Hawaii!

Ok, I finally got around to posting my journals from our Hawaii trip.  Reading it makes me want to go back already!

November 12, 2010

“Relaxing” is not a word you would think to describe a six hour trans-Pacific economy class flight with a one year old.  But this was one of the best flights I have ever had.   After waking up at 3am to make our first connection to LA, we had a five-hour layover before our flight to Kona.  Liam was good on the first flight.  He was so sleepy that he was pretty zoned out.  At LAX we had breakfast and then parked ourselves in a corner of the terminal and watched Liam bounce up and down as he held onto the window ledge, enthralled with all of the action out on the tarmac.  He would exclaim, “ooh!” and point at each plane and we would say “yes, an airplane” and he would point to the sky and we would say “yes it’s going to take off into the air”, and then the conversation would repeat.   He sat and read books to himself, examined every light on the walkway, and played soccer with Phil between rows of seats.  By the time we boarded the plane, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep before we even took off.   The flight was only about three quarters full so we had the entire back row to ourselves.  I stretched across the seats and snuggled up with Liam on a pile of pillows.  We slept for almost three hours while Phil watched movies.  It was so great.  He only protested a little as we were landing but then he was thrilled to look out the window and see the other planes.   As we exited everyone commented on how good he was and how they didn’t even notice there was a baby in the back of the plane.  When we got to our hotel we ate dinner at the boat landing café and then went to sleep.

Are we there yet?

November 13, 2010

After a great night of rest we woke up early (because of the time difference) and went to breakfast.  Our package included daily breakfast at the resort buffet, which is amazing!  Coconut French toast, papaya, star fruit, dragon fruit, homemade doughnuts, Kona coffee!  Yummy!  After Liam’s nap we swam in the main pool, which has a sand-bottom kids area, a waterfall, slide, and rope bridge.  We ate lunch at the poolside café and then walked all around exploring the resort.  In the evening we looked around the outdoor shopping centers down the street and heard some local music in the square.  Liam is being really cute.  He is so thrilled to be with Phil all day long that he just clings to him all the time.  Today he started giving hugs without prompting.  He will just lay his head down on Phil’s shoulder and wrap his arms around him as he pats his shoulder, just like we hug him.  It’s so cute.  When we got back to our room after dinner Liam kept bringing us his shoes and then our shoes and pointing at the door so we got the picture that he wasn’t ready for bed yet.  He’s been saying “yeah” a lot the past few days so when we asked him if he wanted to go get ice cream before bed he emphatically nodded his head and said “yeah, yeah”.  So we did.  It’s vacation right?  It’s ok to spoil him once and a while.

November 14, 2010

After breakfast we hit the road and headed to South Kona for the “green market”, a farmer’s market of organic and locally mad/grown goods.  It was very hot but I was glad we went.  We might have been the only tourists there.  We bought a 2.5 pound mango, a giant avocado, kettle corn, passion fruit iced tea, an art print and a blown glass octopus pennant that we will use for our Christmas ornament of this trip.  Liam ran around and made friends and listened to the live music.  On the way back we stopped in downtown Kona at the Lava Java Bistro for lunch.  Very yummy!  Then we walked along the waterfront and did a little shopping before heading back.  After Liam took a good nap in the room, we went swimming in the river pool before cleaning up and going for a late dinner at the Lagoon Grill.  As we walked to dinner the sun had just set and we heard the sound of the shell horn as the torch lighter ran past us to light all of the tiki torches on the grounds.  We watched him run from torch to torch, all along the water’s edge out to the end of the point.  It was another wonderful day!

November 15, 2010

Today we got an early start and drove around to the Hilo side of the island.  It was 85 degrees when we left our hotel and by the time we got to Volcanoes National Park it was 61 degrees and raining.  I completely forgot to bring jackets for us because it was so warm in Kona.  So, we wrapped up in the beach towels we had with us and went on a short hike through a lava tube, then drove to the coast and hiked along the lava fields.  The trail access is constantly changing based on volcano conditions so we weren’t able to go close enough to actually see fire like we were hoping.  We still had fun though.  We found a little outdoor café near the park and ate lunch under the awning as the warm rain poured down.  Later, the rain stopped so we decided to go to the Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo.  Liam really liked that.  It is a very small free zoo but there was hardly anyone there so we were able to get right up close to the animals.  We saw a white Bengal tiger, lots of tropical birds, and many different kinds of monkeys including a tiny squirrel monkey which came right up to the fence and we had to hold Liam back because he wanted to pet it.  The drive back was beautiful.  We traveled through valleys and hills and saw so many interesting trees and plants.  Right before we got back to our resort the sun set and turned the whole sky a beautiful bright pink and purple.  After the long day, Liam was exhausted so we had a quick dinner at the boat landing and then went for a short walk around the resort.  It was very windy and Liam could hardly walk without being blown over, but he loved to run from one tiki torch to the next and put his hands up to say “hot” like we do when we tell him not to touch fire.  One other cute thing he did today was when Phil was driving and turned on the turn signal, Liam copied the “click click” sound it made by clicking his tongue.  He is such a silly kid, he makes me laugh every day.

November 16, 2010

Today we swam in the lagoon and played in the sand.  We rented a stand-up paddle board and took turns trying it out.  Then we all got on it together, Phil paddled as I sat on the front with Liam and we circled the lagoon.  We saw a sea turtle and lots of fish.  We walked around the resort and looked at the waterfalls again, then we sat and watched the dolphin show.  After Liam’s nap we got to talk to Mark & Heidi & Eli on skype.  We went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant nearby.  This time we took the train back to our room because Liam really likes to ride it.  Last night we were waiting for the boat and the train came by and then shut its doors to leave and Liam started crying because we didn’t get on.  He likes to point to the train every time it goes by us on the resort.  He likes the boat too but I think he likes the train better because of the automatic doors. 

November 17, 2010

Liam took a nice long morning nap today so Phil hung out in the room while I went out to the point and lounged in one of the sun cabanas.  I felt really spoiled getting to lay in the sun reading magazines as the waves crashed onto the rocks nearby.  I can’t believe how lucky we are to be here.  It has been such a fun vacation.  After that we headed up to Hapuna Beach State Park to play on the beach.  Liam wasn’t sure about the waves at first but then he started to like it.  Mostly he just wanted to draw in the sand with a stick.  Phil and I took turns swimming while Liam happily dug away in the sand.  I love being someplace where the ocean is warm!  Later we played mini golf as the sun set.  Liam even got to have his own mini golf club and he had fun trying to hit the ball.  After that we had a late dinner at the Lagoon Grill by the dolphin pool.  There are so many wild cats here that it is hard to get Liam to sit still while we eat.  He is always wanting to get down and chase them.  We also discovered that he loves reggae music.  When he hears it he starts dancing and laughing.  It’s so cute.  Because it was our last night here we decided to let Liam stay up late and we all went swimming at night.  It is so pretty at night when the waterfalls are all illuminated.

November 18, 2010

Our last day of vacation.  After breakfast we went straight to the pool.  We swam and played on the waterslide for an hour or two trying to soak up as much sun as possible before we head back to Seattle (where the forecast is snow!).   After packing up and checking out of the hotel we still had several hours before our flight so we decided to go to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park where we saw wood carving, hut replicas and sea turtles.  Liam’s favorite part was the lava rocks.  He kept picking them up and trying to carry them around with him but every few steps he would drop them and have to start over.  As the sun went down it started to rain so we headed to Kona for dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.  We sat out on the deck overlooking the water as the warm rain poured off the awning.  Liam even ate shrimp for the first time!  It was a nice end to the vacation.