Hawaiian Adventures Day 3

Big Island - day 3

Do you assume that 6 hours in a car is a typical day for a day on the island? Well you should ;)

No... maybe not. But that was what today looked like for us. Our day to go to Volcanoes National Park started early... again. We were up before 6 am (ugh, jet lag), so we were able to hit the road around 8:30. And with a 3 hour drive ahead of us.... I was actually glad for it.

Our GyPSy Guide was on and the drive was great.
(We all seem to call the GyPSy Guide different things... Jim, seems to be the most common, but our oldest, seems to prefer "Sir" when talking to or about it. The sillier members of the family - not me, I can't believe you would think that - like the tipsy Gypsy. Sigh... I try not to worry about them)
The guide had commentary on the how the islands were formed, the types of lava flow and types of volcanoes, and the history of Hawaii. Needless to say, the time went quickly. We stopped to see another black sand beach and once to have a snack... ah, Malasadas.

So.. this guy was on our windshield when we were pulling out of the garage. 

The terrain here is so surprising. We are clearly on the dry side of the island. 

Do you like Hawaiian Rolls? If so, stop here! Good malasada too. 

We found another black sand beach.

Looking for tide pools.

Found a crab!

Sand is blacker than dads shoe! 

A little after noon we arrived at the park.
And it was starting to rain. We had come prepared, but the tour buses full of people at the visitor center had not, and were buying up ponchos like they were a hot fashion trend. We didn't linger too long at the visitor center, and quickly were back on the road to explore the park.

A few things to note here:
Our oldest HATES volcanoes.. He is more than anxious about today. He tried everything in his arsenal to get out of this particular adventure. And had mentioned to me daily that this island isn't where he wants to be.  Somehow the other islands are ok with him, but this one, with an active lava flow... not good. At one point in the drive today, when it fully hit him, this was happening, he muttered (loud enough so we could all hear him) "I'm doomed".  When hubby and I started to giggle, he started laughing too.

The other thing is that hubby and I have been here before. Back in 2001, we spent a week here and took a few trips into Volcanoes National Park. On that trip we used a great guide book to explore the park. Yes, things are marked, but to simply drive around, without additional info, and you will miss some spectacular views.

Ok, back to the day:
We were thrilled that the GyPSy had info for the entire park. Telling us what was at each outlook spot and what could be found down each trail. We also appreciated the tips and suggestions.
We didn't get out at every stop, but we saw a lot and enjoyed the park (well, most of us... one of us survived the park. Luckily, he loved the GyPSy commentary, so as long as the guide was talking, he was a happy adventurer).
We left the park a little after 3 pm. Time to head back to the resort, oh - and find some food.

Steam Vents.

Toxic gases coming from the crater

So, it's a little windy... just a smidge.

the lava fields are amazing

Great Sea arch

With a late morning Malasada and snacks in the car, we were ready for an earlier dinner.
In the town of Captain Cook, we found a great little pizza place. Either the food was amazing or we missed a real lunch.... I think it was both. Even the iced tea was amazing.

Excited for some good food!

Really good stuff. 

Finally, after once last stop, we made it home. What a day.
Our oldest got though it and did very well, considering his strong feelings. He has said he will not return to this island in the future. If my current trend of once every 15 years holds up, he will be out of my direct care the next time I come... and I might not invite him ;) So I am ok with him making that choice. But I am proud of him for getting through today.

Tomorrow, we attempt to be lazier. And spend less time in the car.

Hawaiian Adventures Day 2

Big Island day 2

Soo, we got up EARLY today. Our body clocks are still on home time.. not island time, and by 6 am, everyone was awake and stirring.

Today was our first full day on the island and we had very little scheduled. We downloaded the GyPSy Guide app for the Big Island and looked forward to the "guided" driving tour of the area.

It was not a disappointment. Best $8 purchase of the trip! This app has all the things we loved about the GyPSy Guide from our 2011 Canada trip, but now it's more convenient.  So, today we took the Kona/Coffee Coast tour plus a little bit from the Kohala Coast tour. We stopped a few places along the route that sounded interesting, enjoyed a laid back lunch in Kona, and some tasty Gelato while touring.

Beautifully maintained grounds around the resort area 

Beach near the petroglyph trail... not the best sand ;)

What a great tree, marking the start of a trail

a small break at a  black sand beach... Looked very black, once it got wet

lunch break

the white half is Coconut Haystack, the brown half is Chocolate, Coffee and Mac nuts.... It was ALL GOOD 

Seriously yummy stuff and rather busy  

very interesting terrain on our drive

After a day of driving and sightseeing we were ready to relax - so we enjoyed a nice dinner in the condo. After dinner we explored the King's Shops, a few blocks down from our condo. We were able to pick up a much needed item and found some great things in the planter boxes at this shopping area.

Pineapples!

It was a great day of exploring! Tomorrow: Volcanoes National Park.

Despite being an ocean away from real life our responsibilities have found us. We both had to deal with work related issues today :(
We are hoping tomorrow we can dive a back into our vacation bubble without the phone calls and emails :) Hey, remember life before smart phone? Yeah, those were good times... but then we would have never found that Gelato place .... tricky.

Hawaiian Adventure

Big Island - day 1

I am always thankful when I don't have to get up extra early to catch a flight.. so today was great. We got to the airport with time to spare - and discovered just how valuable TSA precheck is! Seriously people, why aren't you getting your precheck paperwork done? ok. moving on.

Great view of the planes coming and going while we got some food at the airport.

Our plane was brand new.. I mean off the line in March, so it still had that new plane smell. But it also had a little extra leg room all around, which I am also thankful for. 

And this flight may have been the easiest one we have had as a family. We loaded up everyone with movies, games, comfy headphones and books... 5 hours and 31 minutes later... ALOHA! 

I packed my camera in the back of the car, so I wasn't able to take any pictures until after we checked in and unpacked. Our condo is north of the airport in the Waikoloa resort area. We quickly found how close to shopping and dining it is. 

Condo Living Room

Master bedroom

Patio 

Kids room

Fun tropical details in the unit

Wonderful flowers all over the grounds

Beautiful!

Leaving the condo area in search of groceries 

A fun Koi pond at the local shopping area.... also note the bird behind them :)

With LOTS of travel today and a 3 hour time change we decided to stay close to the condo. We grabbed some groceries and then hit the "Queen's Marketplace" for some window shopping and dinner. 

Now to figure out how to wind down so we can get some sleep.

Sunset from our patio

Weekend in Seattle

Ah, a long weekend.
Life has been all together to busy lately, and we needed a little family time away from home. So we took the long weekend to stay at one of our favorite Seattle hotels and enjoy some of the sites of Seattle.

Checking into the Maxwell Hotel went smoothly and it wasn't long before we had eaten a couple mini pineapple cupcakes and were in our room.
Tonight was a bit disjointed as we did have a meeting to attend locally, but once that was over we enjoyed a casual dinner at Panera and relaxed into the room.

Relaxing in the room

Love the bedding here

This is our first stay at the Maxwell that didn't involve a Hot Chocolate Race...otherwise known as getting up way too early. So we were looking forward to the European style bedding and sleeping in til we woke up.

Our oldest had other plans... apparently he has become a morning person... why?
But his stirring woke me and then I needed coffee. We had the foresight to pick up some breakfasty foods from Panera the evening before. So as we each woke up... we had some food to tide us over til the rest of the day got going.

This was Valentine's Day - and we headed to the Pacific Science Center for some exhibits and an IMAX.

We thoroughly enjoyed the National Parks Imax... go see it if you are a fan of National parks, or enjoy a good road trip.
We lunched at the Science Center and we got to see the limited-time math exhibit. Which was cool, but very crowded.
I guess it's that whole Holiday Weekend thing.

Needle in the fog

We decided on a relaxed dinner at a pizza place within walking distance from the hotel and picked up dessert from a store on the walk back to the hotel.

Yum! 

We always travel with a Amazon FireTV stick and a Google Chromecast stick, So we were able to watch the Peanuts Movie in our room from Amazon.

It was a fun way to wrap up the day. And we hadn't seen it yet, so we were due.

Monday was check out day :( So sad. The early riser and I headed down to the coffee bar this morning and picked up some breakfast for everyone to nosh on in the room. After a leisurely morning and checking out we headed to the Seattle Aquarium. Ummmm..... apparently EVERYONE in Seattle decided to do this today too.
Besides the construction down by the waterfront, which totally messed with traffic, and any direct walking path to the aquarium... the line to get in was 30 mins long... in the rain.... with lots of grumpy people.... in the rain (did I say that?). But we got in.

The Great Wheel in the rain

OH! A happy surprise we discovered - it's museum month in Seattle. If you stay at a Seattle hotel this month you get half-off all museum admission this month - delightful! The discount wasn't enough to cover the cost of the hotel stay, but it was a nice perk.

So, back to the aquarium... on a crazy busy day. The big event today was the release of Rocky the octopus back to the wild. And we were able to watch along as he returned to the cold waters of Puget Sound.

Once we had covered the Aquarium and the gift shop, we found our way back to the car and headed home. With a stop for a late lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, our weekend escape was over... back to reality.

Thanks the Maxwell Hotel, known affectionately by our family as "the Pineapple", from this point forward. We needed the short but sweet getaway.