Happy Spring everyone! A couple weeks ago, Walter and took a little vacation to Hawaii! We spent a week in Big Island and it was a fantastic trip. The food, weather, beaches, and flowers were all fabulous. I took so many pictures and it was so hard to narrow down on this entry. The first Half of the trip we were in Kailua-Kona, and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called Honu Kai. It was a cute little place full of plants, chickens and kitties!
The first restaurant we ate was at “On The Rocks” which was located right by the water, and we watched a beautiful sunset. I had some delicious Poke Nachos! Poke (ahi tuna) is a hit in Hawaii.
The next day we toured at Greenwell Farms which is a farm where they grow and make coffee beans, and we also visited Pu’uhonua O Honaunau which is a National Historical Park.
We also ate some yummy fish tacos and saw some beautiful flowers!
That evening we took a night boat ride out and snorkeled to see some Manta rays. We saw about 15 of them who swam very close to us! I fully regret on not renting a GoPro. The company we went with to swim with the manta rays was “Manta Ray Dives of Hawaii” and I highly recommend them if you visit Hawaii.
https://www.mantaraydiveshawaii.com/
The next couple days we spent in Kona, we drove around the coast and saw some beautiful views, and we went to Hapuna Beach and found a starfish! Of course, we freed him back into the water safely.
We also checked out a famous painted church (St. Benedict Catholic Church), where it is painted inside and was surrounded by beautiful gardens outside.
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We did a little bit of kayaking and snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay, ate some delicious shaved ice at “Scandinavian Shave Ice,” and we also went to a Luau while we were in Kona.
When we were walking along the shopping strip in Kailua-Kona, we came across a quilt shop; “Quilt Passions” and the “Kona Hawaiian Quilt Museum” and of course I had to go into both of these! I saw some beautiful quilts and bought some fabric!
Halfway through our trip, we headed to Hilo where we spent the rest of the week in Hawaii. On our way to Hilo, we drove around again and made a few stops along the coast.
One of our stops was at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park! Nothing was active at the time we were there but still is an incredible park. We did a little hike through a huge crater and saw all the dried up lava with plants growing out of the rocks!
We also did a little driving around the park, and saw some steam flowing out of some of the craters.
We ended up at our next destination in Hilo, and stayed at The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls, where our room had a beautiful view of the waterfall.
The next day was a bit rainy in the morning, but cleared up in the afternoon. We spent the day hanging out at a local market called the “Merrie Monarch Festival” that occurs once a year in the town. It was a big market full of local vendors!
https://www.merriemonarch.com/
I found another local fabric store where I bought more fabric, and then we ended up at “Big Island” Candies which is a local candy store where they sell/make delicious chocolates and cookies!
We also explored some more waterfalls including The Rainbow Falls at Wailuku River State Park, and went to the Kaumana Caves.
There were also some really good walks at our hotel; full of plants, bamboo trees, and statues. And the walk also leads to the waterfalls. If you do visit this Island, I highly recommend bug spray! The sunsets were absolutely beautiful here.
The next day, we visited a few beaches including the Kehena Black Sand Beach. The beaches here were gorgeous with the black sand and rocks along with the bright blue sea. It felt so peaceful to be at these beaches.
That evening, we went up to Mauna Kea Forest Reserve which is near the Mauna Key Observatory. We wanted to go higher to see all of the telescopes however, our rented Jeep did not have enough gas so we waited until the next day. But we stayed until dusk to climb up a hill to watch the sunset which was beautiful. It is a lot colder up there too!
We had some more delicious food and drinks at local restaurants in Hilo including the “Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine.”
Our very last day in Hawaii before our red eye flight, we took a tour at “Lavaloha” which is chocolate farm. We learned how they grow beans to make chocolate, and had some delicious samples.
And we made another attempt to go all they way up to Mauna Key Observatory to check out the telescopes. It was much colder up here and at high altitude, but worth to see all these telescopes and satellites. If you go up to the Observatory, I recommend plenty of water and Advil if you are not use to the altitude. Since we been living in Colorado, the altitude didn’t effect us too much.
Our very last meal in Hawaii was at Umekes Fish Market and Grill, where I had some yummy oysters.
Hawaii was an amazing trip and I highly recommend the Big Island for anyone who wants to travel. Our trip was definitely too short and I felt like I could have seen more! But I would love to visit the other Islands some day when we come back to Hawaii.
Here are a few other links of places and restaurants we visited at the Big Island.
https://www.greenwellfarms.com/
https://www.kilaueakreations.com/
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