Day 14 - Luau

What a fitting end to the vacation - we took in a luau at the Waikoloa Marriott.  Although we thought the other luau we did was more authentic (pig actually buried in the sand where you can taste the grit...), this one was definitely entertaining.  And we got enough food.

 

The MC and dancers were pretty good, and it was fast moving to keep the kids' attention.  Bix and Brooke liked the open bar where they could get as many sodas as they wanted.  Mom and Dad liked the fact we were staying across the street even though the drinks seemed to be superweak :( .

The kids got to try their hands at some traditional hawaiian games.  Dad ate the poi.  We also met some nice people at the table.  They took our picture which came out pretty good.

Bix and Brooke try to catch the poi ball

The highlight of the show was the fire dancer - he was very talented and spun fire for 5-10 minutes.

The other dancers were good too, and the costumes were nice.

Click to get wallpaper!

The show was on the western side of the island and there was a beautiful sunset.

Day 13 - Snorkel trip

Bix fearless on the high dive

Today we went back to the same bay as the Manta Ray dive.  We boarded a large catamaran and headed 6.5 nautical miles south to the Captain Cook monument area.  The waters are great for snorkelling and the boat was equipped with slides and a high dive platform.   

Bix got a round of applause after toppling off the platform when trying to stop.  Brooke got over her snorkeling fears from the night before and snorkelled all around the boat.  They also had kickboards with built in viewing windows and Dad got a prescription mask so he could see without his glasses.

On the way back to the dock, we saw a family of spinner dolphins which raced the boat for about a 1/4 mile. 

This was one of the kids' favorite activities of the whole trip!

We came home and Mom made Mahi Mahi for dinner.  It was really good.

Cook monument detail

Cook monument

Day 12 - Golf and Manta Rays

Now THAT's a hazard!

Today Bix and Dad both played golf at he Waikoloa Kings Course.  Bix helped Dad tee up the ball, drive the cart and look out for hazards. 

He even learned how to line up his stance and putt.  They had a great time.

picture found on Aquaviews.net

After a short nap, we went to snorkel with the Manta Rays at night, considered one of the top vacation things to do in the world.

These 8-20 foot stinger-less rays swoop and somersault as they scoop up and filter plankton lit up by dive lights.  Bix snorkeled around the bay while Dad, Mom, and Brooke hung on to a floating ladder/raft as one 8-foot ray swooped inches from us.

After about 10 minutes Brooke got scared and wanted to go back to the boat, but not before the Manta swooped a little too high, nailed the ladder, and hightailed it out from under the structure just past us.

Momma's bruise - it's even worse now!

The Manta returned, but Mom and Brooke went to the boat and did not.  Mom got a halacious bruise on the inside of her thigh - either from the darting ray or from another spectator kicking her - it swole up huge and was about a 8"x5" bruise the next day.

Nonetheless, everyone thought the Mantas were awesome and everyone but Brooke is ready to go back and do it again.


More pictures:

Bix and Brooke wait for the boat

The bay at dusk

Day 11 - Taking it Easy

Today we didn't do too much.  We went to the pool in the morning, then took in a movie - Cats and Dogs.  Brooke didn't want to leave the pool, but both kids enjoyed the movie.

At night we went to a hula show - Brooke was enthralled (as was the guy behind her).

Bix: not-so-much - he chose to listen to his "boy" music - at a distance. :)

Here are more pictures of the hula dancers:

Afterward we had noodles - Bix showed off his prowess with chopsticks...

...and Brooke showed Bix how to make Yakitori with chicken nuggets.

We didn't hit any wild donkeys, so today was a great day!

Day 10 - Golf and Hapuna Beach

Today Dad played golf at the Waikoloa Beach Club.  The course has spectacular views of the ocean and is very tropical with plenty of lava and palm trees.  Dad shot 86. :(

After lunch we went to Hapuna beach which is one of the top beaches in the US.  The sand is very fine there and the water is great for swimming and boogie boards.  Bix and Brooke had a great time.  

Brooke WIPEOUT!

We came home and Mom made HUGE burgers for us.

A relaxing day.

Day 9 - Back to Waikoloa

Today we headed from Hilo on the eastern-most side of the island to Waikoloa where we started nine days ago in the west.  This time we are staying at a condo in the Waikoloa Beach Villas.  We are expecting a week of more adventure, golf, and beautifaul Kohala (northwest) beaches.

Mauna Loa

To get to Waikola we took the famed Saddle Road - a road that traverses the "saddle" between 13000 foot behemoth volcanos Mauna Loa on the south and Mauna Kea on the north.

On our way out of town we stopped at Rainbow Falls, where you can supposedly see rainbows jumping off the falls, but sadly there was none and the falls was fairly pitiful compared to Akaka.

Then we went to the "Boiling Pots" - a series of pools and waterfalls in a row.  The water appears to Boil in the pots, but today only a little water was running between them so the effect was pretty weak.

Then we hit Saddle Road.  It has a bad rep as a very difficult road to drive, but they have made great improvements and all but about two miles was very nice pavement.  The road was kind of slow - lots of 25/35/45 mile per hour zones, but it made short work of the trip across the island. 

We had plenty of time to stop at the Mauna Kea visitor center at 9300 feet altitude.  Though not as cold as I expected, it was WICKED WINDY and I heard it was even worse at the top.

Mauna Loa is the home to some super giant telescopes that can see light from stars that are 13 billion years old.  The dry cliamte and lack of clouds makes it an ideal spot for viewing the night sky.  Heck, even in Waikoloa we could see the stars big and brighter than deep in the heart of Texas.  We saw the Big Dipper tonight and it looked like it was right in front of us.  (See blog Day 1-3 for Venus sighting).

Once we got off the mountain, it was not much longer to get to Waikoloa - we saw many wild turkeys along the way, which was odd.

Killing time in Waikoloa

We had some time to kill before the condo was ready - so we headed to picturesque A-Bay beach.  We're going to a luau there later this week - partly because the setting is so nice - the sunsets will be awesome.

Then we got to the condo.  Super nice.  Great location, great layout, fantastic furnishings and amenities.  The owners did a fantastic job with the place.  Mom cooked steaks on the outdoor barbecue while Dad took the kids swimming.

Tomorrow Dad golfs in the morning and we're going to Hapuna Beach - the #1 beach in America.

A wallpaper I filmed for our subscribers