The Big Island has many different climate systems: snow, wet, dry and desert. You can truly see it all on this one single island. My friend grew up on (and is retiring back there next spring) the Big Island, specifically on the wet side. She strongly encouraged us to not only visit Hilo, but also stay there. She gave us a laundry list of things to do and see, and without hesitation, we booked another Airbnb. Upon landing in the Hilo airport, we questioned our decision to leave sunny Maui for rainy Hilo. It doesn't rain all day, but it was rainy and cloudy when we landed. To top it off, Lincoln curiously pulled the fire alarm in the Hilo airport! And yes, unbeknownst Regan started to video as Ryan and I debated how to handle the situation. What an embarrassing parental moment!
After that mess up, we climbed into a giant SUV and headed out for some adventures in rainy Hilo. Our luck turned around, and as we arrived at the first waterfall, the rain tapered off. We didn't have to hike far to see Rainbow falls (named after the rainbows seen in the falls during the morning hours). We even ventured off the beaten path to see some gigantic banyan trees.
My camera lenses took some time to adjust to the humidity in Hilo. Everything is a bit hazy from that first 24 hours.
I've decided I want one of these banyan trees in our yard back home. Aren't they so cool the way they twist and turn and grow into each other!?
A stop at Big Island Candies to watch the chocolatiers hand dip macadamia nuts and other yummy treats and we filled our bellies with samples before heading up to Akaka Falls.
Akaka Falls was more of a hike (on a paved path) through lush green jungle listening to the sounds of creatures we had no idea what they looked like. I loved all of the flowers along the path and wanted to take them all home, don't worry, I resisted. The falls were incredibly high and amazingly gorgeous. Pictures don't do it justice.
Just look at all of that greenery!
We laughed at ourselves, taking pictures as we got closer, always thinking it was going to be the best shot. Only to realize the next and then the next and then the next were better.
Another stop on the agenda from my friend was to check out the local farmer's market. We all love a good farmer's market so this was perfect. Boy were we in for a treat!
Bless the man standing next to me as I admired all of the fresh local fruits and vegetables. He took pity on me and explained all of the amazing fruit and helped us chose some unique varieties. We later found out that some were delish and some were just not for us!
The friendly man explained this was a delicious "pudding texture" fruit. I heard pudding and figured we would all like it....yea no way. It was like a mushy apple.
Our Airbnb in Hilo was a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom trendy oceanside condo. We were blessed with A/C most of the days....it quit working the final night, but overall it was a much appreciated break from the humidity. The view looked out to 4 mile beach, which isn't exactly a beach but more of a swimmer's heaven! The ocean here is protected and so the waves aren't dangerous even 20-40 feet offshore. It's also a great place to snorkel with lots of fish and even an opportunity to swim with sea turtles! I lost Ryan for an hour one day while he stayed to snorkel and the rest of us went to the condo pool. A perfect location for all.
The kids wanted to see turtles, and boy did we see turtles on this vacation!
We learned from local folks what they eat and the kids all grabbed some of the grasses to feed this fella. Such a fun experience.
We came prepared with homework for those early mornings
Homework on the lanai
Hilo gave us an opportunity to explore a fairly safe cave. I'm not much for cave exploration, that whole 'go in and maybe never come out' idea sort of freaks me out. So Kaumana Caves were pretty safe in my mind and we did a little exploring.
It did get pretty dark in there...
South from Hilo we found Kaimu Black Sand beach. This is a beauty that is hard to explain. With the volcano eruption last year, houses here were swallowed up and what was left is this black sand beach. It's been here for years, since previous eruptions, but the houses are all gone from last year's eruption. And we literally stopped at the end of the road. After walking less than 1/4 mile through lava fields, we arrived at the ocean. Waves crashing hard into the lava, we stood in wonder. There was nothing out into the ocean as far as the eye could see, and we were almost all alone on the "beach" (only one other person). It's not a beach, as much as it is a lava field next to the ocean. Eventually, the ocean will break up the lava rocks into sand, creating another black sand beach. For now, it is large hardened lava all around. Ryan was more adventurous and went on a short hike way in the distance. It was HOT on that black lava!, hot and humid. And beautiful. Kaimu was one of the highlights of our time on the "wet" side of the island (which as you can see, it wasn't wet at all but gorgeous and sunny!).
See Ryan wayyyy out there standing with his arms up??!
Hilo didn't disappoint in its restaurants. With the help of some online reviews, we landed at this open to the world bar which served the kiddos a giant pineapple drink of pure deliciousness.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that he rarely made it to dinner. But he was so good, and would just fall asleep at the table. This particular night he fell asleep mid-bite, after asking me to feed him because he was too tired. The noodle fell right out the side of his mouth and his head hit the table. I scooped him up and he continued to sleep.
We opted to take my friend's recommendation in leaving Hilo to drive the north loop over to Kona. We went off the beaten path to Tex's Drive Inn to taste their famous malasadas.....we would be sure to gain 30 lbs if we lived closer to this place. Oh wow is all I can say. YUM!
We were super close to Waipi’o Valley lookout so we made a quick pitstop. Lincoln had fallen asleep so we had to take turns taking in the view. We watched as some adventurous folks lathered themselves in sunscreen, grabbed lots of water, and made the trek all of the way down. We had no intentions of going down there, but someday it would be a fun hike!
After driving another 45 minutes through ranches and country towns, we found ourselves on the "dry" side of the Big Island and closer to our destination of Kona. The beauty of the ocean again was stunning. Ryan will easily declare Kona his most favorite Hawaiian town. Might have something to do with this place...
We bribe our kids to enjoy a brewery with buying them extra large desserts :)
Kona certainly did not disappoint. There was so much to see and do, we could have stayed another month. We played with octopus at a local research center one morning where we fed them and learned about their life cycle. We were all lucky enough to have them wrap their tentacles around our hands and attempt to pull us into their tub! Complete disclosure, I screamed a little and freaked out when they sucked onto my arm!
We found our most FAVORITE beach here on earth (so far!): Kua Bay Beach. We spent countless hours here, riding waves, swimming with turtles, and Ryan/Regan swam way way out where we spotted spinner dolphins having a blast with folks nearby. I tried to get a photo but it's pretty far away. With the temps in the mid/high 80's and lots of humidity, the warm ocean felt amazing and refreshing.
Our Airbnb in Kona was breath taking. We had another ocean side condo with 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 lanais. Our corner unit overlooked the pool where we spent our time if we weren't out and about. The kids made friends with other kids from around the world (Germany and France) as they had cannonball competitions. Regan lounged on the upper lanai one evening and took a time lapse of the sunset into the ocean. I love how she was just as much in awe as we were.
View of the pool from our lanai
We spent an afternoon on a sunny snorkel out to Captain Cook monument. This is regarded as one of the best places to snorkel on the Big Island, and it did not disappoint. Back story here: we were slightly terrified about getting seasick and so we prepared far before we even departed to Hawaii. We bought Dramamine and ginger candy and it was a lifesaver! Ryan almost stayed back from fear of getting sick, but he was sure glad he braved it out. It wasn't an easy ride for him, but he made it! Regan and Lincoln had zero trouble. Sidney and myself did alright and kept ourselves distracted with conversation, fresh pineapple, Maui chips and ice. The kids were allowed to sit in the netting the whole way if they desired, no lifejackets required. Yikes! But they had an absolute blast!
Sea Paradise snorkel tours did not disappoint!
See Lincoln?, he fell asleep again....I'm telling you, he was the best traveler we could have asked for.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by the most incredible fish! We tried getting an underwater case to work with our phones but to no avail, and no one wanted to waste time figuring it out when there were fish to see! We snorkeled for close to an hour and saw hundreds of fish! Some scary, some entertaining but all very beautiful. Even Lincoln could enjoy it. When the kids got tired of chasing fish, they climbed back up onto the boat and jumped off the bow of the boat.
We ate all of our dinners in Kona in open air restaurants. Though it was always too late for us to actually see anything (we took full advantage of daytime and never ate before the sun was long set). We loved knowing that we were essentially outside all day long. Everyday. All day. This is the kind of thing we could get used to.
The Big Island had everything we could ever want, and more. There was the wet side, the dry side, desert and rainforest. It was beautiful and stunning and we sure wish we could've stayed forever.
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