hoku suggested we view from the bridge due to the treacherous climb down, however after feeling completely left out seeing the other tourists acquainted up close and personal with the gorgeous falls, we knew we were going down. And down we went. A slippery, muddy, rocky descent down into the waterfall river and riverbed. Certainly an experience, and that's what we're here for. We enjoyed seeing the falls up close and were careful where we climbed and stepped. Very worthwhile. The falls pooled down into a cold clean pool glittering off the canyon walls. Beautiful. 

On with our twisting drive, our next stop was a small town right on the shoreline. Paia. The waves are huge, crashing into cliffs and rocks on the shores of Paia. This town was destroyed in the 40s by a tsunami, but has since been rebuilt. Hoku promised us coconuts, but we were unable to find ripe ones. The cliffs and waves were a real sight. Caution is needed, one never knows how high the next wave will be. We saw an unsuspecting tourist fishing get completely splashed by a wave. The waves are very strong, and can pull you straight into the raging water. 

Twisting and turning through the lush rainforest, we arrived at Hoku's next suggested stop, Waianapanapa State Park. Blue crystal clear water, a black sand beach, waves crashing into cliffs, a blow hole, and even caves. The backdrop of the lush greenery on the jutting peninsula literally makes you lose your breath. Spectacular is an understatement, and pictures do little justice. They sort of act as a souvenir to remember the awestriking beauty. The caves are halfway in the ocean and rapidly fill with water from the crashing waves. Naturally, seeing this from the mouth of the cove wouldn't be close enough for us adventurers, so we crawled thru and hoped the water wouldn't get too high. It came pretty far up, but we didn't get wet, or swept out to sea. Lots of swimmers on the black sand beach, really pretty dark sand. Next was the blowhole, stand there long enough and you will hear a roar, and see water shoot out like a geyser. Pretty cool. 

At this point we started to rush, it was close to 4 o'clock and knew our next stop was 45 minutes past Hana. We skipped Hana, it's just a little town on the Maui coast. A short detour gave us a peek at their beaches. I would say its pretty, but what in Hawai'i isn't pretty?!?!? 

The next must see according to our research was the Seven Sacred Pools in Haliakula National Park. Knowing its close to sunset we hurried to get the info we needed and start the hike. Just a .5 mile walk in to see the waterfall and pools draining into the ocean. Very very pretty, and extremely windy. The water is extremely cold. Despite the late hour we opted to attempt the .5 mile hike up to the next waterfall. Racing the clock, us avid hikers scaled the mountain and arrived in record time. 10 mins to sunset after speaking to someone people on their way down, we decided to continue up a little more to the bamboo forest. Despite the incline and rocky hike, I'm glad we did. The entrance to the bamboo forest is via bridge, and then you see the long bamboo trees towering up. Very cool. Never seen anything like it before. Now it was really late, and getting dark, not so smart despite the park being open all night, so armed with our flashlights (I wasn't going on this trip unprepared) we carefully made our way down the darkening mountain. 

Getting to Makena, our next stop was further than we realized. We thought instead of driving back the way we came, (don't recommend that drive at night) we would loop back around the island from a different road as shown on our map. Our smartphones had no service which means no GPS either. We knew some of it would be bumpy and unpaved, and it was. It literally felt like we were driving the neverending road to nowhere. Most of it was narrow, curvy and steep, and in the pitch black, couldn't see much of anything, except of course, stars, which were beautiful. 

We didn't know where we were going but there weren't many choices on the 1 lane road, so we just plodded along until decades later, we finally reached civilization. The drive back took us about 2:20, which is actually pretty quick for the return from Hana according to our hotel staff. The other way is longer and has traffic from all the tourists returning from the drive. 

Our resort is indeed 4 star. Beautiful. Upon arrival we were bestowed shell leis (necklaces) and cold bottles of Hawai'in water. The room is large and spacious, staff helpful and friendly. Although we cannot currently see the ocean (it's dark), we hear the surf and crashing waves. The room has a partial ocean view I can't wait to see tomorrow from the small porch. I tell you, this is the life. 

I think Maui is a hit :)

Good night and G'Shabbos!! 

Hawai'i Day 3 - The Big Island

Up at the crack of dawn, we packed up our latest very desirable home away from home, and checked out of the Sheraton Kona Resort.

The skies seemed somewhat cloudy, however as we drove throughout the island, the weather seemed to change. At one ocean lookout not far from our final destination of Volcanoes National Park, we even had a beautiful cloudless blue sky. As we got closer to the park, the skies clouded up again. We were told that this is the norm on that side of the island. 

We watched a short video, with not to be believed live footage of the Kileaua Volcano eruption of 1959, which basically destroyed miles and miles of land and property, and created an enormous lava lake swallowing up all the forest and trees in its relentless path of fiery destruction. Armed with ponchos, and unfearful of potential rain, we set off to acquaint ourselves with this deadly volcano. 

First on the itinerary were the sulfur banks. The ground looked mineralized from the sulfur exposure and the whole area reeked of it. Fascinating how one volcano can basically change an entire ecosystem. The Steam Vents were next, picture hot steam hissing out of the ground, like a steam room. Unfortunately, smart me climbed up a rail to see a vent closer up, and came down hard on a rock, which twisted my ankle. I thought it was ok, and continued on to the Kileaua Iki hike. 

We were told that Allison, the park ranger, is giving a tour and planned to meet up with her at 1o'clock, however after driving aimlessly and ranger was nowhere to be seen, we just continued on to the hike. 

The Kileaua Iki hike is a 4 mile, roundtrip hike down the mountain, thru the lava lake crater, and back up the other side of the parking lot. 

The hike down was pretty standard as hiking goes, however, upon arriving at the crater we were amazed by the vast size of its breadth. The dried lava terrain was black and rocky, and still warm to the touch. The entire lake of lava took 38 years to cool. Despite this, the ground is still warm and trapped rainwater still steams up from the inner core of the lake. The park has placed rock tower formations to strongly encourage visitors to stay on a specific path through the crater floor. We stopped for delicious Brooklyn style tuna sandwiches and enjoyed a gourmet lunch on the floor of the crater. 

For some strange reason, after lunch my ankle remembered that it was twisted a couple hours before and started to really hurt. This made the trek back up the Jurassic Park looking mountain much longer and harder. Despite the throbbing I knew that this is just a small glitch, and pushed along. After reaching the top of Mount Everest, according to my injured ankle, I needed to see the lava tubes. I mean, even though I could barely limp anymore, when will I have another opportunity to see a lava tube?!  The tubes are caves of sort which lava flowed through. They look similar to stalagtite tunnels. 

At this point, walking was too painful, so we went to the visitor center to get some ice and an ace bandage. That and some Tylenol helped the pain, and we continued up to the Jagger Museum situated across from the active Kileaua volcano. The museum was interesting, showed current seismigraph activity of the local volcanoes on the islands. There were legends and paintings of the volcano goddess, Pele. 

Sunset was shrouded in clouds, but the current eruption was not. The Kileaua volcano is currently a steaming frothing lava lake, about 500 feet wide, 100-200 feet deep. The lava cannot be seen from up close, as the land is outside of park borders, and the owners aren't keen on visitors trespassing all over their property. After dark, the reflection of the pool is quite beautiful, and the orange cloud emanating from the scalding hot lava can be seen very clearly. It's an amazing sight, really not to be missed. 

When the sky completely darkened, we were treated to an unbelievable light show, the likes which I've never seen before. The stars were incredible. Lying down on the ground we were able to see many constellations, twinkling and clear. 

The drive from the park to our hotel in Hona, was about 45 mins. Hona seemed like a sleepy town, and the hotel was mediocre at best. Our room did have an ocean view, but we arrived after dark, so didn't really see much of it at all.

I'm convinced the hotel is haunted, the wind blows throughout the corridors and generates whistling noises. On my search for ice, I discovered a really creepy deserted hallway full of furniture and went running back to the room all goosebumped. Strangely, we were the only whites there, all we saw were Asians.

Knowing our flight to Maui was at 8am, we fell into bed pretty quickly. All in all, a full exploratory day :) 

I've fallen in love with the Big Island, sad to leave. Waiting to see what Maui has to offer. 

Hawai'i Day 2 - The Big Island

Once again, we awoke bright and early, ready to explore The Big Island of Hawai'i. First we made sure to take a peek at the crashing waves from our hotel pool area. We asked around, and were strongly encouraged to drive up to the North side of the island to experience the difference in terrain. 

As we drove we saw volcanic rock, sandy coast, clear blue water, and even lush green trees and grass. We stopped at a small local farmers market to pick up some exotic fruit. Apple bananas, strawberry papayas, and some good ol pommellas. 

We arrived at the Polulu trail, and were taken aback by the breathtaking view of cliffs above black sand beaches. After the 20 min hike down in the beating sun, we couldn't jump into the cool refreshing ocean water. We romped and frolicked on the black sand reacquainting ourselves with our inner childs. 

Lunch on the beach, perched upon volcanic rock was delicious PB&J. We made sure to dunk ourselves in the frothing waves, before our hot trek back up to the car. 

We drove out to Kaleikai National Park, and watched surfers and boogie boarders wash out in the angry waves while we ate our juicy Hawai'in pomella. 

From there we hopped over to the nearby marina for another spectacular sunset over the Pacific. After a short jaunt to Costco for vegetables, we returned to our resort for some much needed relaxation. 

After supper, a long swim and soak under a clear, cloudless, star studded sky brought an end to another Hawaiian vacation day. We sure can get used to this :)

Hawai'i!! Day 1 - Honolulu & The Big Island

Gosh. Before you decide to book a trip to Hawai'i, remember how far it is. Travel consisted of a full day of traveling which was exhausting and neverending. We are 5 hours behind NYC, but ahead in every other possible way :)

We arrived in Honolulu about 9 pm HST, with our 100 lbs of food, (I am not exaggerating). Exhausted, we fell into bed to awake bright and early at 3am, due to the time confusion. At 6am sharp our airport shuttle arrived on schedule for our ride back to the airport for our flight to Kona,  The Big Island. 

We self checked in our luggage and hopped on the little plane for the 30 min flight. I think it altogether took about 20 min, landing - takeoff.

Kona airport was the cutest outdoor airport I've ever seen. Little huts with gate signage. We picked up our Ford SUV and were enroute to the Sheraton Kona Resort. 

At the hotel, they advised us to go to Kahalu'u Beach Park nearby for some beach snorkeling. Literally 5 mins distance from the hotel, we did some unbelievable snorkeling, viewing an entire underwater universe, all different species of fish swimming in the reef. The vivid colors and shapes were simply gorgeous and unforgettable. Hopefully my underwater camera captured some of the beauty. 

After some relaxing on the beach, (rocky not sandy) we went back to the hotel to check out the pool. Really neat curvy waterslide we all excitedly slid down :)

Not wanting to miss the sunset, we ran back upstairs to get our cameras. Spectacular. Clear blue water shimmering orange from the fiery sun. Unfortunately, the surf and surges are so high, our hotel closed down most of the walking paths near the cliffs bordering the ocean. 

We chilled for the rest of the evening. I'm currently sitting on a restaurant deck overlooking the insanely high surges, hoping to stay dry :) . We were told they haven't been this high for over 10 years and are forecasting even higher. 

Aloha and good night from The Big Island!