There was a moment this week, when I was sitting in the pool, looking out over the blue sky and golf course and the ocean in the distance, that I wished I had the soul of a poet. If I were my lovely friend Corinne, I'd write something wonderfully poetic and amazing. But I am not that sort of person, unfortunately. What follows is quite the travelogue; if you're not interested in the long version, the short version is we got a lot of sun, no one was seriously injured, and we all had a grand time.
Monday: South. We headed down to South Point to see the waves and feel the wind (ah, reminded us of home!). Then around the tip to Punalu'u black sand beach. We tried to go swimming there, and Russell, Megan, and Caitlyn managed to get in the (cold!) water with snorkel masks and fins. Kristen was feeling a bit under the weather, so she mostly laid out on a rock and sunbathed. Alison hadn't discovered her love of the ocean yet, and was content to sit on the beach and dig. We didn't last terribly long (black sand beaches are hot!), before heading back towards home. We stopped at the Punalu'u bakery for lunch (meh) and then hit the Place of Refuge (I can never remember the Hawaiian name for it) to do more snorkeling. The snorkeling was better here, and everyone got in for a bit. There was a nice cove for Alison and Kristen to play in, and everyone else enjoyed looking at the fish. We didn't make it back from this unscathed, though: Russell gouged out a bit of his heel at Punalu'u, and Megan, Caitlyn and I all managed to get nice sized scrapes. Lesson learned: lava rocks and coral are sharp!
Tuesday: West. Which means we stayed put. We puttered about the condo (which is really very nice; we've not stayed in the three bedroom before) and then headed to Hilo Hattie's (if we didn't go, it wouldn't be a trip to Hawaii!) for souvenirs. Megan decided she wanted to go pearl "diving", and me being nostalgic (I did the same thing when I was 14), we agreed. She got twin black/purple pearls, and because she didn't want earrings, we ended up getting a pendant for her and a ring for me. We even got a "bonus" pearl for Caitlyn, though I am making her wait for a setting! We then hung out at Keouhou Bay and went snorkeling (a much much better snorkeling experience) and Alison learned that she REALLY likes swimming. I think her life goal now is to be a surfer/cook.
Wednesday: East. We decided, since the only time we'd been over to the Hilo side was when Megan was a baby, that we should go back over there. We drove over the Saddle Road (WAY cool) that goes between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and down into Hilo. We went to Rainbow Falls first, and (in the most favorite thing all day) discovered a forest of banyan trees (we think) that we spent a good while climbing in and playing around. From there we hit the farmer's market (interesting, but the girls were less than patient with it), the 'Imiloa Planetarium (interesting, but a bit overpriced), the zoo (interesting, and worth the price... free), and then Akaka falls (interesting, but by this point, we were tired of each other). We had dinner in Waimea, at a burger place that served local food (slightly better than meh) and then headed home to crash.
Thursday: Northwest. This was another slow start and then we hit Hapuna beach. Everyone got in... and we all had a grand time. Megan, Caitlyn and Russell went WAY out to jump waves. Alison became a ocean demon; she was the first one in and the last one out. She even figured out the boogie boards! Kristen and I played on the beach for a while, but I eventually convinced her to head out, and we had a good time jumping the smaller waves. She was doing great until she headed back to shore and a biggish wave got her and pushed her under. She refused to get back in after that. After a few hours of sun and surf, we showered (sort of) and dressed and went out to dinner at Bubba Gump's with Grandpa and Grandma. Honestly, we went in with low expectations, but ended up having a really good meal. Everyone enjoyed everything they got (except Megan got a Pina Collada and ended up not liking it. Well, now she knows.) and the waitress was especially grand with my crazy kids. The second Alison discovery of the trip: she REALLY likes hamburgers. A lot. Kristen even found something she could eat, amazingly. Lesson learned: jumping in ocean waves doesn't seem like a lot of work, but the next morning you really feel it!
Friday: Splurge. We went places today, but not in one particular direction. Russell played golf with his dad in the morning, and the girls and I hit the pool for an hour or so. We went out to lunch at Quinns Almost by the Sea (love that!) where we had the most wonderful waitress (and fish sandwiches, and Megan discovered that strawberry daquris are MUCH better than pina colladas). We dropped Megan and Russell off for their adventure: a trip to the summit of Mauna Kea (13,000+ feet) to see the observatories up there. When I picked them up at 11 p.m., they were bubbling over with how COOL and neat and interesting their trip was. The rest of us went grocery shopping, and back to the pool, and then to a luau. And while there was a bit of complaining (pigs roasted in imus kind of smell, and the program was alternately interesting and long and boring), we had a fun time. It helped the people we sat next to were quite fun and very forgiving of our craziness, especially considering they were on an anniversary trip. And I discovered, at least, that rain is very nice here in Kona, even if it does make things a bit more humid.
Saturday: North. We had one last day, and time for one last adventure. We headed north this time, to the end of the state highway (seriously) to see the Pololu Valley. It was impressive. Russell and Megan were game for climbing down into it, but I wasn't going to drag the other girls down (it was back up I was worried about, really), and so we nixed that idea and headed back south (only way we could go) to the Keokea beach park. We ate lunch there, knocked around climbing on the rocks, viewed Maui (seriously), and collected a whole bunch of interesting things that have drifted up on the beach. From there we stopped in Hawi and got some very yummy ice cream (Mexican chocolate, Tahitian vanilla, Macademia nut were a few of the more exotic flavors; no one tried the mango, passion fruit or pistachio). And then, after a slight detour in which we saw whales (but not jumping; we've never seen them do that), we headed back to Hapuna beach. Another fun day of playing in the surf (the waves were AMAZING), digging on the sand, and basically enjoying the ocean. Because we were there late, we stayed through until sunset. A wonderful end to an amazing week.
And today's been lazy: we're looking at church in a bit, and then playing with cousins (Mike and Marjorie's family are here) before packing up and heading home. It's been a wonderful week!
