I’ve been back for a week now and want to blog about the trip before I forget the details so here we go -
Technically this was actually day two but our first day mostly consisted of sitting on airplanes, plus we didn’t actually get to Hawai’i until sunset. So this was our first actual “day”.
We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club condos and weren’t actuall staying in the Hilton Waikoloa Village Beach Resort but were allowed to use all of the facilities and pools over there. I guess that staying at the condos are better than staying in the hotel because you get two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen & dining room, a living room, a balcony/back yard, a place to grill, and are next to the clubhouse. As for getting over to the resort there is a free shuttle bus that takes you to various places within the gigantic resort area or you can always walk or drive. We decided that our first thing to should be checking out the resort.
We took a public foot trail over to the resort that winds around the coastline.
Craig & Eric.
Mom & Dad.
A small part of the large pool. Under that waterfall there were more waterfalls, two more pools, and a hidden hot tub under the cave.
Another section of the same pool. This thing was gigantic! Even further down from this there was another large section connected to a sand bottom kiddie pool.
There were Japanese statues everywhere. I think I would’ve liked to see a Polynesian style instead.
They also have a dolphin encounter program there but be ready to shell out some bucks.
A sea turtle in the lagoon. These cute guys were everywhere! I swear we must have seen turtles every day because they come up to the shore to sunbathe.
The ocean fed lagoon.
The Ocean Tower. (well, part of it anyway).
Afterwards we decided it was time to go check out a beach. That is what Hawaii is about after all, right?
We went over to ‘Anaeho’omalu Bay since it was the closest to where we were staying. Eric & I decided to try and snorkel there but the water wasn’t very clear and there wasn’t much to see below the surface. Plus it’s super freaky to snorkel in murky water. I kept thinking to myself ” a shark could be swimming towards me and I wouldn’t even know until it was way too late since I can’t even see more than a foot in front of me.”
That afternoon at the clubhouse they were serving free icecream cones. I chose Kona Coffee with a scoop of Chocolate on top. Holy Cow! That Kona Coffee flavor was to die for! It was the best damn ice cream that I ever tasted! This was the point where “We are on vacation!” really sunk in. I guess that’s what eating the best ice cream of your life by the pool with live music playing in the background will do to you.
Some time before sunset my dad and I went on a walk around the golf course. Oddly there was a wild turkey standing there. For some reason I don’t think that turkeys really “fit” in a tropical setting.
We kept walking and found some ancient petroglyphs and King’s trail – a very old path that goes straight through the lava field for about 32 miles.
Plenty of desserts left to bring home.
