Ahhhh, Hawaii

While I love winter, snow and skiing, there is something to be said for sun and sand in the middle of winter. So we jetted off to the Big Island of Hawaii for 10 days of paradise, getting back just yesterday. What a great vacation. While the flights were tough, the Kraken was a trooper and slept for most of them, both ways. Yep, we're lucky!

The island was amazing. We were walking distance to a great beach that had a little inlet that we could let the boy play in. And when we needed to dip ourselves we tossed a life jacket on him and took him into the deeper water. We had taken swim lessons with the Kraken before so I knew he was comfortable with the lifejacket and he seemed to really enjoy the warm ocean waters. Much cooing, chatting and water slapping made his feelings very clear. The great part of the beach was the amazing snorkelling. Chris said it was some of the best snorkelling he had ever done. There were times that I could see 15 or more species of fish in my field of view. Amazing! Not to mention all of the sea turtles snacking on the nearby rocks...

We had the chance to get a few drives in around the island, all timed around naps of course. And we saw some incredible areas. One major destination for us was Mauna Kea. We lucked out in that the mountain had snow while we were there. But this also meant that the upper part of the mountain was closed. This made little difference to us as we couldn't go to the top. It turns out going from sea level to the top of Mauna Kea is not a good idea for a number of people, one group being anyone under 12. So we stopped at the visitor centre and had a good look around. Chris was sad that we didn’t get to touch snow. But we got a great insider tip that the Mauna Loa access road was just a short drive away and from there we might be able to find snow. Adventure ensued, including a crazy narrow, rolling road that got us to snow. But we made it and felt snow on our flip flop covered feet while on a tropical vacation.

If you look closely you can see snow
capped Mauna Kea in the background.

Another wonderful day was taking to the road to find some beaches that we had been told about. We listened to some new friends and took off for Beach 69. Words can't express how amazing this beach was. We walked through a stand of trees to find paradise! We are talking salt and pepper sand, aqua blue waters, rolling surf and limited people. There were many little coves to pick from and we found a sunny spot near some gentle waves. Again the Kraken had a wonderful time. He really enjoyed the waters here and the sand was a joy for him and us. Part way through the day we left Beach 69 to find another great beach we had heard of that was not too far away – A Bay. Another wonderful beach. Super friendly beach for little people. The shore was gentle lapping waves with a slow slop into the water. Perfect for letting a kid play at the waters edge.

There are so many other adventures that we undertook and so many that we missed (swimming with manta rays), but we had a beyond amazing time. We've already started plotting our next trip. Maybe even with some grandparents in tow so we can go on some solo adventures.