The Big Island - Day 1-2

We knew we wanted to take a trip to Hawaii for our birthdays in June.  However, as we scouted out options for flying in, we realized flights were already looking really full.  We saw that this may be our last weekend to go with lots of extra seats.  We were able to trade hotel points for buddy passes with Dave's sister and brother (THANK YOU LORI AND JIM!)  and we got to stay at a SUPER ULTRA AWESOME hotel.  Usually we go with the cheapest room we can find.  But this resort treated us like royalty with all the extras you could EVER ask for.  It is like a mini-disneyland.  There is a tram or a boat to take you to your room or around to the swimming pools, man-made beach, dolphin lagoons, shopping and artwork all the way around the hotel.  This Hilton was amazing.  We found ourselves thinking maybe we would want to spring for nicer places in the future.
Anyway, back to the beginning.
We packed for several days before hand.  I shopped and packed an entire box with food, snacks and meals for the 5 days we would be there.  We had everything very planned out because I was nervous to fly and stay for so long with a newborn.  It went really well .  I don't think we forgot anything.
We left Thursday morning.  We checked 3 bags, a box of food and a car seat so we had very little going through security (diaper bag, 2 backpacks, 3 kids, a car seat and a stroller) Dave had the worst flight of his life going to Hawaii.  Mariah ate and slept pretty much the entire way, so I got some time to relax and even sleep a bit.  Jackson and Hallie were demanding and Dave gave most of his time and attention to them.  In out past trip to Hawaii, we gave them some 'sleepy meds' and they slept for half the flight.  We thought this would work great. .  .but it backfired.  Both kids did fall asleep, but were woken up within an hour and cried and whined because they felt awful.

Hallie had diarrhea and we almost ran out of diapers by the end of the flight.  The plane was the older ones and didn't have a changing table.  Luckily, we had the last two rows of the plane and were able to change he on the seat without too many people noticing. Finally, we arrived at the Big Island.  I had been warned but I was still shocked at the ugliness of the area surrounding the airport.  It was dry, black lava rock.   It took so long to get our luggage and car.  Luckily, I figured this might be the case, and I was able to continue to entertain the kids.  We stopped by Costco for pizza (despite Jackson's impatience to be at the hotel) and then headed to the Hilton resort.

We spent our first night swimming at the kids sandy pool and the hot tubs.  We were amazed by the resort and loved exploring it a bit.  despite it being 11 pm Arizona time, the kids were having a difficult time settling down in the hotel room.  We sat on the balcony enjoying the view while they finally crashed for the night.
                                                  On the boat ride around our resort

P.S. I LOVE the moby wrap!!  Why has it taken me 3 kids to discover this little wonder?!?

Sunset from our the pool

 

Friday morning we explored around the tide pools around the hotel.  The kids are total scaredy cats.  I guess I should realize that, I am a pretty scared person myself, but they kept asking if the things we saw could hurt them.

Later, we went to a beach called "A" bay.  It was windy, cloudy and the sand was rocky.  The water was a bit murky (for Hawaii).  The kids were scared of the water and didn't play much in the sand.  It wasn't exactly what we were hoping for.

 

Jackson and I hiked 1/2 mile on a coastal trail back to the resort.  It was a gorgeous walk and helped me appreciate the black lava mixed with the white rock (I'm still not sure what it is).

We headed back to the resort and  played at the pool and hot tubs some more.  We were exhausted from the kids getting up early, so we watched a movie in our hotel (they have free DVD and play station game rentals!)  We went back to the pool for the sunset and then had late night hamburgers.  One of the only problems with the resort was that it is so big that it took a while to walk places.  Plus, there were a few places we had to carry the stroller up and down stairs.  We really liked the stroller to hold all the stuff we needed (plus the car seat and the baby), but it was a bit inconvenient at times.  Dave was a trooper to keep loading and unloading it from the car.  We eventually realized that we could get it onto the tram and that helped us walk a bit less.

Another day in paradise comes to an end. . .  taken at our resort pool. 

 

3 more days to come!