Hawaii Part II - Big Island

For the second part of the Stull family vacation, we boarded a plane on Monday and headed from Oahu to the Big Island (Hawaii) for the next 5 days.  We rented a beautiful home just up the mountain from the Hapuna Prince and Mauna Kea resorts. Melissa and I visited the Big Island in 2010 and we stayed at Hapuna Prince, so the grounds were familiar.  The first picture is from the lobby of the Hapuna Prince Resort, the sister resort to the Mauna Kea (we could spell it better than we could pronounce it).  We had access to both resorts.  The 2nd picture is from the deck of the house.  And yes, we did play that golf course.  And yes, I did shoot a 38-44 with an eagle out of the sand trap to win the day.

As a matter of fact, we didn't waste any time getting on the course.  Melissa, Kevin, John and I hit the Hapuna Prince golf course on Tuesday while the rest of the girls went for a walk around the neighborhood.  They met us on the 15th tee box (right outside the patio, as shown in the picture above).  The picture below is sure to be the first of many family photos for us on a golf course.  The 4 hours we played were probably the only 4 hours while we were on the island that the wind wasn't blowing.  It was absolutely gorgeous and we were treated to a beautiful sunset on the 18th hole.  

Having been there before, we had some favorite things that we wanted to do again and we had some new things we wanted to try.  We didn't waste any time getting to one of our favorite restaurants, Pestos.  It has fantastic pizza and as I discovered this go around, the most delicious margarita I've ever tasted - the secret ingredient as I found out is coconut water.  

Emma is ready to role.

Is anyone surprised she's on Grandpa's lap? 

The following morning, Wednesday, we made a very beautiful drive up the west coast to the north shore and the small town of Havi.  The destination was Pololu Point at Kohala Mountains.  It was a bit of a muddy, steep, and winding path so Melissa, Emma, and I didn't go all the way down but we were still treated to beautiful Hawaii views.  

The rest of the week we alternated between two of my favorite things - spending time on the beach and golfing.  On Thursday we spent the morning at the Hapuna Prince beach and pool and Emma and daddy took a dip in the pool.

That afternoon it was off to the golf course.  We played the Mauna Kea, which is the most beautiful course I've ever played.  Every hole had a view of the water with lots of elevation changes.  There was a stiff breeze, okay - maybe breeze isn't the right term - more like a steady gale force wind.  What made it even worse was that every hole that was into the wind also played uphill.   For as good as I played on Tuesday, I was that bad on this course. But it really didn't matter because the course was so stunning. So for the trip, Melissa and I split - I won the first round and she got me on the second.  

This is the 3rd hole, a long par 3 that played over the ocean.  I gave a couple balls to the fishes.  

While on the trip I was in search of the best macadamia nut encrusted Mahi Mahi fish.  To this point I think I was 0 for 3 - strike out.  So, Melissa decided to take things into our own hands and found a fresh fish market and recipe online and fired up the grill Thursday night.  Home run!  Perfect fuel for the the rough day that lied ahead - laying on the beach can be tough work.  

Friday morning, our last full day on the island, John, Megan, and Kevin took off for beautiful Waipio Valley which, I'm told was a very challenging hike that offered great Hawaiian views.  Melissa, Roz, Emma and I took off for the beach.  It was delightful.  

Our sea turtle friend was in about 2 feet of water. I followed him down the length of the beach.

After spending the morning on the beach it was time to get cleaned up and head out to catch a Luau.  Lots of food and great entertainment.  Emma loved the hula dancers.

One of the things I really love about Hawaii is the sunsets.  They are hard to beat and you can bet my eyes were glued to the west every night around 7 o'clock.

Emma and Mommy catching a sunrise from the patio.

The love birds enjoying the beach at sunset.

The Mauna Kea is an amazing resort with a very relaxed vibe.  Pictures don't really do it justice but here are a few that we snapped to try to capture the beautiful vistas and prove we were there.

Emma loved these fish on the resort.

Well, we never looked at real-estate so eventually we were going to have to come back home.  But, not before visiting the city of Kona and its brewery.  

It was about an hour drive from Mauna Kea to Kona and Emma fell asleep in the car on the way.  She was out cold so I happily volunteered to get her out of the car and shamelessly stole lots of cuddles before she woke up about 20 minutes later :) It was the best!!

Emma even got to enjoy a beverage at the brewery :)

When we went camping in boy scouts we packed out what we packed in.  It sure felt like that plus some on the way home.  It's amazing to think the crew lugged all this stuff there and back.

One of the things I really enjoy about this blog is that while I'm documenting our happenings, I get a chance to reflect on a lot of fun and exciting things that happen in our lives.  It is a great reminder of how fortunate we are to have wonderful family.  There are so many great memories and stories that will be told for a long time about the Stull family's first trip to Hawaii. ;)  Thanks to John and Roz for a wonderful trip and so much more!

Aloha from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

Side bar: As I'm finishing up this post it is April 18th and has been snowing all day in Minneapolis and we are expecting 6-10 inches total.  I'm doing some serious reflecting right now about how warm and sunny the Hawaiian beaches were...

Hawaii Part 1 - Oahu

As promised, here is a recap of our trip to Hawaii to celebrate Melissa's parents' 40th Anniversary!  The party included the three of us, John / Roz, and Megan / Kevin.  We left early in the morning on Friday February 22nd and returned on March 3rd, visiting Oahu and the Big Island while we were there.  We brought home lots of pictures and many great memories.

It was an early morning the day of departure, but that didn't squelch Emma's high spirits.  It didn't hurt that she got to munch on a muffin the size of her head as soon as we got to the airport.

Emma loved Curious George on the iPad

Auntie Megan and Emma got their stretch on while being cooped up on the 8 hour flight. 

Did I mention it was an early morning?

After a long day of traveling, we eventually made it to warm, sunny Honolulu, HI.  Our hotel, the Outrigger Resort, was right on Waikiki Beach.  The view from the room was amazing!  

That is Waikiki beach on the lower right of the picture and Diamond Head in the distance.

A crib with a view!

For the most part, Emma slept pretty well on our trip, but the 4 hour time difference took some getting used to.  The first morning on the island Emma was up and at 'em and ready to roll at 4:30 in the morning.  I guess she was just excited to be in Hawaii!  So, we got up and headed out to the beach to catch the beautiful sunrise over the city of Honolulu and light up Diamond Head.

After the sun was up it was time to grab some food, and you can't beat a restaurant right on the beach.  And, according to Kevin, a buffet is the best kind of restaurant.  The Shorebird had both!  The other thing it had was pigeons.  Emma was not a fan of the flying rats.  The first time one flew past and landed on the ground near our table, she was terrified and from then on had her head on a swivel making sure they didn't venture too close.  This made eating tricky because (1) we often ate outside, (2) there were lots of birds everywhere, and (3) Emma was clearly not a fan.  After a couple of days we put Emma to task chasing off the birds and her favorite phrase quickly became, "shoo bird!"

After breakfast (and after everyone else woke up at a normal time) it was time to hit the beach!  We didn't have to go far to find it, since the ocean was the resort's backyard.  We staked out some chairs with an umbrella and soaked up the sun for the rest of the day.

 As you'll notice throughout these pictures, Emma didn't get to far away from her Grandma and Grandpa during the week.  Often her first words in the morning or after nap were, "Grampa, grampa.  Where grampa go?" At one point during the trip, Emma, for no particular reason, repeated "grampa, grampa, grampa, grampa." Jason asked Emma what other words she knew, to which Emma replied, "gramma, gramma, gramma."

Saturday afternoon we loaded up on a catamaran sailboat for a cruise out and around Diamond Head for a stunning view of Waikiki Beach and Honolulu.  As you'll see, we had a fearless captain. :)

The crew.



And our Captain!  She was actually driving for a couple of minutes.  

 The following day, Sunday, the rest of the family took off to tour Pearl Harbor and to make things easier, I stayed back with Emma.  I would have liked to have seen Pearl Harbor, but since I got to hang out on the beach all day with Emma, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. ;)

It was definitely a lazy day.

The rest of the crew visited Pearl Harbor Sunday morning. With headsets in tow, the group toured the museum, visitor center grounds, and took the ferry to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  Melissa reports that it was a very educational and moving experience to relive the events that brought the United States into World War II.

 



The memorial itself was built as a bridge-like structure over the sunken USS Arizona.



Over one thousand crew members of the USS Arizona were among

 the first casualties of the War. The ship remains in the harbor.




When everyone returned from Pearl Harbor, I made my way down the beach to take a surfing lesson. Everyone else kicked their feet up and recovered from a long morning of touring.



Did I mention Emma loved hanging out with her Grandpa?

I'm not sure what's going on in this picture but its probably sugar induced and it makes me laugh.

Monday was a travel day as we took off for the island of Hawaii (a.k.a. the Big Island).  That will be part 2 of the Hawaii blog, so stay tuned!

Aloha from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa and Emma