Big Island - Beach & Family

Today was our last full day of vacation. :( We've had such a great time. I think we're ready to get back home, but then again.

Today we headed out to find a beach. It took us a bit to find the one we were looking for, but I'm really glad we kept searching. It was in the old town of Kailua Village in the Kona region of the Big Island. So it's called Kailua - Kona. It's right by where the Ford Ironman World Championships start. It was the bay right by the harbor. It was a sleepy little beach when we arrived. But by the time we left there were quite a few other families with kids.


Edee continues to love to walk around on the sand. Papa is never far behind.

Right on the beach was a shop to rent paddleboards and sea kayaks. I had been wanting to paddleboard for awhile, so I decided to rent one for an hour. The small bay was super calm, so it was the perfect place to learn. I started out on my knees to get the hang of it. Then I was up and standing in no time. I stuck to the bay though. And it was amazing the number and variety of fish I saw in the crystal, clear water. I saw a school of about 20 yellow tang fish. There were a lot of other ones too. It was awesome! No need for me to snorkel!

I ventured out a little into the actual ocean (with small waves), but it made me nervous. I was by myself and around where no on in my family could even see me. So I came back in and gave Chase a try at it. We took turns for the hour. I ventured out a little further each time, but never very far. My dad even got on and gave it a try. Next time I have an opportunity (that's a when....not an if) I want to rent 2 boards and go further out with someone. Some folks that went out further said they were playing with dolphins. Very cool. Next time! :)



Brian and Tina went snorkeling. We found some extra equipment at our condo to use, so Steve snorkeled too. I think everyone (but me) went snorkeling off this beach. Brian said that it was the best off beach snorkeling he's ever done. They've snorkeled all over the Caribbean on cruises, so I think that's a good compliment.

Mallory even tried to snorkel. The equipment we had for her didn't fit that well. So she got on a boogie board and Uncle Chase and Deanna took her out. She laid on the board and they pointed out fish to her. That has been listed as one of her favorite things she did while on vacation.



My mom's cousin, Donna, lives in Kona. Well here's the real relationship....my mom's dad and Donna's dad were cousins. So whatever that makes them! They hadn't seen each other since my mom was pregnant with my sister. So it's been awhile. Anyway, my mom had been in contact with her and she came and met us on the beach. She was super nice and ended up inviting us to her house for dinner. More on that later. Back to the beach.

We had small beach chairs from the condo that I used to hold Edee for a nap. Worked much better than the last beach nap she took on me. Too bad I forgot her beach hat. So I used an umbrella to protect her little bald head.


Next we headed to lunch at the Kona Brewery. 5 of the 8 of age adults ordered a beer sampler. So there were 20 little glasses of beer consumed. I had a shrimp melt for lunch. Never had one before, but it was really good. The brewery has some of the coolest shirts we'd seen on the islands. So a lot of us got shirts. I even got one with a paddleboarder on it!

Here's the sampler, pre-drinking.

Here's the glasses after most of the beer had been consumed.


Even with the short nap at the beach, Edee took a great nap that afternoon. Nana actually stayed with Edee while she napped. Mallory went to the condo swimming pool with Uncle Chase and Deanna. And Steve and I went back to Kailua Village to do some shopping. We ended up with 2 different bags of 100% Kona coffee. A "HI" t-shirt for Mallory. It has Hawaii's abbreviation on it with the islands. The Big Island is actually the dot of the "i". It's really cute. Edee got a beach towel. And we found a picture frame with "Hawaii" written on it. We aren't real big on souvenirs and trinkets. So this was actually a good shopping trip.

A bit of a note about Kona.....I think we brought the average age down considerably of the tourists there. From what I saw, the average age was closer to 65 or 70. Most people we saw out and about were old. It was just a very different dynamic from what we saw on the other islands. Not sure if that is indicative of the entire island or just the area where we were staying.

After Mallory's swim with Uncle Chase and Deanna, they even gave her a bath! Deanna braided her hair. Isn't it awesome?!? I need to practice to get better. Too bad I doubt Mallory is patience enough for me to practice.



We got back to the condos just in time to go to dinner at Donna's. I was worried that it was going to be awkward. She has 2 high-school age daughters (Brittany and Amanda) and her husband, Steve. But it was a very nice evening. First off their house is gorgeous! Donna and Steve own a pool company. They design and built pools. These are nice, high-end pools. Steve has won awards for some of his designs. The house is all wood interior. The windows open up to a view of the ocean. She has a huge kitchen, an awesome patio, etc. It was beautiful!

Here's a picture of me and the girls outside on their patio.



Here's the family.....Steve, Brittany, Amanda and Donna. If you look close you can see the ocean.

Amanda showed Mallory how to play the ipu. They use this instrument in hulas.

It was too dark to see much by the time I got a picture of Papa and the girls.


Brittany and Amanda were charming. They answered all of our questions about life in Hawaii. Here are some bits of info they shared with us.

• They, as Caucasians, are a minority at their public high school. There are some native Hawaiians. Then a lot of Asians, Micronesians, Polynesians, etc.
• There aren't a lot of places to shop for clothing on the Big Island. They go to Honolulu to go shopping. Although they just got a new Target and I saw a Macy's. I think this teenage girls want something trendier than Macy's though.
  
• They learned the Hawaiian alphabet and some of the Hawaiian language. But what they really have to know is pidgin. It's the unofficial language that is used in daily conversations.
  
• Amanda (14) is on a canoe team. It's a big deal on the island.
  
• Brittany (18) is a certified scuba diver.
  
• They (well at least Brittany) thinks the island is boring. Wow! But I guess I can see what she means for someone her age.
  
• The farthest west they've been on the mainland is Colorado.
  

We had a lovely time. We even left with a gift of Hawaiian woodchips from a Kaiwe tree. This is a side-business of theirs. They have 4 local trees that they use: kaiwe, ohia, avocado and guava. Can't wait to give it a try.