The Big Island

I have some more pictures to share. So much to tell about our vacation, its crazy. We packed a LOT into each day, but somehow managed to completely relax too. There were times I was so incredibly stress-free...I just soaked it in and tried to seal the moment in my memory FOREVER.


I can only share pictures, but hopefully you will see some of the magic of which I speak, through my lens. Its the most beautiful place you can imagine.

I tend to be an incredibly busy person, when I am at home. I learned from this trip that I need to actually schedule days for complete relaxation for me and the children. Du-UH. Like, write it on the calendar and make it a sacred date... set in stone. Please remind me, people! Hee hee. I can do this, I know I can.

So back to paradise...aren't these dolphins at the Hilton Waikaloa Village so dang cute?

There is truly no place like Hawaii, especially the big island. Its the island of adventure, I call it. Simply because it has so much to offer besides just baking your body on beaches (although you can do that there too!) You can find incredible snorkeling, swim with sea turtles, watch dolphin pods swim by, see manta rays in the surf, walk through lava tubes, experience "vog", tour mac nut farms and coffee plantations, get caught in a rain forest "monsoon" rain, swim in natural hot pools with the surf splashing over you, jump in "caves" and swim out through a tunnel to the sea below, (no way did I do this!), see the "green splash" sunset, head to the locals Farmer's Market, boogie board on beaches with nobody else on them, experience the culture of the people and the history of the tribes, and even hold sea horses in your hand, and so much more.

Being with Mom and Dad over there is a magic in itself. I have so many memories with them there, when I was younger and we were on vacation...and it was so much fun to recreate some of them with my own children and their grandparents. Priceless! Life is fragile and unpredictable, and I want to take every advantage I have to just BE with my parents while they are so active, energetic, and healthy. I'm so thankful. It cannot be overstated.

Check it! This is me, holding a sea horse in my HAND!!!! Unreal. The feeling was pure soft magic. She curled her little tail around my finger and cocked her head from side to side to look up at me. I fell in love with the feeling of a sea horse friendship at the tip of my fingers. We went to a sea horse garden, and I think it was one of our favorite things on the trip.

The feeling you get when you are leaving is WOW, is it already time to go home? You can stay months and not see it all.