Aloha Travelblog, Days 7 & 8

Day Seven: Despite weather charts, stories, warnings, and centuries of folklore indicating otherwise, we did not see a single drop of rain the entire time we were in Hilo. Ed and Amy, who just moved to the Big Island from McKinleyville, CA, where it rains like Seattle's melancholy little brother, are used to arranging their lives according to the day's weather patterns: when it's rainy, you take care of indoor projects, paint, study, write, nap, etc.; when the sun shines, though, you make hay, so to speak. Or, in our case, you play. The unexpectedly good weather allowed us to do plenty of outdoor activities during our stay on the "wet" side of the island.

John and Eddie started the day off with an early surf session just north of Hilo Bay. Once the guys returned, we toured the home and 10+ acres that Ed, Amy and a few other folks are currently renting (see two photos, above). Since his arrival in early January, Ed has managed to clear a path through the overgrown jungle that is his backyard to find a deserted and dormant macadamia tree grove; the side yard, once cleared of its overgrowth, revealed a lychee tree. The front driveway is lined with potted herbs, succulents, and tropical plants. With his green thumb, if there's any plant or tree on the property with even a shred of photosynthetic capacity left, it will soon see new life through farmer Ed's patient and able hands. The guy's truly in his element.

Since the sun was out, we made a beach day of it, heading to a picturesque place called "Four Mile." Take a good, long look at the photo above. Go ahead, click it to enlarge it so you can get a really good look. It was THAT pretty. We swam in those placid swimming holes. We ate lunch on a grassy knoll just like that one. We gazed at the newly fallen snow on Mauna Loa in the distance. And before long, we were scheming how we could move to Hawaii.

After figuring out just how many bedrooms and bathrooms we'd need considering all the company we'd surely be entertaining once we made our big "move," we settled back into reality and headed back to the house to meet up with Amy, who was just returning from attending class at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where she's working on her undergraduate degree.




The whole lot of us then went to check out the Hilo Zoo (which was free, by the way, as are a surprising number of public attractions in Hawaii). Since we were there for the last hour of the day, we had the place essentially to ourselves and were even able to witness the once-a-day feeding time for Namaste, the zoo's lone white tiger, wherein he scarfed three whole chickens (the crunch of the bones sounded like he was absentmindedly finishing off a case of Pringles while planted in front of a college football game), and a bunch of ground beef, which was also full of bones. For calcium, we were informed by the zookeeper. Yeah? Wow. I've got lots of bones. Maybe I'll step over here for now.


Day Eight: Another sunny day, another beach day. (We're very easy to please, in case you haven't figured that out yet. Besides, sightseeing with babies is just no fun for nobody.) Back to Richardson's, this time mid-day instead of at sunset. Another gorgeous spot. Another day free from rain. Another day spent scheming of our imminent relocation.

Would Finn learn to surf (quicker than he would here at home, that is)?
Would Shea learn to hula dance?
Would we ever get tired of tropical fruit?


Does one ever grow weary of paradise?

Aloha Travelblog, Day 6

Day Six: Travel day from Kona, the leeward side of the island (think warm, desert, lava), to Hilo, the windward side of the island (think rainy, lush, jungle). The Big Island, for anyone out there who hasn't been there before, is called so because it's--as the name implies--the largest in the chain of the Hawaiian islands. In fact, it's larger than all of the other islands combined. Because of this you can drive in your car for hours and hours and hours, seeing everything from cattle farms and snow-capped mountains to jungles and volcanoes. And beaches, beaches, beaches--with sands that range from black to white to green. It's been said that 11 of the world's 13 climate zones can be found on the Big Island. What this means, I suppose, is that there's a lot to explore and experience in a place that might, at first blush, be seen as a little speck in the great blue sea that has nothing but palm trees and tropical drinks with little umbrellas to offer.

But if you're not in the mood to be "outdoorsy," you can also veg out on the couch indoors with some ice-cold beer and watch the Super Bowl, which is what some of us did once we set up shop in our rental condo in Hilo. After the game, Eddie and Amy showed us one of their favorite beach spots in Hilo, a pretty little expanse of beach called "Richardson's," where we watched the sunset and took a smattering of photos of each other to commemorate our special trip.

Aloha Travelblog, Day 5

Day Five: With Grandma and Uncle Eddie helping John with the kids in the morning, Amy and I were able to sneak off bright and early to Kapaluu, a great snorkeling spot about a mile south of our condo. The visibility was great, the water was comfortable, and I even saw some fish I had never seen before. (Hello there, little fish with bright blue lips! That's quite a look, but it works for you.) The rest of the gang met us at the beach about an hour later, at which time Shea accomplished her first first of the day: crawling! Right there on the beach, after weeks of rocking back and forth on all fours and moving backwards, she finally managed to propel herself forward. We knew then and there that, with her newfound mobility, the parameters of the caring-for-two-children game had changed irrevocably. As soon as the kids realize their new collective power and conspire to flee in opposite directions, John and I will lose our advantage; our days are numbered.

But before everything went downhill, we headed uphill--to the grand resort, perched on a spectacular hillside overlooking the entire Kona Bay, that is Olivia's home. Woooohooooo! Time to celebrate John's birthday in super chill style. Olivia, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is full of the Hawaiian spirit and lives the Aloha lifestyle of grace and graciousness. And it's reflected in her home, which is landscaped amazingly with bright tropical plants, laid out in an open flow between indoors and out, and infused with the same calm geniality that fills its owner and decorator. Plus, it's a damn fine place to have a party!

So we spent the gorgeous Saturday afternoon luxuriating in the warm sunshine, enjoying pizza and birthday cake, cooling ourselves in the refreshing pool, warming ourselves back up in the jacuzzi, playing Frisbee, drinking beer and Kona coffee, listening to the giggles and scamperings of Finnegan and Jasper, and noticing the similarity of Ila and Shea's baby coos, cries and babbles. (Heather noted, "They go to the same [baby] school!")







After lunch, Shea experienced her second first: gnawing on her first cookie, which we bought to soothe her teething, aching gums. You can see from the photo at left just how much she enjoyed it.

After we all watched the sun set once again into the Pacific and bid adieu to the cruise ship that had docked in Kona Bay as it headed off to another port, Shea experienced her third and final first for the day. After being prompted to bid everyone farewell, Shea mimicked Grandma by waving her little hand and telling no one in particular, "Bye bye!"

Aloha Travelblog, Day 4

Day Four: After three days of life in the islands, with its balmy breezes, warm waters, fresh fruit, and idyllic landscapes, we all agreed that there was only one thing that could make life better: GRANDMA'S ARRIVAL.

OK, go ahead and tease me now; I brought my Mommy on my vacation. I realize it was naive to think that John and I were going to be able to really relax with 3 1/2 year old and 9-month old children along for the ride, but I truly didn't think it would feel so much like life at home in terms of meal preparation, kitchen chores, laundry, feedings, baths, diaper changes, nap management, sunscreen application, sand rinsing, etc.

Did I think little Hawaiian hula fairies would fly out of the lush vegetation to help us with these normal duties? Sort of. What I did know, though, was that life would get much better once Grandma Emely arrived, if only that the kids would have a tireless play partner and Grandma wouldn't expire from missing her grandchildren so much back at home. So it was with great excitement that we all went back to Kona Airport to greet her--with a lei, of course--as she deplaned.

On the way back to our condo we stopped at the grocery store for some supplies and grabbed a quick bite at a tiny Korean BBQ. Here in California we are blessed with an abundance of really great Mexican food; I can think of at least 10 spots in our town alone that I could go visit right now for a solid Mexican meal. In Hawaii, however, given its proximity to so many various island cultures, it's Asian food that's similarly plentiful and accessible. And while I love Mexican food, anyone who knows me well knows that this new breadth of culinary access couldn't make me happier. In most shopping centers we saw, both big and small, there was at least one Asian-based food store: Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and more. MMMMmmmmmmmm. Add the fact that you can buy poke, the delicious fish dish I mentioned in my last post, in most regular grocery stores, and that's nearly argument enough for me to begin filling out my change of address paperwork at the post office to notify them of my impending move to Kona.

And if we're taking the island relocation fantasy to its logical conclusion, it should be mentioned that once settled in to our new Kona residence, nestled snugly between the Thai and Japanese restaurants in any given shopping center that sells more than three types of fresh poke in its deli or fish department, we would have easy visitation access to my brother, Eddie, and his fiance, Amy, who moved to Hilo, about two and a half hours away on the other side of the island, just after the beginning of the new year.

Ed and Amy arrived at our condo about a minute after we returned from the grocery store, so suddenly our group of four blossomed to a group of seven and we could NOT have been happier about it. In fact, so eager were we to share the love that we also had Kirk and Heather, Jasper and Ila, along with new friends Melissa and Brian, over for a big ol' BBQ that night. We were blessed with great food, great friends, and great family. And six, count 'em, kinds of fresh poke. The islands sure have some ono grinds.

Aloha Travelblog, Day 3

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day Three: After John returned from another morning of surfing at Pinetrees with Kirk, the four of us decided to make our way from Kona up the northwest coast of the island, across the vast stretch of black lava fields, to visit the famed and fabulous Kohala Coast. This is where John and I first experienced Hawaii, back on our one-year wedding anniversary, when we stayed at the Fairmont Orchid: The Nicest Hotel I've Ever Stayed In. Those were the days of mai tais and plumerias, of eating our meals--slowly--in restaurants, and of washing, conditioning, and moisturizing our hair and bodies with the unending Aveda products the hotel magically replenished each day (no kidding...I came home with nearly a suitcase full of travel-size luxury bath products that lasted until at least Finn's birth nine months later--you do the math--sustaining my aloha buzz for months.)

But back to reality. And, in so, traveling with kids. (Somewhere in that big black field of lava, by the way, is a great metaphor of the vast difference between our two visits to the Big Island...) We stopped at Hapuna Beach State Park, named in a number of books and lists as the nicest beach in the United States. I'm not sure if it was the nicest--I mean, just how does one rank the beaches of Hawaii? Most of them are gorgeous, have warm, clear water, and tons of tropical fish. This must be like rating ice cream or massages or other such pleasantries, where even the really bad ones are pretty damn good, a job I'd surely love to have--but Hapuna Beach did not disappoint. Sure, the parking was easy, we were able to wheel the kids down to the sand in their strollers on the nicely paved paths, the showers were great and the bathrooms were clean, yada yada yada. But just take a look at these pictures! The water was BLUE for days, the sand nice and fine, the beach plenty wide so that our neighbors were not on top of us. (OK, maybe now I get how they rate beaches.)

John, whose many talents include the ability to keenly observe subtle atmospheric changes, noticed a faint cloud gathering on the horizon that he predicted would soon enlarge and dump rain on us. Despite the fact that it was still clear, hot and sunny where we sat, I took his word on it and by the time we showered off ourselves and the kids, packed everything up, and made it to the car, it began to sprinkle. By the time we were halfway back to Kona, it was pouring.

But as the rains in Hawaii often recede soon after they arrive, we had clear skies again within hours. We took it easy that night, making a light dinner of assorted poke ("bite-sized pieces of raw, fresh fish mixed with seaweed and kukui nut relish") and udon noodles (a meal my Mom was so thankful to have nearly missed, no doubt, but one of my personal favorites), and cruising across the street to catch the sunset at Magic Sands Beach. A truly magical day in paradise, spent with my favorite people in the world.

Aloha Travelblog, Days 1 & 2

OK, so I'm feeling a teeny tiny bit guilty in beginning to detail our gorgeous trip to the islands so soon after the eastern seaboard was hammered by what sounds like the greatest snowfall in history, but maybe you readers covered in two-plus feet of snow can find some vicarious warmth in these images and tales.

Here goes:

Day One: Travel day from Orange County airport to Kona airport. DIRECT! Yeah, baby! With two kids, a carseat, a booster seat, two carry-on backpacks, one stuffed puppy, and two collapsible strollers in tow, even a five-minute layover would have sucked.

The flight went as well as could be expected--no major meltdowns, and the kids were good, too--and we soon arrived in amazing Kona to the smiley, warm reception of our lovely friend Olivia (at right), who gave each of us hugs, kisses and lovely ti leaf leis. (By the way, it's true: Whatever warm and fuzzy feeling you get by landing in the state of Hawaii is always somehow enhanced when someone greets you with a lei. It's like coming home. And Olivia? She's just brimming with the aloha. But more on that later.)

We checked into our rental condo across the street from an inviting beach described as Magic Sands Beach. We soon learned that it's also called Disappearing Sands Beach because--guess what?!?--the sand that's so plentiful and hospitable during the summer months vanishes during the winter and it's entirely lava rock and crashing waves (see photo at left). Presto chango! Gone like my tan will be by tomorrow.

Sure, it's still breathtaking and made for a great view from our lanai. But not to worry, because the cool thing about Hawaii is that there are about, oh, four thousand other beaches and pockets of serene beauty on which to park yourself and absorb the warm sun and water. Hell, the parking lots are even beautiful in Hawaii. (Guess where I took most of the scenery shots on yesterday's post?)

Anyway, back to Day One for those of you who are actually still interested in this stuff (Hi, Peggy!) After a quick dip in the condo pool, where we promptly broke Unforgiving Pool Rule #4 (No Children Permitted In Pool Who Are Not Pottytrained, Not Even With Swim Diapers, And We Mean It. Even If She's Cute), we dragged our drenched, gradually more weary, and stunningly starving selves out for a quick bite of Thai food. Once in the restaurant, baby Shea decided to finally end her two-day bout of constipation at the precise moment our food was delivered to the table. The girl's got some timing! And we soon wondered if maybe the condo pool Gestapo knew something we didn't when they kicked little Shea out of their pool. You know, fearful of her Magic Sands, and all....

Day Two: Five o'clock in the morning, February 1st. It's John's 40th birthday and, due to the two-hour time change and excitement of being in paradise, EVERYONE in our condo is awake. To really take advantage of every moment of his birthday celebration, John was picked up promptly at 6am by our friend Kirk (No way! I don't have a single photo of Kirk! Bummer...), who took him surfing at a break called Pinetrees. A great way to start any birthday, but especially so for John, who hasn't seen a regular surf schedule since before Shea was born.

Later that morning, after John returned wearing one of the biggest post-surfing smiles that I've seen on his face in a long time, we all met up with our friend Heather (at right, in blue top) and her two beautiful kids, Jasper and Ila, at a little slip of a docile beach they called Harbor Beach. Finn and Jasper, who are only three months apart in age and were only about 18 months old the last time they saw each other (see top of two photos of the boys, circa December 2003), got along famously once again and, proving that boys will be boys no matter the terrain, were quickly dashing to the far reaches of the beach to unearth sticks, hunt for bugs, and hurl rocks into the water.

Baby girls Ila and Shea, who are only four months apart in age, met for the first time at Harbor Beach and I'm hoping that it's the photo at right that they look at and laugh at years from now when they're great friends because the prickly expressions on their faces and their guarded body language suggest anything but at this point in the game.

Home Again

Wow, that was pretty cool.

We've just returned from spending 10 lovely days in Hawaii visiting family and friends. While there we celebrated John's 40th birthday; witnessed Shea hitting numerous "first" milestones; experienced only a few hours of rain the entire trip; and managed to avoid any major sunburns or trips to the emergency room. All in all, it was a great success!

I'm hoping to dedicate this next week's worth of blog posts to detailing the chronology of our trip, complete with photos. As soon as I finish sorting the laundry and watching Olympic highlights, that is. Mahalo for your patience; I'm still on island time, brah.

Four Tickets To Paradise

We made our way from Kona to Hilo today, passing by the southern-most point in the United States. The weather's been great, the company's wonderful, and the fish and fruit are tremendous; the Big Island of Hawaii is showing us a grand time.

More details to follow when we return to California, but here are a few photos of our adventures so far.