Earlier in the fall, I presented an idea to the family: a holiday vacation alongside a scaled back under the tree holiday. They were all thrilled with my idea. And so the planning began. There wasn't sufficient time to obtain passports for the kids, so we knew it had to be domestic. We also all insisted on a warm weather destination, because winters in MN get long and we all needed Vitamin D.
And so, we decided upon pre-Christmas in Hawai'i. The kids were all amenable to missing the last 2 days of school prior to winter break, and Ryan politely asked (begged) his new boss for some time away. After 20 years at the hospital, my director happily granted my time away as well. The stars began to align and the planning commenced.
I honestly spent hours and hours researching, studying and sleuthing through all sorts of Hawai'i guides. Sure, we had been there 2 times in the past, but we wanted to experience more. Instead of bouncing around several islands like we had done in the past, we opted to choose 1 island and spend the entire 10 days. After much thorough research, we decided on the Big Island, for multiple reasons, but mostly because 1) it's the warmest in December, 2) it is the biggest and has a lot to offer and 3) Maui was still reeling from the wildfires.
When the day finally arrived for us to leave, not one of us was sad to board the plane and head to 80's and sun. It was an incredibly turbulent ride (perhaps the worst of my entire life), but the pilot thankfully safely landed in 30+ mph winds and it was vacation time.
The first night, we stayed at a condo in Kings Land in Waikoloa. It was gorgeous and clean and felt very new. The girls scored the master bedroom for the night, and Ryan, Lincoln and I bunked up in the spare bedroom. Since we arrived so late, not much was open and we ended up finding a Dominoe's that would still deliver us dinner at 10pm (the island goes dark usually around 9pm, so this was a gem to find dinner!).
The next day, Ryan went golfing at Waikoloa Golf course (kings and beach 9), while the rest of us played in the lovely pool all morning. It is definitely a resort, calling it a "pool" doesn't do it justice. We grabbed lunch at Island Vintage Coffee (amazing food) and did some shopping at Kings Shops before picking up Ryan. He had a grand time on the course, though it was still pretty windy. Later that day we made a quick stop at Costco for some food for the week and checked into our condo at Sea Village just past downtown Kona.
Last time we came to the Big Island in 2019, we stayed at a condo at Sea Village. Sadly, that exact unit was not available this time around, so we took the unit that is a mirror image. It's not nearly as updated, and was a bit outdated. But it was clean and you really can't beat the location. Plus, two balconies overlooking the ocean, and floor to ceiling walls overlooking the pool, I couldn't pass it up. That night, we ate dinner at Kona Brewery, which was undergoing renovations, and had a limited (but still good) menu.
Day 3 was meant for snorkeling with Sea Paradise. Their catamaran is absolutely incredible, and we just love how they take such good care of their guests. We all had an absolute blast aboard their vessel, and I would recommend everyone take a trip with them. The first hour we drove along the shoreline out to Captain Cook where we snorkeled and saw an amazing variety of beautiful fish. This year, Lincoln was big enough to use real snorkel gear and man did he love it! He kept thanking us for taking him! The girls spent time between laying on the boat and looking at fish, but definitely preferred laying on the boat. We snorkeled two spots, had both lunch and breakfast aboard the boat and headed back. On our way back, we were lucky enough to spot TWO humpback whales, multiple times each! I cried happy tears, it was the one thing I had hoped we would see: whales in their own environment. It really is an incredible experience. I don't have video of them breaching, but did catch them coming up for air. We also were lucky enough to spot a pod of dolphins, and our crew shared that although we could only see about 10 of them, there were guaranteed to be another 200 below, because that is how they travel. AMAZING!
After we were back on solid ground, we made our way up to Kua Bay to enjoy the most wonderful beach on the Big Island. The waves were pretty large and but that didn't stop us from having a great afternoon at the beach. This beach remains one of our favorites.
Later we found dinner at Black Rock Pizza on Ali'i drive along with some shave ice at Gecko Girlz. Both which were wonderful. As we walked around Ali'i drive area, we stumbled upon some beach volleyball, some great entertainment! We even caught a little impromptu holiday lights parade by some locals.
Day 4 we packed up and headed to the other side of the island for a zipline experience. There was some intention in placing these two excursions at the beginning of our trip, to allow for any need for cancellation (rain or other) and re-booking later in the trip. Along the way from Kona to Hilo, we planned a stop at Tex's Drive in for Malasadas. They truly are the best we have ever tasted. Simply heavenly!
We had a little extra time to kill before our zipline, so we made a stop at Laupahoehoe Point. It did NOT disappoint! What a great location for some awesome shots. The girls and I even set up my camera to take a photo of the 3 of us using the timer. After it clicked we heard a gigantic splash and knew we were in for it; doused with water! Man I actually wish the camera would have caught our faces! ha!
Ziplining was quite the event! It is gorgeous to fly through the trees and over creeks and nearby waterfalls. Everyone had a blast and we would all do it again in a heartbeat!
We managed to make our way back to Kona, cleaned up for dinner and headed to Huggo's for drinks while we waited for our table at On the Rocks. The place is connected, at the left side of the building is much more upscale and beautiful, but currently only open for drinks (amazing views!) and a few apps. We sent the girls to walk around Ali'i Drive and shop, and Ryan/Lincoln/myself enjoyed the views and a drink (well, Lincoln didn't drink of course). During dinner we were serenaded by a local artist who was teaching the crowd a few hula moves. The views here are amazing, it is literally right on the rocks of the ocean, and the place was very lit up with Christmas decorations which was fun as well!
Day 5 we took in a beach near downtown Kona named King Kam beach. It's a small beach and protected from the larger waves, so Lincoln and Ryan played catch for hours, leaping into the ocean like football players making diving catches. Lincoln was definitely in love. Those two decided to get a little crazy and went parasailing with UFO Parasail. They opted for the long/big one at 1200 feet. Ryan says it was incredibly peaceful and amazingly relaxing. And Lincoln agreed it was a definite highlight of the trip for him. So much so that they brought me along later in the trip....and that is a story worth reading.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping along Ali'i Drive and found dinner at Lava Java to take in the beauty and sunset views. Regan had the best shrimp carbonara she has ever had and talked about it the rest of the trip. The drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, arrive adorned with cute flowers and I just couldn't get enough of the cuteness. We decided to drive to a nearby neighborhood known for their excellent Christmas decorations. It really was hard to feel like Christmas when it's 80 degrees, but these homes sure know what they are doing.
Tuesday 12/19 (day 6) we headed back for some extended time at Kua Bay. It truly is a magical location and we were there for 5 hours. Everyone had an amazing time, Ryan swimming out deep into the ocean three times, Lincoln perfecting the boogie boarding skills and the girls vacillating between sunning themselves and cooling off in the ocean. I did everything in my power to find some amazing spots to take pictures, and they still don't do it justice. We will never get tired of Kua Bay.
That’s Ryan down there!
After spending all day in the warm sun and ocean, we were all ready for some dinner and happened upon a place that opened in 2020, Willie's Hot Chicken. It was pretty tasty (even for the person who doesn't eat chicken!) and we filled out bellies before bed.
Day 7 we took a long drive through the most winding road and ventured on a 1.5 hour drive to the Black Sand Beach and then Green Sand Beach (the southern most point in the entire USA). The drive almost made us sea-sick and confirmed that we were not going to do it again to check out Volcano National Park later in the trip. The black sand was amazingly soft and absolutely stunning. The waves were fierce, thankfully we didn't plan on swimming. We even caught a sea turtle basking in the sun!
After Black Sand we headed to Punalu'u Bakery for lunch, let's just say, the place doesn't disappoint. There is a reason it's on the map! We loved all the baked goods and even took some along for the road. Their gift shop is adorable and Lincoln scored a pretty cool stuffed animal souvenir to add to his collection.
We climbed back in the van and made the short drive to Green Sand Beach parking. Holy moly, that drive is not for the faint. A teeny tiny road through fields of nothing. Note we lost cell service during much of this trek so prayed we were on the right road! We then embarked on a 2.7 mile hike to the Green Sand Beach. This hike is not hard, but incredibly long, and even more windy than one could imagine. We all wore sunglasses in anticipation of the dirt that kicked up in our faces, and by the end, we were literally covered in orange/tan sand. In my clumsy fashion, I made the trip memorable for the family by wiping out (on a straight-away nonetheless) and literally landing on the ground. Ryan turned around, and the gentleman that he is cried out "what the F*#@ are you doing!?", as though I was having a picnic down there. The girls busted over laughing and the true gentleman (Lincoln) came to my rescue with a "mom are you okay?". Ahhh, the laughs. Bruised and with a hurt ego, we continued on.
Reaching the beach gave us a magnificent sight! It was most definitely green, and absolutely stunning. All of us, except Sidney, climbed down the janky stairs to the bottom and Lincoln frolicked in the water. I swear, the kid was meant for the ocean. This green sand beach is only 1 of 4 in the whole world. While the rest of the family isn't so sure it was worth the 5 miles, Sidney and I think it most definitely was. Not only did we see something so rare, but we also felt accomplished for the long hike. I'd highly recommend doing it.
We made the drive back to the condo on the crazy road again and had diner at Kona Brewery, seeing as though they re-opened their kitchen. At the end of dinner, we ended up seeing our first cockroach of the trip climbing on a shed nearby and promptly got the willies for the rest of the evening; eeew!!
Day 8 was a lounge/chill day. We had no plans so decided to head to the famous Hapuna Beach after stopping in Waikoloa Village for lunch and some shopping. In his usual fashion, Lincoln played for hours in the ocean, literally living his best life. He adores the waves and the ocean and has very little fear. It was a very windy day and the sand pelting on our backs was a piercing pain we won't quickly forget! No wonder he stayed in the water. While Hapuna was pretty, and the sand was incredibly soft, I still prefer Kua Bay. We stayed in for dinner on this night, feasting on leftovers and relaxing on the balcony listening to waves.
Friday 12/22, Lincoln convinced me to go with him and Ryan back out parasailing. I was scared, and the whole reason I told him no earlier in the week, came to fruition: "Lincoln, I don't want to be up 1200' above the boat and see a shark!"
Yes, we saw a SHARK! There we were, enjoying the calm and beauty that parasailing has to offer and I looked beneath my feet down below and said "oh my God", to which Lincoln looked down and said "that's a hammerhead shark!" and Ryan concurred. I nearly pooped my pants, and prayed that the captain (who had no way of communicating with us 1200' up in the air) would not decide it was time to dip our toes in the water. Seriously, I couldn't believe my eyes! Thankfully we didn't dip down until later in the sail (dipping TWICE because Lincoln hollered "again, again!"). The whole thing was super fun and thrilling! Eventually they pulled us onto the boat where Lincoln told the captain and crew about the shark. They chuckled and said "oh yea, we've seen them out there!". WHAT!? Not once in their little YouTube safety video did I hear anything about sharks! What a memory!
We did some more shopping on Ali'i drive, had more heavenly acai bowls and Ryan walked over to Umekes for the famous poke bowls. All of us happy, we spent the rest of the afternoon back at the condo pool, sand (and shark) free!
Dinner on this final night of the trip was Kai Eats and Drinks with the most wonderful waiter who shared with us his experience of moving to the island 3 years ago and loving life. It was inspirational and so great to hear someone who took the leap of faith and succeeding! He also gave us some great tips for ordering and the dinner was awesome!
As we reminisced about our favorite moments from the trip, we came up with the following list:
Sidney: 5 mile hike at Green Sand Beach
Regan: at Kua Bay when the lifeguards asked the person smoking weed to leave "because we can all smell it"
Ryan: the 2nd parasail over the shark
Lincoln: all of the excursions (parasail, zipline, snorkel)
Liz: visiting a Black, Green and White sand beach all in one trip!
A few tidbits we just don't want to forget....
- Lincoln finding bug spray in the bathroom and proceeding to use it like bathroom room spray every time he went #2.
- The way the sand impacted all of us....I'll leave it at that. But we had sand in every crack of every body!
- Ryan backed into the parking lot the first night, not seeing the sign to pull in straight forward, and getting a courtesy warning the next morning. Sidney then proceeded to remind him every day "don't back in!"
- We bought a package of deli ham for lunches at Costco on day 1, Ryan was very worried about it on the drive to the condo, worried it would get warm. The entire drive, he was asking "who has the ham?, where is the ham?". Throughout the next 10 days, someone would randomly holler out "where's the ham!
- Sidney calling the homeless people on Ali'i Drive "homies". They really were harmless, and she claims she will miss her "homies" when we go home.
- Although he didn't get seasick, Ryan sure looked like he would be sick the whole ride in/out during our snorkel. He barely moved, refused to talk to anyone and kept staring at the horizon saying "I'm fine".... except he didn't look fine.
-My fall on the hike; honestly it was epic. I did a whole strike-a-pose move at the end because it was absolutely unforgettable. The bruise on my shoulder lasted all trip (and then some I'm sure), but man it was hilarious. The girls are only disappointed that they didn't get it on video.
- Our sleeping arrangement was me/Ryan/Lincoln in a king bed and the girls in a queen. The first night, Lincoln sat straight up in bed and started flailing his arms like he was playing gorilla tag. That about sums up sleeping with Lincoln.
-I brought along a portable speaker and every beach day, hike or morning in the condo was Kool108 Christmas songs. It still doesn't feel like Christmas with 80 degree weather.
- The island has minimal nightlife, and thank goodness because we were all in bed by 10pm nightly, sometimes earlier!
-Lincoln played along with my game to find all of the best flowers on the islands and capture their beauty in pictures. The vibrant colors in reds, yellows, pinks and purples just scream island!
-Hawai'i is e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e. Like very very expensive. Every excursion is about $1000/5 people. Meals are ridiculously overpriced, and groceries aren't much better. It's spendy, but all worth it.
All in all, it was the most magnificent, wonderful, let's do this again type of vacation. We all agree this is the way to celebrate the holidays. We don't need more stuff, we need more experiences. I'd do another Christmas trip in a heartbeat!
