Our family vacation this summer had us traveling to a state that I honestly didn't know if I'd ever see -- HAWAII! After looking at airfares last summer and realizing that Southwest flights to Hawaii weren't much different than to Sacramento (where we flew for our California National Parks tour) and that Airbnb rates were actually cheaper than some Kansas hotels, I was sold! The biggest decision was which island we were going to visit. We ultimately decided on Big Island because it is home of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It looked like it was way more chill than Oahu, and didn't have recent wildfires like Maui. We did most of our planning last winter before the craziness of Spring hit us, and a few days after returning from State Track, we were on our way! KCI was all decorated to get us ready for ALOHA~!
The flight was actually way better than I was anticipating. We had 2.5 hours to Vegas and then 5.5 hours to Kona, which was just enough time to watch a movie, read some books/magazines, and take a nap. I was very thankful for how smoothly it all went! Before we knew it, we were wheels down in Kona and heading to this unique airport to get our bags and start our exploring.
We got our rental car, a white Chrysler Pacifica, which it turns out is EVERYONE's rental car in Hawaii. There were SO many of them! But it was really nice and comfy for our time on the road, and my sweet husband got a break from driving thousands of miles in an RV on this trip.
Our flight arrived at 2:30 p.m., which was 7:30 p.m. Kansas time (and we'd been up since 2:00 a.m.), so my only real goal for the afternoon was to get groceries and get settled in our Airbnb. Conveniently, there was a CostCo right on the way! I had to pull the boys away from the golf clubs to remind them we were there for food. Which thankfully, we found plenty of.
We made it to Kona Makai, our home for the next 3 nights, just in time for our 4:00 check-in. The timing really was perfect.
We unloaded and got acclimated to this awesome resort!
Our condo was super fun with the kids' loft upstairs, or rather, up-ladder.
The Master was really nice with a beautiful balcony. There were actually 2 balconies with ocean views in our unit, which was awesome.
The grounds and the pool were really pretty, and the kids wasted no time getting their suits on.
Calvin had picked out this first Airbnb, and I'm pretty sure the selling point for him was the hot tub. This was the only "resort"-type place we stayed, and the kids took full advantage of the amenities.
This resort sat right on the water, but not exactly on a beach. I had no idea how expansive the black volcanic rock would be on this island -- it was everywhere! And so interesting. We did some walking along the rock to see what we could find.
I had assumed the kids would be tired and we'd go to bed early the first night, but I was wrong! They wanted to hit the actual beach just down the road, which sounded like a great idea. Calvin gave his best "shaka" wave at the Hawaii Lifeguard stand on our way to Honl's Beach.
We enjoyed a relaxing evening. Well, mostly relaxing, anyway. The kids let the waves abuse them a bit and wished they'd brought their water shoes, but all-in-all, it was awesome. By far the most entertaining thing we witnessed was Baby Fisher and his Daddy bodyboarding over and over again on the big waves. It was actually terrifying and hilarious all at once. I talked to his mom and she said he was only 4 months old! Seriously crazy.
The sunset our first night in Hawaii did NOT disappoint.
When we went to bed that night, my heart was SO full! I wasn't really expecting to do anything on this first day, and yet we had an incredible time! If the rest of the trip could be anywhere close to this first day, I knew our Hawaiian vacation would be one for the memory books for sure.
The next morning we ate some yummy pineapple with our blueberry bread and genuine Kona coffee. SO GOOD.
Our first stop of the day was the beautiful St. Michael the Archangel Church just a few blocks away. The beautiful font and Christ candle greeted us as soon as we entered the open-air sanctuary. I love how almost all of the buildings allow the ocean breeze in.
The cemetery just outside was really beautiful also.
Right next door to the church was a huge Farmer's Market that we ended visited on several occasions. It was a fruit-lover's dream.
Evie also did a little shopping to bring home pretty necklaces for her besties.
After loading up with some good fruit for our day, we followed our favorite tour guide, "Talking Tom" as we call him, from GuideAlong Tours. Seriously, if you've never used one of these tours, you're missing out. We literally let him dictate all of our activities on this trip and we learned so much along the way about Hawaiian history and culture. It was great! So we did his "Kona Coffee Coast" tour which took us to all of the coolest places on the western coast south of Kona. We started at Magic Sands Beach.
The kids had boogie boards from our condo and we found some coconuts on the beach. Calvin cracked his open and tried some fresh coconut water. He didn't like it any more than the canned stuff he tried from the store.
Our first beach of the day was a winner!
Next up we did a nice educational stop at the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. This place was so cool!
We took a self-guided tour around this Place of Refuge, where warriors would swim to safety from their enemies. It served Hawaiians for hundreds of years until kapu (sacred laws and beliefs) ended in 1819.
Built over 400 years ago, this "Great Wall" is 18 feet wide, 12 feet tall and over 950 feet long. It defines the sacred space of the Pu'uhonua.
These Guardians (ki'i = images of Hawaiian gods) were on shore to alert visitors of spiritual power here. Dwyer kids made their best ki'i faces.
I'm so glad we were able to experience some of Hawaii's history while exploring the Pu'uhonua! We learned some more history on the next stop on our tour: the Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park. This is the location where Captain Cook had first visited in 1779, and home of the Hikiau Heiau (a traditional temple).
We didn't make the strenuous hike across to see the Captain Cook monument, but the bay was really pretty anyway.
We were ready to get back in the water and one of the best snorkeling spots was next on our agenda, the Two Step Beach at Honaunau Bay.
We had brought our own snorkeling gear and made good use of it during our trip. We took our old underwater camera and got some really terrible pictures. You'll just have to take my word that the snorkeling was great and we saw some really beautiful fish and coral!
We dried off and headed to the famous St. Benedict's "Painted Church." We learned that Father John, priest from 1899-1902, painted the interior walls with various Bible stories to help teach his parishioners, who were largely illiterate.
The murals were so detailed and well-kept, especially considering the open-air setting. Talking Tom told us that the only mural showing signs of deterioration, interestingly, is the one depicting Hell. It gets the most direct sunlight and therefore is very faded in areas.
Walking out the doors of the church and seeing the beautiful ocean as well as the adjacent cemetery made me catch my breath a bit.
We had been snacking all day, but Calvin found a very authentic Hawaiian restaurant with hundreds of 5-star reviews, so we definitely had to stop.
Super J's was certainly unique! The owner's were SUPER friendly and we sat family-style around tables with strangers. They served Laulau and Kalue Pig & Cabbage. We tried it all.
Evie wasn't completely sure about the Taro leaves wrapping the meat, so Russ got a double portion of his greens for the day. She possibly would tell you she prefers Hawaiian Bros, but I'm glad we had a chance to eat here -- it was tasty and authentic!
We finished our driving tour of the Coffee Coast and saw some beautiful areas while learning more about Hawaiian history. We arrived back at Kona Makai and relaxed a bit. Then we found the ping-pong tables and decided on our dinner for the night. We also checked out the work-out rooms nearby.
The boys grilled some delicious cheeseburgers for us to eat that evening by the ocean.
After dinner, per Evie's request, we did some shopping in the downtown Kona shopping district.
Then we set out to find another beach and another sunset to complete our second day on Big Island.
How about this for a family picture? Don't miss Russ between Oliver and me!
We didn't get the sunset, exactly, because of the direction the beach was facing, but it was a gorgeous evening, nonetheless. We finished our night in the hot tub. Calvin made sure we maximized our hot tub time during our 3 nights at Kona Makai.
Hawaii Day 2 was so much fun, and we're just getting started!
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