hawaii: kona

we got to kona late.  

after getting the 30 bags and 4 rentals (for 13 people remember), we took off for our hotel.  being unfamiliar with the highway and not paying attention to signage, we managed to get a speeding ticket in a construction zone.  rad.  

we stayed at the waikoloa beach resort, another marriott resort.  it was really beautiful - the architecture and design was quite clean and angular.  

the hotel restaurant greeted us and made us all dinner just as they were closing.  we felt well taken care of.

while it was great to get away from the kids, we definitely missed them.  i was kind of surprised to hear weston talk about how much fun he would have been having with kate in the kid pools at the resorts.  we tried to do a bit of this every afternoon.

kate loved to skype

although most of our group had a harder time adjusting to the time zone differences and found themselves waking up at 5 or 6am each day, we managed to sleep until about 11 without any problems.  

consequently, this is what spending time in our room looked like.

did you forget this was a work trip for the boys?  me too...

they had to spend a couple of days working

and don't you wish this is what you got to wear to work?

not to mention the office in which you got to work?

we ate and ate and ate again!

weston's dinner at the four seasons

dessert: real live bon bons

kona coffee ice cream shake - amazing (and no espresso!)

kona had the best sunsets!  maybe it was just the weather and elements, but i was much more impressed with them here... different side of the islands perhaps?

sunset from our balcony

weston's iphone postcard of same sunset - those birds!!

relaxing before heading out for dinner

we spent a day at the beach for more snorkeling towards the end of the trip.  

the bay on kauai made for such a different experience because you weren't walking out from  your beach into the water.  

you tied your kayak to the nearest tree and waded out over rock to get deep enough to start snorkeling.  

on this beach in kona, it was just that.  you walked right out into the water from the shore.  

i know - you're thinking "why in the world is she explaining this to me as if i'm some idiot?"  

the reason is because walking out from the beach completely freaked me out.  

i love the beach, i love spending time in the water - in fact, i don't lay out, i'd much rather be in the water than on the shore.  

but knowing what was right below my feet all the time i'm playing in said water?  

i was completely invading their world and that thought just freaked me out.  

i didn't let this keep me from snorkeling, but let me  just say it wasn't nearly as fun or relaxing as before.

one more thing about this beach - apparently (and we didn't find this out until the next morning when we were going to go back) for several days before we went, and now the day after, the beach was closed for great white shark sightings!  

and the even crazier part is, according to shane (weston's co-worker who is slightly obsessed with sharks), these sharks love feasting on sea turtles...

can anyone back that up?  either way, totally scary.

anyway

the beach was gorgeous

ironically enough, there i am sitting on the sand in white, just to the left of that person standing...

 

the water was gorgeous

we saw a handful of turtles - feet from you, it was incredible!

we saw fields and fields of lava - it was surreal

definitely made you feel like you were on a different planet

and, strangely enough, this part of kona actually felt like home in sevier county

anyone else see a similarity?

on our last full night, weston and i checked out a bit of the resort's luau while waiting to head out for dinner.

weston - thrilled at having his picture taken

me

and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye again.

kona, you were an amazing adventure island!

i loved every minute i got to spend on the big island - it's amazing how different each place was...

but i suppose that's how it is, no matter where you travel.

headed out to another airport

kona

lax

slc - yep, we came home to rain

i suppose it's only fair :)

and on our last night in hawaii, weston received word that he was catching a flight to indiana a couple hours after landing in slc.  

isn't he just the epitome of happiness?

oh well, more time for him to do more of 

this

and this

and this...

*lucky enough, there was serious miscommunication with progress on the job he was going out to shoot, so after a couple hours in the airport, he was in a taxi on his way home to all three of his girls.