Our least favorite part!

Any guesses? Getting close to saying "good-bye" to the people closest to our hearts and to one of our favorite places! Nonetheless, the day had its own charm with a nice morning stroll that Anu and I took along the lava carved path in the resort, another leisurely breakfast and pool fun. The highlight of the day, however was the "Magic Sands Beach". The name comes from the fact that the sand on some days disappears with a really high tide. The ocean and the beach actually did feel magical to us, with a few firsts for all of us! For me it was being flipped upside down, a "somersault" by the humongous ocean wave, which also took away my sunglasses! I had saline dripping through my nose whenever I tilted my head down for the next hour after that! Varun was the first amongst us to lose his pricey Raybans to the ocean and to everyone's delight, the ocean was kind enough to bring them back to him 10 minutes later! Chinmay and I had to wait about twice as long though to get ours back!
With bucket-loads of sand, sun and surf memories like this and more, we are headed back to Hilo, the 2+ hours do not disappoint with changing landscapes and bountiful beauty. Mexican dinner at Lucy's Taqueria, another Yelp find would be our farewell dinner before boarding the red eye flight home. Hands down, it was the tastiest mexican food in Hawaii! The Veggie Fajita Quesidilla were loaded with roasted veggies and melted cheese oozing from the tortillas done just right. Strawberry margarita was delicious and one of the best that I've tried so far!
What a good way to part after our lovely Hawaiin trip!

Hang loose in Hawaii!!

How does a couple of hours at the beautiful resort pool and jacuzzi sound after an hour long breakfast? That summarizes most of our morning while Chinmay did his much awaited 180 mile round-trip drive to see the Muana Kea volcano at 13K feet elevation. The kids "man-made beach" by the pool was perfect for Kahan and Parishi kept track of her '14 times' on the large water slide!

The lei making lesson in the hotel lobby brought back memories of the flower garlands that Anu and I would help our grandma make during Diwali days! The short Hula lesson that the kids got was quite entertaining to watch. It was definitely an hour well-spent for us sisters and with the kids.

Thanks to Lonely Planet for recommending "Peaberry and Galette" for a quick and delicious lunch. The savory ratatouille crepe and the summer vegetable crepe were both flavorful and the green tea and "Suzette crepe" (with Grand Marnier) ended the meal on a unique sweet note! Well, not quite! Because, the luscious chocolate cake with orange sauce was too inviting to pass!

Next stop- Kailua/Kona pier to board the "Body glove cruise" boat for the 12 mile, 3 hour historical dinner cruise. Parishi's motion sickness was a dejavu after the boat trip in Milford Sound, New Zealand 2 years ago. Except Chinmay, the others were too distracted to focus on the interesting naration of the history of how Captain Cook ended up in Big Island and was ultimately killed over 300 years ago. 

Another beach day!

After an elaborate and relaxing breakfast at the Sheraton, we drove about 30 miles north of Keahua to the Waikaloa area and its white sand beaches. The morning had started on the right note with the first "sunny" day on Big Island and we didn't want to miss out on a single sunny outdoor minute!
It was a perfect contrast to the rocky, small coral filled beach from yesterday, with beach chairs and white sand galore!
However, the fun factor remained unchanged! Needless to say, the kids enjoyed the waves and the sand and we enjoyed watching them enjoy!
While you read this, picture endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean with its roaring waves which are music to the ears and black lava transformed into rocks, mixed with a few corals and practically no living being in sight for miles together. Well, except me standing and capturing this tranquility in my blog. The reason I am not sitting is the sheer lack of a rock that wouldn't give me a sore behind! These moments are rare and beautiful!
Since it was Thanksgiving, our dinner options were quite limited. Rosa's Cantina in Kailua came to our rescue. The vibe was bright and cheerful with live Hawaiian music and nice decor; the food was average Tex-Mex stuff.

Chilling at the beach

Isn't that's what Hawaii vacations are all about! After all, even the birds were doing that! Can they go wrong feasting on "baby biscuit" that little Kairav decided to share with them?

You cannot come to Kona and not visit a coffee farm. After our close and lovely encounter with a a few sea-turtles and some great snorkeling at the Kahaluu bay, we were headed to the 150 year old Green Valley family farm for a tour of the coffee plantation started by a visionary couple in the mid 1800s. At 70 acres, it is the largest of the hundreds of coffee farms in the area. Trivia- did u know that the coffee bean that we enjoy in our beverage everyday is actually a seed of a fruit called "coffee cherry"! Well, i did not, until now! These coffee cherries are hand picked here in Kona and go through multiple processes to get the coffee beans that are then roasted.

Back at our resort, we managed to get some more "R and R" time sipping delicious "Manta punch" and soaking in the magnificent Pacific Ocean views from the open air lobby. Thai dinner was decent at the Lemongrass Bistro in Kailua downtown green curry was delicious. The outdoor seating is always a bonus when you are in HI! We hung out at the downtown area lined with little touristy souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes. In contrast to the Yelp reviewers, we found the ice cream at the "Kope Lani" below average and overpoweringly sweet, really not worth wasting those precious calories on! Although, that holds good for most of the American desserts for our palates!

Volcano National park

We had divided our 5 night trip on the Big Island (true to its name, by the way!), into a night close to the Volcano National park and 4 nights in the touristy Kona district to avoid being on the road for 4+ hours in a day with to and fro from the Volcano National park. The damp dark morning had dampened our "Aloha" spirit and almost tempted us to head out to the warmer and sunnier part of the Island! Nonetheless, we were so glad we stuck to our original plan and entered the Hawaii Volcano National park at 9.30am today!

First stop- Kilauea Visitor center to chart our visit to the park to optimize the short half a day we had here. Parishi managed to complete her activities required to earn her 3rd Junior Ranger badge and was proudly pronounced one by the park ranger with a honorable public announcement! Although viewing molten lava flowing wasn't a possibility this time, we walked through the lush rain forest into the famous Thurston Lava tube formed when the outer crust of river of lava started hardening, but the liquid lava beneath the surface continued to flow through. We explored the Volcanoes National park with further stops at the Jaggar Museum to view the smoking Halema'uma'u crater, aptly called 'a crater within the crater' plopped in the middle of the Kilauea Caldera. The 20 mile scenic drive along the Chain of Craters road took us through changing lava terrains ending abruptly on the Puna Coast offering stunning vistas of the Pacific ocean.

Although a few hours at the most active volcano in the world do not do justice to its grandeur, we were able to see the highlights before heading out to the Kona coast to check-in to the Sheraton resort and Spa at the Keauhou bay. 

Hawaii it is!

You know you are in Hawaii when the restroom signs at the airport look like this!

After a rather long flight with a couple of hours layover in Oahu, we finally arrived in Hilo. With the Dodge Caravan loaded up to the brim with infants, preschoolers, gradeschooler cousins, sisters, hubbies and their gazillion belongings, we arrived in downtown Hilo. The drive through the lush greenery was so "Hawaiian" except the overcast and rainy weather. The Italian dinner at 'Cafe Pesto' unanimously tasted divine; not sure if it was the collective hunger, bordering starvation or the genuine flavor and freshness of the roasted vegetables in the penne with pesto! Indeed, Yelp can be your friend in need!

A 45 minute drive led us to our rental 2 bedroom condo for the night in Volcano. The really cold wooden home wasn't something we had expected to retire for the day in after a long tiring day! Well, thankfully it was just for the night and we hoped to be out as early in the morning as possible!