Hawaii Island: 2021 Edition

Our most recent trip to Hawaii Island marked our third visit to this wonderful place (and fifth trip to the state). We absolutely LOVE Hawaii! Our favorite island is Hawaii Island (aka the Big Island) and our second favorite would probably be Maui. What is nice about Hawaii is each island is so different from each other and offers different things. 

Since we could probably start being considered frequent visitors to Hawaii, this trip was purely about relaxation after a stressful year (here's lookin' at you 2020). We stayed at the Mauna Kea Beach Resort which has an amazing beach and that is where we hung out for most of the trip! 

On days one and two the northwest coast had some horrible winds, so we headed south and hung out in Kona one day, walked Ali'i Drive and had some shave ice and the next day we visited Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park and Hōnaunau Bay for some snorkeling. After snorkeling we headed out for some whale watching and saw nothing but spinner dolphins. We did see whales from our hotel lanai (aka balcony) every morning! We even saw a baby humpback. 

***Tip: If you plan on visiting Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park and Volcanoes National Park you might want to look into a National Parks pass. Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park has a $20 entry fee and Volcanoes National Park has a $35 entry fee. An annual National Parks pass is $80 so if you think you'll visit any other national park in the next 365 days it might be worth it to just get an annual pass. 

On our third day we had great weather and the rain seemed to break on other areas of the island so we headed over to Waipi'o Valley to FINALLY hike down into the valley and back up. On our previous two visits we haven't been able to do this hike. The total road portion down and back is about 2.6 miles with some areas estimating to be at a 45% incline and it averages 25% incline. We were both so impressed that out daughter, who is just shy of 6 years old, was able to accomplish this hike on her own! She did have some candy bar incentives along the way and there was minimal amounts of "can you carry me" but she did it! 

One of the negatives we experienced due to COVID was no grocery store or gas station would let us use their bathrooms. And when a kid has to go, they gotta go! It was really frustrating! Because of this, we decided to skip our planned day in Hilo and just stay at Mauna Kea and enjoy the beach and hotel. It was a nice way to spend our last full day on the island.

On our last night my husband went night snorkeling with the local manta ray population at the resort. He said it was amazing and that I should do it the next time we are there! Just another reason to go back. 

Due to some flight schedule changes on behalf of the airline and our horrible 2+ hour wait for our rental car, we only had 4 full days on the island. I wish we had had one more day. In the past we have done anywhere between 6 to 10 day trips so this one ended up being a little short for us (arriving on a Sunday and leaving on a Friday). Had our car rental not taken so long on our arrival day, we could have enjoyed a walk on the beach, dinner and the sunset...but instead we arrived after dark on our first night. 

{How it started vs How its going}

Last Few Days on Maui

First Family Vacation ~ Day One

Relaxation

This Sort of Thing Always Happens to Us...

The last two days on Maui were low key, we went whale watching again hoping we would see a breaching whale...we did not. And then we went and got our favorite shave ice on the planet... Ululani's Shave Ice. By far the best shave ice! We went back to the hotel to change and then headed to Kapalua Beach to play in the sand. Alana really didn't like the water too much but once she started to play in the sand we couldn't get her out!

Our next day was really about sleeping in, packing and getting ready to leave (we had a red eye flight to San Francisco). Luckily we had a late check-out and only had a wander around a few hours before we treated ourselves to one last Hawaiian activity, the Old Lahaina Luau. We thought that Alana would enjoy the music and dancing and she did for a little while but looking back it was just too late for her and she needed to get to bed.

Matt went and sat in the car with her while I watched more of the show. We stayed there until almost the end and then headed to the airport.

Overall the trip was an experience. We got to take Alana to Maui for free since she was still 2, we got to stat at the Ritz Carlton for free using points and had an amazing upgrade! While we love to travel I think we will let Alana get a little older before taking her on another big trip like that again. We'll be road tripping and keeping things a little closer to home for the next few years; plus we want her to appreciate the travel!

This Sort of Thing Always Happens to Us...

On our 3rd full day in Maui we decided to try a short hike with Alana in tow. We left our hotel in the late morning and headed out on highway 30/340 around the northwest side of the island. Our hiking destination was the Waihee Ridge Trail. Soon after we left our hotel the road turned into a one-lane road (similar to the Hana Highway) which we didn't know. As we white knuckle it the 23 miles down the road (but about an hour drive) we reached Kaukini Art Gallery. We stopped in to stretch our legs, buy a few things and have a snack before we continued on our way. We finally made it to the trail head when we see a sign..."trail closed for maintenance" are you FREAKING kidding me?!

{views from the Kaukini Art Gallery}

C'est la vie. There was nothing we could do. So we continued back to two lane roads and stopped at the Maui Ocean Center to give Alana something to do and walk around. I thought the admission prices were a bit steep but its Maui so they will get you where they can.

The Ocean Center was great for young kids, she loved seeing all the fish and running around after being in the car for so long.

When we finally made it back to our hotel, after looping the entire west side of the island, it was time to relax by the pool and figure out what to do for dinner. I was craving pizza but there wasn't any place that was going to deliver...The Ritz was just too far for that. So I drove to a little pub called Dollie's to pick us up some cheap eats and it hit the spot!

The day was not as planned but it was still a great day!

Relaxation

Read about our first day here - Our First Family Vacation -

For our second day in Maui we really had no plans, other than mommy and daddy were going to dinner...ALONE!

I woke up and went for a run which was amazing! Then our breakfast feast was delivered to our room. I am not one to order room service but I really wanted this coconut french toast! After indulging ourselves we headed to Makaluapuna Point (or the Dragon's Tooth Trail). Kapalua Labyrinth is also located on this point. We continued our walk to Oneloa Beach to watch the waves before returning to the hotel for some pool time.

We decided to hire a babysitter recommended by the hotel to watch Alana while Matt and I went to dinner. When we go to Maui we always visit Kimo's so we can enjoy the best pie on the planet... Hula Pie! One of the couples sitting next to use was impressed that I had ordered ribs and the pie, lol. I really only ate half the ribs because what I really had come there for was dessert!

After dinner had time to walk up and down Front Street and do a little shopping. We picked up some Christmas ornaments and some art before heading back to the hotel.

What are some of your favorite eats on vacation?!

First Family Vacation ~ Day One

We recently got back from our first family vacation! And I’m sure you can guess where it was…Hawaii. We decided to take advantage of the “under 2 years of age fly free” rule. We also took advantage of our United and Marriott points and flew for free to Maui and stayed at the Ritz Carlton for free as well (we did pay taxes, parking and resort fees). More on that later!

This trip was VERY different from our past trips. When Matt and I travel we usually stick to our 2 carry-on items each but this time we felt like mules hauling around all our shit! We had 2 checked bags, a car seat, infant carrier, diaper bag and then our carry-on items. I wish we would have taken a picture but who was going to hold the camera?! And I might add that given the opportunity to check a bag I will over pack, it’s just a fact. I brought WAY too many clothes for myself and Alana.

We arrived in Maui around 6pm, collected out luggage and rental car and then we were on our way to our hotel that was about an hour away. We arrived at the Ritz Carlton with the warmest aloha and the most amazing customer service I have ever experienced at a hotel. We made our way down to our suite and I quickly unpacked all the bags to get them put up and out of the way. One of the best things, in this mom’s eyes, about the hotel was that we had free laundry! They even had the soap and dryer sheets! This came in handy for washing our very dirty travel clothes and any of Alana’s clothes she got a little too messy. We were also able to come home with luggage full of clean clothes and I didn’t have to do any laundry right away!

This trip was very different from our other trips to Hawaii (2011, 2012, 2015). This was all around what Alana wanted to do and very little of what we wanted to do. We took family pictures first thing the next morning which in hindsight might have been a mistake with the time change. After we all took a little nap, headed down to the pool for some lunch and then off we went for some whale watching. We didn't get quite the show we did back in 2015 but we did get to see a cafe with its mom learning how to breach...reminded me of a puppy! 

How have your family vacations gone?!