Kipa hou mai

Kipa hou mai - Come visit again

Sadly, I am concluding yet another wonderful trip, and each departure is harder than the last.

However, this week we had some pretty awesome adventures. One in particular with my Mother/Daughter date. I took my mom out for the day to spoil her and spend time together. Rarely do we get to spend time together without interruption. Whether it be kids, phone calls, or other parental/marital duties. Our lives are crazy and we often try to spend time together. However, it is generally interrupted. So this day was just about us!

Upon departure, we made our first stop at the famous Punalu'u Bake Shop to enjoy malasada's for brunch. We picked up some treasures while we were at it.

After departing there, the world was ours. Tho my mom had been around South Point, her experience in the area was rather limited. In fact, my experience is pretty limited as well. However, in true Heather fashion, I had done my research and google earth'd. I found places I wanted to check out. One of which was noted "Best Place To Snorkel" called Two Step. Apparently the lava made steps into the ocean, or so they say. So... we should probably check that out, right?

We ended up at City of Refuge, which is right next to Two Step. We paid for the parking, and decided that since we paid. We should probably see what this place is all about. Suffice to say it is beautiful, rich in history. I will fully admit, I was not in the mood for such things. It was about 95 degrees, and all I really wanted was to be in the water. But we walked through, took pictures and took in the culture rich history.

As we were standing at waters edge looking towards Two Step, I saw two dorsal fins, and knew the dolphins were playing. My mom sort of freaked out thinking the worse. But, sharks are not known to pal around. I also read that Two Step is know for dolphins to hang around. So... with that, it was time to get in the water.

We walked out of the park and made our way around to Two Step. It was busy, like real busy. I am not keen on areas prone to excessive amounts of tourists.. but when in Rome...

We found a place on the lava to place our items and looked to enter the water. I will say, I did not see anything remote "two step" about it, furthermore.. the tide was coming in, so the entry was pretty rough. Now.. had I went to where the hoards of people were, perhaps we would have found a better entry. But that was not the case for us.

As we snorkeled out further towards the dolphins, I saw underwater sea arches, and I will admit, some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. Perhaps not for fish, but for coral and underwater landscape. It was pretty awesome and totally worth the visit.

When we got done swimming and snorkeling, we decided to make our way towards home. But we were not done yet, we ended up heading down to Ho'Okena Beach. Due to rougher waters than normal. We walked out to cool off. Took in the beauty, and decided our hunger was greater than the beauty. What I liked about this beach, was the fact that there were very few people there. This generally is a win in my book.

Now, we are in an area where there simply is not much to eat, so I figured we would stop in Na'alehu and pop into Shaka's to eat. I have had good experiences there, so why not? It is the southern most bar in the US. We popped in for some kailua pig and beer. After that we decided our men probably deserved some malasadas as well. So we ran into the Bake Shop again to grab some deliciousness for them as well.

After departing, and satisfied we decided to make one more final stop. I had been through Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, but never have I gotten out of the car. Again, this is due to mass hoards of tourists. Large groups of people ruin the experience for me. Granted, when I say masses, it is a far cry from groups you would find in other touristy places such as Oahu, Maui, LA, San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, NY. Really on the scale, its not many people. But Big Island has spoiled me, and I am used to being alone to enjoy these moments or nearly alone.

Well today we lucked out, and this was likely due to it being in the middle of the week. Not too many people, so we were able to enjoy the nesting turtles and views.

After our return, I felt refreshed. Sometimes you dont get to spend reasonable time with those you love. It is important to show your love and appreciation to those you care about. I felt amazing having that time with her, and it certainly is memories I will have for a lifetime.

One of our final adventures brings us up to current time. We decided for our last full day in Hawaii, and knowing we had a pretty early flight the next day.. we should stay the night in Kona. So, we left early this morning, with the parents following us.. with dreams of turquoise waters in the Kiholo Bay. This is yet another place we have not been, and another place I found on google earth. I researched how to get in, and it seemed reasonable easy. After the hike in to Ship's.. I figured.. it can't be worse.

I used google street view to establish the area which you park, and the mileposts to watch out for. I am resourceful like that. We find a safe place to pull off the side of the highway, and now it is the mission in finding the trailhead.

There are the parents, ready to rock and roll. Here is a view towards the area that we

were preparing to hike down.

Further up the road... this is the view looking towards Kiholo. This view and that water is what has enticed me into finding out how to get down there.

Anyway, we saw a trail and made our way north.. only to find ourselves exposed walking across hot lava rocks with no shade. We walked about a half of a mile, before we decided to turn around and go to the south to hope to find the trail head. Sadly.. had we walked twenty yards south we would have found the trailhead, so we wasted a bit of time there.

We started to make our way down, passing by wild mountain goats, and other wildlife.

The trail was really quite reasonable. Outside of quite a bit of uneven lava rock, there was spots of shade to take breaks when you need it.

The slope was gradual, so I was not worried about hiking back out. We made it down to sea level and saw a driveway to a home and the bay just beyond. Alas, no trespassing. So we knew we had to carry on via markers.

Thankfully it was not much further before we saw the ocean and knew we had made it. We also had passed a couple with two boys around the age of 12-14 years of age. We had asked if it was worth it, and they said it was worth the hike. I personally didnt ask, as I am not one to take other peoples advice. Again, I am weird. I want to experience things for myself and I prefer not to have influences. But, I suppose since they were happy, I was pleased with the response.

The moment I had been waiting for had come... sadly we were not facing the bay when we emerged. Tho still beautiful, not the view I was hoping for. So we hit the sand and started to head north.. and then that was when I was able to see that gorgeous water!

We had to continue along the shore, passing homes to make our way towards the bay. We stopped finally, ready to eat lunch. Sadly the water was too rough, and the seafloor was not all that safe. After cutting open my ankle, we decided to press on, and look for more reasonable water. We came to a little bridge, and some locals said if we kept going.. the water got calmer. After the bridge, and having walked in the sun, and sand for quite some time, we were ready to stop. Behind us was this magical little lagoon. I had read online that is was private property, so I knew we could not play in it. But it was a good stop to put my feet for few minutes.

The views were not bad at all. The water in the ocean was still relatively rough, but we had shade, calm water to get our feet wet and that gorgeous blue water. If we didnt have the boys with us, we would have made it further into the bay where the waters are very mellow.

But, we knew our time was limited, and we had other things we wanted to accomplish that day. We relaxed a bit longer before we decided to hike our way out again.

Once we got back to our cars, we said our goodbyes. Saying good bye to my parents, is like saying good bye to Hawaii. It was oddly difficult, despite the fact that they were coming home just a few days later. They are essentially Hawaii... so it was just one more good bye for me to stomach.

After we pulled away, I tried to get my mind right, so I could have more fun with the my 3 men. We reached Kona, and went to check in to our condo for the night. It was nice, but whom ever did the cleaning, did quite a poor job. Nevertheless, I cleaned the items which mattered, and was happy to have a shower. The boys went to the pool with Phil while I prepared myself to hit the town. Not like it takes much when you are in Hawaii. But a shower was really a top priority after all the hiking. The boys were also excited to finally watch a little bit of Netflix on the wifi.

In predictable fashion, we decided to go to Huggos On The Rocks for dinner. We have always loved it there, and tho we are usually up for something new. It had been a long day and we wanted a solid good meal. Plus gorgeous views, music and wonderful service.

Huggos was just down Ali'i from Kona Bali Kai, so it took us no time to get there. We knew the evening was in our favor, when we found reasonable parking right across the street.

Finding parking down there, is often impossible, unless you want a moderate hike down hill to reach Ali'i, so we knew we were lucky to find the parking that we did.

We were seated immediately, and once we had decided upon our food, the sun started to settle in the sky. Kona put on one of the most magical sunsets I have ever seen in my entire life. All I could do is snap endless amounts of pictures, in awe following each one. There are truly no words for such beauty, so I will share them with you!

Kona did me proud!

Is that not the most stunning sunset you have ever seen? Still, I can't get it out of my mind. After a magical dinner, we made our way down through the shops to find treasures and clothes. We stopped for ice cream, and we played tourists. I say that, because we are far from the typical tourist, and we general avoid all things touristy. We are not better than anyone, we just believe in a more authentic experience. But usually once a trip we indulge in all things touristy. We had a blast just goofing around, buying random things none of us needed, and taking in our last night. It was perfect for our family.

This is 100% Jaxson... he is a pretty cool guy.

Weird itty bitty crab, not much bigger than a quarter.

This T-shit I bought for my guys, each in their own size. You would be a fool not to have one, or so I thought.

Anyway, another trip down in the books. Another sorrowful goodbye. Now back to rainy cold Oregon.

Wish me luck....