E komo mai o Hawaii.

Hey, have I mentioned that we went to Hawaii?

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It was pretty great, if idyllic island zen family lovefests are your kind of thing.
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The family vacation can be a tempestuous beast. It takes a special combination of grit, creativity, and dumb luck to pull it off successfully. We gave many a pep talk in the busy days leading up to this trip. We talked about expectations and compromise, enjoying each moment and the perils of overscheduling, the importance of exhibiting patience and having good manners. The kids rolled their eyes and gave us a lot of "yeah, yeah, yeah" responses and vague promises, and we all crossed our fingers and headed off in the wee hours of a Monday morning. And you know what? We nailed it. Sure, we had our moments - our biggest issue in the first few days was that the kids were totally into this goofy manner of play that rendered Bill and I virtually invisible. This was not as beneficial as it might seem - we were neither seen nor heard, and we wanted to be together in this excursion. One semi-dramatic mommy meltdown was all that was needed to reel everyone back in to a gang of four mentality. Most of the time. Enough of the time. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Let's start at the very beginning!

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Our departure at the ass-crack of dawn coupled with the 2 hour time difference worked in our favor, because by 2:00 on that fateful Monday afternoon, we were here:

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We had to wait a little while for our room to be ready, but we bravely managed.

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One of the very first things we did upon our arrival on the big island was to take ourselves to the Wally Mart. We needed a booster seat, sunscreen, cereal, beer, reef shoes, and fireworks.

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Wal Mart is the same everywhere, even in paradise. It's crawling with shady characters:
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We spent the first part of our trip in Kailua-Kona. Our hotel was adjacent to a beautiful bay that was popular with the snorks. We swam with the sea turtles and became one with the snorks.

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snorks

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We ventured into town most days, to wander about and eat and drink and browse and bask. Thanks to the world's best guide book that Mary had loaned me, we found some really cool spots that were off the beaten track.

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For example, navigating by mile markers and landmarks, we found that a 100 yard path between two hotels led to a most unexpected facility - an ocean pool.

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This place had been dreamed up and built by a private citizen who died without heirs, and then became public property. It is not maintained or governed by anyone, it is fed only by the crashing ocean waves.
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There are fishies in there.
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Speaking of fishies:
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That was our swimming beach, known as magic sands or white sands... it's one of the few beaches in this area with a sandy beachfront, which also made the swimming easy on the tootsies.
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There's a seawall in Kona that runs alongside the main road teeming with gorgeous terraces, temples, trees, and treats.
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Bill and I would often enjoy a beverage while the kids scrambled around on and around the seawall. This is where you'd find the starting gate for the Ironman if you were so inclined
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Then we'd head back to our hotel for all manner of island action. They had a cultural program offering classes and activities every day. There was hula and chanting and storytelling as well as a daily opportunity to make leis:

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Once again, Bill and I would enjoy our vantage point from the verandah while the keikis did their own thing, this time they wove themselves some fragrant neckwear while we secured protective umbrellas.
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They turned out quite well! And here's a bonus shot of the view from our luscious balconey:
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Other hotel faves included this hammock, which was just as fun to fall out of as it was to fall asleep in. Or so I've heard
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After three nights, we were booked to head east to the wet side of the island. We packed up and prepared to set off via the southern route, with a few key stops planned on that last day of 2009.

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It was New Year's Eve and our 13th wedding anniversary, and we planned to arrive at our next hotel in plenty of time to situate ourselves for whatever hoopla might be in store. We were easy with our expectations, all we needed was a bar, a warm pool, and a bottle of champers. We had some small-time pyrotechnics to keep ourselves in the celebratory mood.

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We piled into our chariot and rode off

into the sunset

to be continued....