Outside My Southern Comfort Zone: Spring Breakin' In Paradise

We started Day 5 by feeding the chickens on the farm, including a bunch of sweet little baby chicks.

SO MANY BABY CHICKS!

PRETTY ROOSTER AND ONE OF THE COFFEE
DRYING SHACKS

We opted for a relaxing beach day at Pam and Michael's recommended spot: Beach 69

(real name: Waialea, but called beach 69 because the entrance used to be located at telephone pole #69).

Whatever. Regardless of what you call it, it definitely did NOT disappoint.

I THINK I CAN DO SOME RELAXING HERE.

LOTS OF ROPE SWINGS!

AND THE BEACH IS LINED WITH TREES THAT
ARE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR HAMMOCKS!

STORM CLOUDS ROLLED IN DURING
THE AFTERNOON...
BUT THEY STAYED JUST TO OUR SOUTH.
WE NEVER FELT A RAINDROP.

We made a quick stop by Mahai'ula Bay on the way home where a baby monk seal currently resides.

He wouldn't come out of the water for a good picture, so here are some short clips of him playing around.

And here is his big ol' momma (I think it's his mom... not totally sure actually).

On day 6 we decided to venture down to Kealakekua Bay. We hiked down from the road on our last vacation here but the hike out was BRUTAL (only because the sun was beating on us and it was so incredibly hot).

We opted to kayak over to the Captain Cook monument (where all the good snorkeling is) and skip the hike this year. The hike probably wouldn't have been so bad this time since it was cloudy/overcast but, why risk it?

You can rent a double kayak for $60 and paddle across the bay which really doesn't take much time at all. The only disadvantage is that when you get to the snorkel spot, you have to pull the kayak around with you because you aren't allowed to land there. Mike offered to pull the kayak while we swam and said it really wasn't too bad (there is a rope attached for pulling purposes).

KEALAKEKUA BAY.
YOU CAN FAINTLY SEE THE WHITE STATUE ACROSS THE BAY -
THAT IS THE CAPTAIN COOK MONUMENT - IT IS ABOUT
ONE MILE ACROSS THE BAY.

Every time I read/research this bay, the one thing that always comes up is the likelihood that you will see spinner dolphins in the bay. Apparently, they reside in the bay. We didn't notice any last time we were there but they were EVERYWHERE this time.

SORRY FOR THE POOR QUALITY, BUT THIS IS A STILL SHOT
TAKEN FROM ONE OF OUR GO PRO VIDEOS OF THE DOLPHINS.
THEY WERE JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER, SPINNING AROUND,
AND AT ONE POINT THEY SWAM UP SUPER CLOSE TO US!

This is my favorite spot to snorkel on the island for sure. The water is clear. There are RIDICULOUS amounts of fish. And even on an overcast day, we had great visibility.

I love having pictures from all our adventures but sometimes, I take so many pictures that I feel like I saw the whole vacation through a camera lens. And for what purpose? Half of the time the pictures turn out grainy or out of focus anyway (because I'm a point and shoot type of person)... and pictures never accurately portray how beautiful a place is.

One of my personal goals has been to put the camera down and take in the moment... and I did just that in Kealakekua bay.

When the dolphins swam up close to us, I actually put the camera down. Although that meant I didn't get THE BEST POSSIBLE picture of them, it meant that I got to take in every second of that awesomeness without worrying/fumbling with a camera.

And in the end, I have no regrets about that.

That is a moment I won't soon forget and I don't need a picture to remind me.

Plus, you can google some pretty awesome spinner dolphin pictures. Just sayin'.

Ok, back to the good stuff.

After our awesome day of snorkeling, Pam and Michael suggested we take in a sunset at Pine Trees. We did this on our last trip and it was beautiful but we opted for a different viewing spot this time.

This beach is awesome.

You just drive your car right up to the beach... literally on a sandy path.

THIS SPOT SHOULD DO JUST FINE.

SIPPIN' BEVERAGES AND EATIN' SNACKS...
WAITIN' ON THAT SUN TO GO DOWN.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AT THIS POINT...

... BUT IT'S ABOUT TO GET SO MUCH BETTER!

THE SKY WAS AMAZING!

YOU CAN SEE THE ISLAND OF MAUI ON THE HORIZON
(TO THE RIGHT OF US... WAY IN THE DISTANCE).

I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER ENDING TO AN AWESOME DAY!

Day 7... our last FULL day on the island.

We had a leisurely morning around the house before taking our little rental car back and relying on our amazing chauffeurs again.

We made a quick stop to see some beautiful rainbow Eucalyptus trees just down the street from Pam and Michael's house:

... and then before you know it, we found ourselves in hammocks again!

THIS NEVER GETS OLD

PAM SNAPPED THIS PICTURE OF SOME HOUSES AT BEACH 69
THAT I WOULD LOVE TO OWN ONE DAY. THEY ARE OCEANFRONT.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE GOALS, RIGHT?

From Beach 69, we headed south to Kikaua Beach. This is a fancy gated community but all beaches are technically open to the public. It is a beautiful bay with LOTS of turtles. And I mean LOTS of turtles.

Unfortunately, it is also home to at least one (maybe more?), tiger shark.

Tiger sharks are pretty scary.

Ok, they are REALLY scary.

There was an attack here (literally in this bay) just a couple of weeks ago where a 12 foot tiger shark knocked a guy off his paddleboard and attacked him... taking part of his leg and arm in the battle. The guy survived but yeah... I'm good on the beach, thanks.

STANDING ON KIKAUA GRASSY AREA,
LOOKING OVER AT KUKI'O BEACH.

BABY SEA TURTLE!!! OH. MY. GOSH.

THERE WERE ACTUALLY SEVERAL OF THESE
SMALL SEA TURTLES ALONG THE BEACH.

THEY AREN'T REALLY BABIES... BUT THEY WERE SMALL.

DON'T WORRY... I WARNED EACH ONE OF THEM TO
LOOK OUT FOR THE TIGER SHARK (WHICH EATS
EVERYTHING, INCLUDING TURTLES).

WE'VE ALREADY STARTED A LIST FOR OUR NEXT VISIT
AND IT INCLUDES PADDLING AN OUTRIGGER CANOE.

PHOTO CREDIT: PAM MADDEN

MY PANO ATTEMPT WASN'T NEARLY AS GOOD.
THIS IS KIKAUA BEACH.

Being that this was our last night in town, we took our gracious hosts out to dinner at the Royal Kona Inn where we got to witness another beautiful sunset while enjoying good food and reminiscing on an amazing week.

THE VIEW OF KONA FROM OUR TABLE.

THE MOST AMAZING HOSTS!

SUNSET DURING DINNER

I HAD TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE MAI TAI!

The next morning we were able to spend a little over an hour at the beach before showering and heading to the airport. It was probably the sunniest day of the entire week, which I'm pretty sure was Hawaii's way of saying: "Don't go home. Just stay here."

RELAXING ON MANINI'OWALI BEACH
(BETTER KNOWN AS BUTT
BEACH BECAUSE THERE ARE 2 SMALL HILLS AT THE ENTRANCE
THAT LOOK LIKE... WELL... A BUTT!)

After quick showers, we made a quick stop for lunch before heading to the airport.

I always hate leaving a vacation.

It definitely helps to have a sweet puppy waiting for you at home though. I couldn't wait to get back to see him. He was with our amazing neighbors while we were gone. They took such great care of him, I was worried he wouldn't want to come back home! They even sent us some of the sweetest pictures of his happy little self. He loved his week long sleepover with his good friend, Rey.