This year we decided to head to Hawaii for Alice’s birthday. It would be fun and give us a break from the winter weather in Seattle. Unfortunately not long before we left Alice’s sister passed away and then Alice had the further misfortune of slipping on the grassy berm near the houseboat and breaking her arm. Nevertheless we pushed on and left for some relaxation (Alice certainly deserved it) with a week on Hawaii’s Big Island.
I had reserved an oceanfront room in Kailua-Kona, which gave us a brilliant view and nice sea breezes with the only drawback being the outrigger paddlers making some noise at 6am every morning. Oh well.
We decided while we were there to explore the island and to enjoy some different experiences. The first such experience was Alice finding maitai cocktails.
Once started she was on a mission, which inevitably led to Don’s Beachcomber bar the home of the original maitai. We made it there just in time to see a very pretty sunset.
Next up was a Hawaiian luau. Alice was very impressed by the young male dancers and of course what made her even happier was the endless supply of – you guessed it – maitais.
We also decided as a special birthday treat to take a helicopter ride over the waterfalls and volcano. This was truly spectacular and because I played the birthday card when making the booking, we were able to sit up front with Alice front and center next to the pilot.
I managed to get out on a kayak for a paddle a couple of days and on my second outing I had a close encounter with a pod of dolphins which was a remarkable experience.
The weather was just right – high 70s to low 80s and life certainly was good.
We also took at look at the Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. This was very impressive.
Across the bay from this site is the memorial to Captain James Cook who was killed on this spot after some misunderstandings and trouble between him and his crew and the local King and his people.
While there we took a look at some properties and were impressed with what we found. Since then we made an offer on a waterfront property which was accepted so it seems we’ll be spending much time in Hawaii – aloha!
So all in it was a great vacation and we came back with a dress for Alice, a t-shirt for me, some rum cakes for friends and a new house!
