The Bad:
Way back last summer we decided to do another summer in Hawaii! So we got online & found a great condo! Since we were so early-- we negotiated a really good deal! After we got the condo, we watched & watched for flights to go on sale. Finally, about the first week of March, they went down, so we grabbed them! Two weeks later we found out that the agent who booked our condo "misplaced the paperwork" ( translation, took our money & scammed us) & we never had a booking. After hours and hours on the phone with the police, the vacation agency & the agent himself, Gary managed to find us another condo. The agent, Anthony, agreed to pay for the second condo for us since the price had now gone up considerably. ( or face charges) We ended up paying for the second condo, while working with Anthony to get the money back from him. Phew, right? Friday June 6th was a busy day for us! It was the last day of school, it was Sydney's 8th grade promotion, & it just happened to be my birthday! We were scheduled to fly out Tuesday June 10th. Gary got a call that morning that our second condo was completely flooded!! What?! How?! We were supposed to leave in 4 days!! The manger of condo number 2 promised to help us find another, but finding a condo for 2 months with 4 days notice was next to impossible! After 24 panicked hours, in which we were minutes away from calling the airlines to cancel the whole trip, the manager came through! He had a condo that was usually reserved for long term rentals, (yearly) that was vacant & the owners agreed to let us stay for the same price as condo number 2!! We got on the plane Tuesday with the contract in our bag!
The Good:
This condo is AMAZING! Easily the best we've ever stayed at! So, after all the hours of stress it turned out to be a way better place, & after we get our money back from Anthony, we will have paid a fraction of the cost of it!
More Good:
Our flights went as smoothly as possible! We are good at packing light-- well really what do you need for Hawaii?! We all had a carry-on & we checked two bags, one if which was all our tennis rackets, tennis shoes & balls! :). All our flights were on time & went great!
We chased the sun across the Pacific!
A Little More Bad:
All three girls got a sudden cold as soon as we got here! It was maybe someone on the plane? A bug they picked up before? Either way they have been troopers & luckily, we have ALL summer! So it's ok to take it easy for a few days!
Also I left our pool key at the pool last night! Uggg! I hope it gets turned in!!
The BEST:
It's HAWAII! The weather, the beaches, the sun, the water!! It's so so amazing!! We are staying at the Mauna Lani Villages. We love to walk down to the Mauni Lani hotel & enjoy the hammocks & lounge chairs & watch the sunset!
This is our favorite beach! Waves were on the small side today, but the water is WARM, & CRYSTAL CLEAR!! Kua Bay beach:
Had some shaved ice! We were hoping for a Mikes macademia nut pretzel-- but his sign said open "around noonish to close". We waited until 1 pm & figured maybe the surf was good so he wasn't opening today!
We went to a macademia nut factory! Hamakua Macademia Nut Company Mmmm, try the coconut macademia nut brittle! It's delicious!!
Took a walk around the Waikola Hilton! It's an amazing hotel! There are free boat rides around the hotel & free monorail rides as well. We stopped to see the dolphin encounters. So cute to see them up so close!
Parrots at the Hilton.
Our other favorite beach, Beach 69. We love the shade trees! We can set up a nice camp & spend the day snorkeling, swimming, floating, rock climbing, & relaxing!
Finished Fathers Day with a beautiful walk along the shore. We started at the Mauni Lani Hotel & walked all along the beach to the Fairmont Orchid Hotel. We accidentally walked through a wedding at the Fairmont, (oops! ) & got there just in time to see the sun set over the ocean, & see their torch lighters light all the Tikki torches & blow the Conch shell. Such a beautiful night!!
