Hula Hula Keiki Keiki

"hula hula keiki keiki do the island hop now" -- Caspar Babypants

We finally took a real vacation.  Our most recent big vacation was when Eileen was about 20 months old.  Last year's vacation consisted of weekend family camp at Don Bosco and a couple days at Cama Beach. Using our shoebox savings, we booked a 10 day trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.  With the keiki (kids) in tow, it was really more of a trip than a vacation.

Oh my goodness I did not realize how much I needed a vacation.  Sometimes you get to a point when your body is just constantly tensed.  I had a massive sinus infection leading up to the trip.  We've all been so busy and working so much, it was truly amazing to just leave it all behind. 

The following is the proverbial vacation slide show. One of the best things about being on the Big Island is how not crowded it is.  We were often the only people where ever we went, even resort pools.  It was awesome.

We started our trip in Hilo, the wet, tropical side of the island.  It was wet, it was humid, and a little rundown. There were chickens everywhere walking around on this side of the island. We stayed at the Dolphin Bay Hotel.  The kids couldn't believe we would stay someplace that didn't have a pool.  It's a very basic place that probably has seen much in the way of an update since the 1970s.  I kind of loved it.  Linus wanted to know when we would be staying someplace nicer.  I gently informed him that staying in a nice hotel was not why we came to Hilo.  We came for waterfalls and the volcano.  It was cheap, had a separate bedroom, and a small kitchen.  The kids came to love our morning trips downstairs for complimentary coffee, cocoa, bananas, and banana bread. 

When traveling with kids, I like to stay places that have kitchens.  It's stressful and expensive to only eat in restaurants.  The kids were happy to eat cereal at 6 am versus being forced to wait to go out to eat.  It also lets us pack lunches for our adventures. I also like to stay places where I can run laundry.

Breakfast on the lanai.

We headed to Volcano National Park our first full day.  I have always wanted to see the lava flows.  I wish we had gone at night when it lights up.  It was still cool. 

At this time last year the caldera filled to within 10 feet of the top.  That would have been cool to see.

Linus embraced his Junior Ranger status while Robin was just happy to spend some time with his dada.

There really is a lot of hiking at the park, not all of it ideal for young children. We had fun checking out different lava flows and going through the Thurston Lava Tubes.

We swung by the Panaewa Rainforest zoo (it's free and has a cool play area) on the way back from the volcano.

The next day we set out to see some waterfalls.  This sign kept us giggling the whole trip.

No filter under a banyan tree at Rainbow Falls.

Eileen was too scared to go inside Kaumana Caves.

We also went to the 'Imoloa Astronomy Center.  I personally thought it was a bit pricey for what is was.  In the afternoon we drove to Pahoa and went swimming at Ahalanui Beach Park.  This place was awesome.  It is a naturally formed swimming hot spring that is fed by the volcano.   We investigated tree molds at Lava Tree State Park on the way.

Someone was exhausted by the end of the day.

We were only in Hilo for a couple of days before it was time to drive across the island for the next part of our vacation.  We took the scenic route and made sure to visit Akaka Falls.

We stayed at the Kohala Suites at Waikoloa Resorts for a week.  I was a bit frustrated with myself at first.  I didn't realize how far it was from Kona (40 minutes) or just how nice it was (crazy super nice, whoops).  Luckily, by our 3rd day there I was so glad we were staying where we did.  Kohala Suites was amazing, I wasn't that wowed by the big resort that was a 3 minute shuttle ride away.  Our place had the most spectacular pool.  It was so perfect and also warm enough for someone like me who is super sensitive to cold water.  It had two slides, a smooth bottom wading pool, and a slow beach approach with water spouts.  I wouldn't normally go on about a pool but it was so truly wonderful.

Waiting for the shuttle.

Linus was on an emotional roller coaster during the trip.  After a particularly big meltdown, he fell asleep in Dave's arms.  Eileen decided to put herself down for a nap.  Robin napped for 3 hours.  Big days makes for sleepy children.

The big Waikoloa Resort has 3 pools, two with lots of water slides.  Eileen and I agreed the water was just too cold.  While Dave and Linus swam and went down the slides, Eileen, Robin, and I had a good time in the children's sand pool.

The kids learned to entertain themselves while waiting for the shuttle back to our hotel.  Robin face planted right after I took the picture.

I won't lie.  There was a lot of screen time on this trip.  A lot.  Like crazy stupid amounts.  Our rental van came equipped with a DVD player.  We bought a DVD of classic Charlie Brown films.  Our whole family spent the trip singing "No dogs allowed."  The plane had individual media players.  Our hotel suite had three tvs, plus included video rental.  Additionally, we brought along an Ipad. 

Robin discovered a new love, Super Why.  I love how he keeps a smirk the whole time he is watching.


We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Kona due to driving time and the fact that it just isn't that great.  We drove a little further to visit Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Park.  It was beautiful.

Back in Kona, we went window shopping and had ice cream.  Eileen needed the requisite rainbow shaved ice.

 Robin decided he liked to hug poles and trees.  He squeezes them as tight as he can and says, "huuuug."  He would run from tree to tree until he was satisfied.

 Done window shopping, we went to Kahalulu Beach Park to play in the sand and snorkel.  There aren't a lot of sandy beaches on the island, even at the hotels.  This place had great snorkeling.  Robin and Eileen were fans of the sand.

Dave and Linus out snorkeling together.

We ended our day with dinner at the Kona Bay Brewing Company.  We loved it so much we ate there again for lunch the day we left.  

The day after our Kona exploration day, we went back down to Kona early in the morning for a turtle dolphin snorkeling trip.  It was an ill-fated trip to say the least.  Despite dramanine, I was seasick before we left the dock.  Within the first hour of the trip, I puked.  Robin puked all over Dave and then Linus puked in a garbage can.  I spent the trip laying in the fetal position with my eyes closed. I got seasick anytime I opened them.  Eileen sat next to me, very patiently considering she had zero interest in snorkeling, and scolded me every time I opened my eyes and reminded me I would get sick. I sat up at one point, feeling better.  This was a mistake because then I threw up again.  I have never been so glad to be on dry land.  In Dave's words, it was classic Charlotte.

After our snorkel trip, we visited a ukelele shop in town.  We purchased Linus a ukelele (he earned a big reward in February).  The shop owners were so awesome.  One of them sat down with Linus and gave him a free lesson.  Linus really took to the ukelele.  He practiced a lot and even composed a song.  Thank goodness for youtube videos.

We got dressed up to go out to eat..  Linus didn't want to be in the same pic as his sibs.

  

Having recovered from our snorkel trip, the next day we went to a public beach about 3 minutes from our hotel called A-bay.  It was an awesome beach, and we all had a great morning.  

 After the beach, I finally had the moment I had been waiting for.  I laid by the pool with a book, no children, and a lava flow in my hand.  It was everything I had dreamed.  I even got to repeat it the next day.  The rest of our trip with filled with pool time, a little bit of window shopping, a trip to Starbucks after dropping Dave off at Beach 69 to snorkel (he loves to snorkel), and more pool time.  We did end up joining Dave at the beach later to play after he had had sufficient time to snorkel without parental duties.

I love this picture of Eileen outside the Starbucks.

Our kids love a good sandy beach.  There were lots of other memorable moments from the trip:  Linus puking as we tried to get off the plane; capturing a gecko in our hotel room and seeing it throw it's tail;  Robin entering toddler mode and hiding the keys to the car;  Eileen telling everyone we met that she was skipping school; and seeing a sea turtle off a public pier in Hilo.  Another fun aspect of the trip was that Robin decided he wanted to potty train when we got to Hawaii.....

The trip was fun, it was exhausting.  I think Maui is my favorite Hawaiian island, but I don't regret the decision to visit the big island at all.  The kids miss Hawaii already and keep asking when we will go back.   We made so many memories.  I think my big take away is that there will never be a great time to go on vacation.  There will always be things that need to get done, but it is important to step away.  I barely thought about life at home during the trip.  We needed the chance to reconnect as a family in a way we couldn't do in just a long weekend in Seattle.