Mele Kalikimaka

I flew to Hawaii by myself.  This was huge!  I've never been so relaxed on a trip.  It was so easy to just worry about me.  However, I did decide on a flight plan that entailed spending 12 hours in San Francisco.  This was a bit of a tease, as I haven't been to San Francisco in over a decade.  I thought about staying with a friend in Mill Valley, but in the end, I'm so glad I didn't.  Between waiting for my luggage and checking in the next morning (going through security), I was only in my motel room for 6 hours.....   But the fun part was that I was on the same flight as Jamey and his family from SFO to Kona.

We arrived in Kona just around lunch time.  John was running late because he was picking up our Turo rental car.  I was going to get a ride with James and family, but he ran over the spikes on the way out of the rental car lot and popped two tires........ So, we all waited.  John arrived and I joined George, Gregg, Damon, Hazey and Cal at the Harbor Cafe for lunch.

I was excited to get to our most perfect rental house in Wikaloa Village.  The Walker's, Niquettes, and Abbott's would all be staying there.  There were bedrooms for all the adults and the older two Walkers, but the littles (Hazey, Cal and Will) slept in the upstairs sitting area on cots and couches. There was a pool and plenty of space for all of us.  James and family were down the road at their own rental (with a hot tub and movie theater) and everyone else was staying at the Walker compound-- Lindsay, Silas, Kai and Casper in the ohana, Sherry and George and Richard were in the main house.

The day after I arrived, this girl turned 10! Our gal Cal, she is and will always be the best early Christmas gift I've ever gotten.  She is smart, she is sassy, she is funny and she is kind.  She has a tremendous heart and is wiser beyond her years.  I hope you always remember your 10th birthday in Hawaii. 

We planned a day of snorkeling for everyone's first full day in Hawaii with almost the whole gang :

It was a perfect day-

We saw lots of beautiful fish and learned a whole lot about the marine ecosystem:

But mostly, we got to hang out together, in the sunshine, and were fed good food. 

Apres snorkel cruise slushies:

We finished the day with our first of many visits to Lava, Lava Club.  Happy hour begins at 3pm:

We spent Cally's birthday evening at "Talk Stories" on the beach.  This is a monthly celebration of Hawaiian culture through music, story telling and dancing.  So, we brought a picnic and our chairs and enjoyed some local vibes.

We even had brownies with a candle and at one point the crowd had anyone with a birthday in December stand up and they were sung "Happy Birthday".  I think it was a pretty memorable birthday.

The next day we planned to hike the Waipio Valley. Here the kids are...... ready to roll:

This involves a steep hike down a one way road (with 4WD trucks passing you).  You lose almost 1000 ft of elevation in less than a mile. Next, we had to cross a river and walk about a mile across the valley.  The river was deep and with the changing tide, there was a bit of a current.  

We all made it across the river and the walk along the beach was lovely:

At the other end of the beach, there was a fun little "playground"

At the trailhead to the "Z trail":

Making our way up the Z trail:

We made it to the top and had a picnic lunch:

And the sun came out for our return:

The hike back up the road felt like such a schlogg:

We ended the day with a visit to the Meyer families rental.  The kids immediately jumped into the hot tub:

The girl cousins made a cake:

And we all ate quesadillas before the kids settled into a movie in the theater.

On Sunday, we went to "secret beach".  This involves a drive down a long bumpy lava road, but was a great place to see turtles.

It was great to have the younger two generations together, although we missed the grandparents:

We took a hot walk across the lava to some fun boogie boarding:

The kids got their groove on with the surf:

We returned to find a turtle had visiting our spot:

And then, since it was 2:30pm, we headed back to Lava Lava for happy hour:

And, it turns out there is a lot of entertainment for the kids:

The sunset was amazing:

 Christmas day was spent by some at Bobbie and Dick's pool, by other preparing a feast, and by some at Beach 69:

This girl loves babies:

Sherry got a very thoughtful gift for all the cousins:

We ate a traditional Christmas feast:

Gift Exchange:

On Boxing Day, we headed to Hapuna Beach.  This is a crowded beach, but perfect for boogie boarding.  It soon became our favorite:

That evening we went to a lua:

I was so impressed with the performance.  It involved fire and incredible dancing:

The next day was Kesley's 16th Birthday!  Some of us went to the black sands beach and then we all celebrated Kesley before they left for Oahu for the rest of their vacation:

On the 28th, our immediate clan headed up to Volcanoes National Park:

A visit to the rainforest:

Then we headed to the most southern point in the United States:

On the 29th, we headed back to Hapuna:

On the 30th, we headed back to Hapuna, but also explored the petroglyphs:

We ended the day with our last visit to Lava, Lava Beach Club.  These two went on a turtle hunt:

More lawn games:

And one last sunset:

On New Year's Eve, we hit the farmer's market, went back to the beach, and then went on a mission to Claire's to get Cal's ear's pierced.  All the ladies wanted to come:

And that is a wrap.  We caught a flight at 9:45pm on New Years Eve:

We were home the next day by 7pm...... It's a long way to travel and a fairly huge undertaking, but it was so incredibly worth it.  We had such an amazing time in Hawaii.  Bobbie and Dick were wonderful hosts.  They opened their home to us where we cooked many meals.  The kids had so much fun with their cousins.  Some of the best memories were just lounging around the house.  We learned a new sport and we saw so much.  I felt relaxed and satiated with love and family.  I am so, so glad that we made this happen.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat!