I’m being a bit of a mopey Steph this month. Mostly because it is ridiculously cold in Seattle, and I am not going to Kona this year. I’m trying not to be all, woe is me about it, I do have lots of things planned for later in the year. I have seasonal affective disorder and four years in a row of finding some relief in sunny Kona has helped make PNW winters endurable.…
Hawaii. My winter escape to sunshine and marine life. For me, it doesn’t matter that every year I go to the same place with my family. We stay in the same condo complex and see the same friends and this is perfectly fine with me. I am baking in the sunshine while the dolphins spin by and the whales spout along the coast. This is the epitome of a mental reset for me.…
Last year started the same way – in Kona, Hawaii – being sunburned & loving every minute of it. This year was no different, I was just happy to escape rainy, gray Seattle and spend a week in beautiful tropical Hawaii. I fly Hawaiian Air whenever I go to Hawaii – their service is great & they still serve meals on the longer flights from the mainland to the islands. Tasty Passion Fruit Boogie Boarding at Hapuna Beach After a day at the beach we stopped at the Lava Lava Beach Club for drinks & appetizers. BEAUTIFUL view – great spot to sit & have drinks. I probably would have been happy going there every single day. Snorkeling at Kahaluu Beach – great spot for Sea Turtles, was pretty crowded though. The Sheraton Resort in Kona has a great bar with a boardwalk that you can walk out onto at night and watch people snorkel with Manta Rays Dolphins frequently swam back and forth past our condo everyday. We took a pontoon boat out to Captain Cook’s monument & went snorkeling – absolutely beautiful snorkel spot. My baby humpback! Highlight of the trip for me. This little guy breached over…
Hawaii was a much needed vacation away from the grey, cold, rain filled skies of Seattle. There is no better way to reset for a new year than with a trip to paradise. We stayed in a condo on Ali’i Drive, about a mile south of Kona. Our family friends have a condo so we had our own little party the whole time. It was a short trip, 4 full days, 2 days of travel but I completely relaxed the entire time there. Every morning we would go sit down at the waterfront and watch for dolphins and whales. I am a master whale spotter for some reason and the whole time I was spotting whales left and right. Made my trip. There are dolphins just to the left of the boat. Unfortunately the iPhone camera isn’t that amazing with range. We spent one day driving the whole island. Hilo is too rainy even by Seattle standards and that is saying a lot. The east side of the island had some beautiful but fierce looking coastline. The drive to the volcano & through the park was my favorite part about the trip. We passed through as we did the island…