Saturday morning in Phoenix, we picked up Noah early in the morning. We flew from Phoenix to Honolulu and then to Kona on the Big Island. I can’t tell you just how impressed we were with Noah as we traveled all day. The flight to Honolulu was about six hours and Noah was such a good traveler: he never complained or got restless. When we got to Kona there was an extended delay while we picked up the car and Noah maintained his cheerful disposition.
We arrived at the Westin Marriott at Hapuna Beach in mid-afternoon–later than we expected. The hotel used to be the Prince at Hapuna Beach but since Marriott has taken it over there have been many renovations. We still recognized everything. We were checked in efficiently and were soon down at a restaurant near one of the pools having grossly over-priced food. All-in-all, we had an unexpectedly good day, largely because Noah is such a good traveling companion.
About 7:00 pm, Noah declared he was not sleepy and was sound asleep 30 seconds later.
Sunday morning, probably because of the time difference (4 hours from Santa Fe, 3 from Phoenix) we all got up early–REALLY EARLY–and drove to the small town of Waimea where we picked up supplies like beach towels and water for the room. When we got back–Waimea is about 15 miles away–it was still early and we enjoyed the justly famous breakfast buffet at the hotel. Those of you who stayed here will be pleased to know that it is as good as ever. They may have trouble recovering from Noah’s visit though; he may have eaten all the bacon on the island.
Then it was time to get in the ocean. It was Noah’s first time to play in the waves and I cannot tell you how impressed I was with him. He smiled from ear to ear when we first got sloshed with the waves. Even after he got a little daring and was submerged and dragged by a large wave he popped up and was ready to try again. I know that being grabbed by a wave can be scary so the fact that he was not discouraged tells a lot about him.
Later in the day we drove to another beach with lots of black and white lava at Puoko. It was hot there so we were forced to find a shave ice place. Noah had shave ice on his to-do list and we found a great place. It was local and there was a line. The servings were so large that the owner told us to be careful since they were so heavy it was easy to drop them. We all enjoyed our treats.
Later on in the afternoon we had some downtime in one of the nice open ares at the hotel. Tonight, after dinner, Noah plans to visit the pool for a cooling swim.
Now Noah has a few words to add…
hi this is Noah and i just wanted to say that here in Hawaii is lots of fun especially the beach. The beach is what i enjoyed the most other than spending my time with my wonderful grandparents! when we got into the Westin hotel it was really cool there.
Pictures later