Staycation- Hilton Waikoloa Village

Before I get into our Hilton Waikoloa visit, let me just share with you how the whole Hilton stay came about... We actually had planned to go to Kapoho and rent a beach house for the holiday weekend.  I had invited my brother and his family to join us since they were flying in from LA.  I thought my nieces would love to stay there since it was right on the water and often had turtles swim through the area.  Well, the week before, Hurricane Iselle hit the Puna district and tore into Kapoho.  Rather than risk going out there, we opted to meet my brother out in Waikoloa where they had one night booked.  We extended their stay and joined them for the weekend... it worked out quite nicely!

After a busy week at work, I managed to pack a few things and we headed to the other side of the island to meet up with my family.  Before hitting the road, we stopped at a local Okazuya to pick up some breakfast and lunch.  Here's our breakfast plate to share on the road... Yummy!

We traveled on the new Saddle Road and got there in no time!  My brother had decided to go to the City of Refuge, so we had some time before they met up with us.  We were just happy to be there!  To give you an idea of just how big the Hilton Waikoloa is.. you can choose to walk, ride a tram, or ride on boats to get you around the resort.  We mostly walked or caught the tram.  Here's me an the hubby on the tram.

This is one of my favorite views of the resort.  Their lagoon area is so pretty!

 So after meeting up with my brother and his family, we had a bite to eat then headed straight for the pool!  If you've never been to the Hilton Waikoloa, you have to check out their pools.  They have three pools around the resort, but the main pool- Kona Pool was all the way across the property from where we were staying.

I gotta say... one of the best purchases we've made is this underwater camera.  The one we bought is a Nikon, but I'm sure there are other good models out there. Definitely worth the money for tons of fun.. Check out all of our pictures!

One of the things that have been hard to do with this camera is take underwater selfies.  My husband seems to have gotten the hang of it.

Me on the other hand.. have not. LOL!  I have waaaaay more embarrassing ones that won't hit this site, but you get the idea.  I was making a mad face.

One of the highlights of the pool is this huge slide.  I didn't go on,  but we watched the kids have fun coming down.

 I waited with my niece who didn't want to go. She's such a poser!

They had tons of fun on the rings. I think my brother got some exercise towing them around.

 Finally got a good pix of Akemi in the pool!

After the pool we decided to head to the Queen's Marketplace for dinner.  Although staying at the resort is awesome, the food can get costly, so we often left the property to eat.  We ended up at the Macaroni Grill which is one of my faves and something that the girls would all enjoy.  My niece drew an incredible likeness of my husband.

The next morning, I went to go find some coffee while the hubs went running.  I guess my Barista does latte art!  So cute!

While discussing what we were going to do that day, the girls entertained themselves by building a fort out of their couch/bed.  FYI- they didn't have any more rooms with two double beds, so their room had a king sized bed and a pull out sofa bed.  The sofa bed was not so comfortable... for the adults anyway.

After breakfast, we headed for the pool.  This time we started at the smaller pool that was closer to our room.  The adults didn't go in this time... just chillin by the pool.

The Kohala River pool was much smaller but just as fun for the girls.

After the pool, everyone started to get hungry.. so we tried to find some food and ended up at the Lagoon Grill.  It was mostly burgers and salads but they were pretty darn good!  I got the mushroom and swiss bacon burger.  And oh, by the way.. the mushrooms were Hamakua Alii mushrooms.. my fave!  You can check out their farm and purchase a large bag of mushrooms at a discounted price.

So we decided to share the burger and the chili cheese fries with the works (works includes sour cream, bacon and jalapenos).  Please note, we ate most of the fries, gave the rest to my brother, who then used the girl's leftover fries and had Round 2!!

So after we ate, we had to rest a bit.  While my brother went to go get more sun screen, we checked out the lagoon.

One of the things everyone wanted to do was rent a paddle boat... Here's the highlight of the trip... We decided that me, my husband, and the three girls could fit in the paddle boat.  Well, I guess we need to lose weight cause after we had gone to one end of the lagoon, we started sinking!!!!  It was sooooo funny!  I couldn't stop laughing.  My daughter was panicking and yelling.. "We're gonna die out here!".  LOL!  So we made it to the other end of the lagoon and let out two of the girls.  Good thing their mom was watching us and met us there. She was cracking up too.  Then we took the boat back to shore and got out all the water.  After that, the young one didn't want to go back!  So the parents went out with their older daughter (shown here).  I will always remember that story!!

On their last trip out, a turtle swam under their boat!  The girls got so excited, they jumped out and went to get a better look.

After several spins around in the paddle boat, the girls wanted to play in the sand.

 After the beach, they had an ice cream break and then we headed to the Kona pool again.  I must be missing some pictures, but I managed to find this one.. It's me.. chillin by the pool and shopping on ETSY!  hee hee.

Guess who was tired!

We finally managed to get the girls out of the pool.  We told my brother to take my sister in law out for a nice dinner while we watched the kids.  So we took them back to Queen's Marketplace for dinner at the food court.  Here they are waiting for the tram.

 And after dinner  picture taking time!

Here's me being silly with the girls.

And my favorite picture of the night.. LOL!

The only drama on this trip was when my daughter lost her glasses.  My husband made several trips to the pool to see if they could find it.  After we met up again with my sister in law, she must've said something that jogged his memory, so he headed back to the pool to check one more time.  Here's my daugther after she found out he found it!

 On our last day, we ended up just eating breakfast and checking out. I think everyone was exhausted and needed to catch up on sleep.  Here we are leaving the Hilton.  

After the Hilton, we made our way to Costco (no more costco on our side of the island) and then lunch at Pine Tree Cafe.  My brother stumbled on them when they went to the City of Refuge, so they wanted to go back to taste their lunch menu.  It it a local favorite!  If you have a chance you have to check them out.... so ono!

Then we headed back over Saddle to check out the Imiloa Astronomy Center. Got to see one of their Planetarium shows and the exhibits.  The girls loved it!

 

My brother and sister in law were trying to take a selfie with that floor mural but the girls kept photo bombing them... LOL!

   I guess everyone had a great time.. already planning for next year!

Wet 'n Wild Water Park- Kapolei, Oahu

 Years ago, when I was about my daughter's age, we had a water park in Honolulu called Castle Park.  Boy does that bring back memories! There were only a few rides, but it was still pretty awesome.

So although its like 30 years later, we decided to go to the water park in Kapolei on our last trip home.  My daughter has become a pretty good swimmer and old enough to actually enjoy the water park, so we thought it was a good time to take her.  Don't get me wrong, it costs a pretty penny, but I think we got our money's worth.  It used to be called Hawaiian Waters but is now owned by Wet 'n Wild.  If you are a Kama'aina, you might get lucky like us and get a discount.

When we first go there we eased the kids in in the kiddie area, but my daughter got bored pretty quickly and wanted to move on.  I suggested the large pool that had waves like the ocean, so we headed there after we ate.  Once we got in the water, I couldn't stop my daughter... Here's a pix of me trying to keep up with her.

 She was happy to finally be in the water.

Meanwhile her cousin "Z" had fun playing in the waves.

They got lucky and got a hold of a tube.

 Here's me and hubby relaxing in the pool too.

My favorite picture of the day!

We moved on to the river area next.  The kids liked this area... even the big kids.

 The current was pretty strong, though I wish the water level was a little higher.

The river takes you to a waterfall area.  Look who got doused!

 We tried to both hang on to one tube...

 Then we got caught in the waterfall.

Now look who got soaked!

 The most fun ride we went on was the Big Kahuna!  It was a long slide that you go down in a raft built for 3.  I swear I thought we were gonna flip over!  Plus they put my in the front, so I got a nose full of water, but it was still good times!

There's way more to do there but we just did a few rides/attractions.  Maybe next time we'll be more adventurous!

Here's some tips for going to the  water park:

• They don't allow any food inside the park.  Eat a good breakfast before you go so you aren't as hungry. Food is priced like regular theme parks..very expensive.
• They have lockers, so we just took some cash out in case we wanted to buy something.
• You can buy your tickets online.  We had to wait in a long line and wished we had already bought ours.
• You might want to go early to get parking.
• Saw some smart people eating in the parking lot.. They had coolers and food and were tailgating.  Maybe need to try that next time.
• Other than that?  Have fun!

Maui Wowee!

 Ok.. so I don't have any major trips in the near future, but I still travel pretty regularly to the other islands.  For those of you who don't know me, I was born and raised on Oahu but now live on the big island in Hilo.  So I frequently fly home to visit my mom, shop and visit my crafty friends.  This summer we had planned to fly home for the Pan Pacific Festival in June, around the Kamehameha Day Holiday.  But, then my husband changed the plans and asked if we could go to Maui instead.  Why Maui you ask?  For Taiko of course!

My husband is the Director of Puna Taiko, a local taiko group here on the big island. He is obsessed with all things taiko.. and I mean obsessed.  He ever learned how to make drums and now wants to learn how to sew to make their uniforms.  So, when he found out one of the Maui groups was having a concert, he quickly started planning our trip.

Now, for those of you who don't travel inter-island all that often, you may not know that we pay extra for each leg that we fly.  For example, normally all the flights hub on Oahu.  Although Maui is actually closer in distance to the big island than Oahu, it may cost you more to fly there if you have to fly to Oahu first.  Luckily, there are a few flights directly from Hilo to Maui, so we tried to plan our trip according to that flight schedule.

We ended up landing in Kahului in time for dinner and really wanted to try Da Kitchen.  But we were also thinking of going to a movie and the timing wasn't good considering Da Kitchen was packed!  So we opted to find other food in order to go to the movie.  We settled on Wendy's (don't laugh) because we no longer have Wendy's on our island (Booooo).  The thing we miss the most is frosty cones!  We went back after the movie just to get dessert!  BTW- the movie we saw was Maleficent.. totally awesome girl power movie!

 The next day I was heading out, so my husband entertained my daugther.. I guess this is what they ended up doing!

I met up with the only crafty girl I know on Maui.. Kris!!  

Kris and I are both Crazy Crafters and both do craft fairs.  We met through blogging and became friends when she gave me some advice in starting my business.  It was nice to finally meet her in person!

After our coffee date, we did some shopping (hauling) and then I headed back to the hotel.  My family was already in the pool, but we decided to take a break to hit Da Kitchen....

We ended up staying at the Marriott Courtyard hotel which is right near the airport.  Da Kitchen was only a hop skip and jump away.  We had done some research prior to going there, so we kinda knew some of the things we might want to try, including the deep fried spam musubi.  At first I thought it sounded kinda gross, but we thought we should order it it just to try and we were pleasantly surprised!  I was fighting my husband for it!

My daughter enjoyed her deep fried mac and cheese.  I had a fish sandwhich and my husband had the bento.  We wanted to go back again, but didn't make it.. Next time for sure!

This is so typical of my daughter... Making house in the hotel lobby with her book. '

After lunch we headed back to the pool for a swim.  As we were swimming, we told my daughter that she should practice her ballet moves.  Then we had the bright idea of doing a lift like on Dirty Dancing.  Of course, my daughter has not seen that movie, but we coached her on what to do... here's how it turned out...

 LOL!!!  Everytime I look at this I crack up.  My husband posted this on facebook and I couldn't stop laughing.  After our pool escapades, we decided to relax before getting ready for the concert.  The concert was held at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.  I think my husband was in love with that venue.  Here's the two clowns waiting for the concert to start... 

Ok.. now for the disclaimer... please don't get offended if you play taiko and you see this in the audience...

For some reason, taiko puts my daughter to sleep.  What?  No, she's not bored.  And yes, it's loud... but honestly... I think that it has something to do with my husband playing taiko for her when she was a baby.  Whether it be using my belly as a drum or playing it in the background while we tried to put her to bed, she now ALWAYS falls asleep during concerts.  Even my husband's concerts!

After the concert, we were supposed to go to the reception afterwards, but my daughter was so tired, we headed back to the hotel where my husband dropped us off. Then he headed to the party and got to hang out with the guest stars.

 The next day we had a few hours to do some stuff before heading home, so we decided to go to the Maui Ocean Center.. But before  heading out, I decided to check out the loot I got while shopping with Kris.  I guess I miss our Hello Kitty store since it closed.

Kris also gave me and my daughter some Hello Kitty RAKs.  Thanks Kris!

We decided to go to get some Krispy Kreme for breakfast.  Decisions decisions.

Here's a fresh batch just coming out.

 Here's what we chose... total sugar rush!

 Then we headed to the Maui Ocean Center.. but missed the turn off.. then couldn't find any place to turn around, so we ended up at the lookout point.. So then it was... PICTURE TIME!

Finally we made it to the Maui Ocean Center!

 I gotta say, we enjoyed it much better than the Waikiki Aquarium!

 This was our favorite part...  Totally made you feel like you were in the tank with all the fish!

 Super cool yeah?

Then it was time to go home.  We had fun Maui!  Next time we'll fly in earlier to hit Kyle's food truck!