The other day we had the morning off so we went down to Keei Beach to relax. We hadn't had a day off in a month and were ready to lie on the beach in the sun and be still. It was a typically perfect morning in our neighborhood: blue cloudless sky, calm clear water, bright sunshine. I got in the water with my snorkel mask on and floated quietly for several minutes, enjoying the silence and gentle rocking of the underwater-world. To my left and right were huge sea turtles, placidly eating their seaweed-breakfast. As I floated and watched, I was reminded how overwhelmingly magical this place is to a first-time visitor. Although I've spent countless hours in the ocean by now, I'm still amazing by it, and will never forget my first snorkeling experience in Hawaii.
I started thinking about what we would do here if we were vacationing. We're always asked about what activities we recommend, and we certainly have our favorites. Before moving to the Big Island, we always vacationed on Oahu, where Ken's family home is. We usually took ten days to two weeks off just after the New Year, and spent our time doing some exploring, but mainly just relaxing. If we were vacationing on the Big Island, this is what we'd do...
First, we'd take about two weeks. For us, it always took a few days, or maybe even the better part of the first week to decompress from work and relax into island-time. Once you're finally relaxed, it's nice to be able to luxuriate in that relaxed state for awhile before returning to the mainland and your normal pace of life. We'd always just choose one place to stay (we're lazy travelers and don't like to constantly unpack and move), shop for supplies (beer, wine, and snacks, most importantly), then get settled in. If we were staying here, we'd spend lots of time down at the water. Manini Beach and Keei Beach are very close and are so lovely it would be hard to be inspired to go anywhere else. I see us eating breakfast, then walking down for a kayak across the Bay one day to the Captain Cook monument. We'd snorkel a bit, then kayak back, walk home, probably take a quick dip in the pool, then drive up to the Manago Hotel or Teshima's for lunch. After lunch we'd return home and Ken would probably take a nap while I sat on the lanai in the shade and read. We'd have several days like this: water-time in the morning when it's sunniest, then lunch and rest. The lanai here has such an awesome view that we'd stick around all afternoon, just watching the world go by, then make dinner on the BBQ while watching the sun go down. It sets early and fast here, so we'd hang out with drinks and watch it set before dinner, or we'd just hang out and eat on the lanai and watch the full, colorful transition from sun to pink to dark and stars. We'd take lots of dips in the pool and hottub, and definitely do some quality sun-bathing. There's usually no one here in the middle of the day so it's very quiet and the lanai is a nice place to read and nap.
Although we'd mainly rest, we'd alternate our "slow" days with "adventure" days. We'd spend one day exploring the Volcano for sure. Kilauea Iki is a great short hike within the Park that reflects four distinct microclimates. We'd walk Kilauea Iki and check out some of the short walks right off Crater Rim Road like the Thurston Lava Tube and Devastation Trail. We'd also follow the Chain of Craters Road down to the water. There's an interesting petroglyph trail at the bottom, and it's quite eerie and interesting to park at the bottom and walk out on the shoreline rocks and try to take in the vastness of the Park: the sky, the moonscape. Depending on what conditions were like in the Park that day (it's always good to stop at the information station upon arrival to check) we may stay at the bottom until after dark to see if we could see some live lava creeping down the hill in the distance.
