Cabo San Lucas - September 2007

We went to Cabo over Labor Day weekend 2007.  The weather was very sunny and warm, in the 90s.  We stayed at the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort (TA Review), on the Corridor, which is about 25 minutes outside of the main town of Cabo.  We spent a lot of our stay at the pool at our hotel, since most of the beaches in Cabo are not swimable due to the rough surf.  We dined at The Hacienda for breakfast every morning. Being a Hilton member, we received breakfast coupons for the Continental Breakfast (originally $20 USD) that was only coffee, pastries, and fruit. Lots of fruit and pastry options! Not a fan of the coffee, so I stuck to hot tea. To add the full buffett, we had to pay an extra $10 ($30 USD without coupon). They had an omelet station and a large variety of other foods. I definitely think the full buffett is the better value.  We had lunch a few times at the Sunset Bar by the pool, they have sushi also. The baja burgers are excellent!  Overall good food and service. Prices what you'd expect at any resort.

  

We went on a dive and sunset dinner cruise.  We also had a couple of drinks at the Giggling Marlin and Cabo Wabo.  We would have done more, but Mike got sick the first day.  Things were more expensive than I had expected, but it's a very touristy place.

We were lucky enough to have left the evening before Hurricane Henriette made landfall.

AIRLINE/AIRPORT: 

We flew AeroMexico for the first time on this trip.  I hadn't heard much about the airline, but we aren't really that picky.  They were the cheapest at the time.  I'll compare to Southwest as that's our airline of choice.  We carried on luggage since we were only going to be there for 4 days, so I can't comment on baggage handling.  The overhead bins are actually a little bigger than on Southwest.  We weren't able to pre-print our boarding pass online, like most other airlines allow.  There is not as much leg room as Southwest, it's a little cramped when the people in front of you put their seat back.  They serve a small meal on board free of charge.  On the way there (morning flight), we had a muffin, yogurt, fruit and coffee or juice.  On the way back (evening flight), we had a turkey and cheese sandwich, piece of cake, and soda or free alcohol!  They still use the roller carts in the aisle, so it makes it difficult to get up while they are serving, which is most of the first hour of the flight.  All instructions given on board are first in Spanish and then repeated in English.  One thing I did like about this airline is that they waste no time turning off the fasten seat belt sign, almost immediately after reaching 10,000 feet.  (I have a small bladder).  Our flights were on time both ways and the flight attendants were all very friendly.

Once we arrived at Los Cabos (San Jose del Cabo, SJD) airport, passengers walk off the plane on the tarmac, down stairs pushed up to the plane doors, front and back.  You then find the line inside to customs.  Some of the lines go fast and some go slow, ours was very slow.  Try to get in the farthest left line as sometimes there are 2 people working that one line, because there is a separate line for Mexicanos that hardly has anyone in it.  The person working that line will usually help with the other line.  Once through customs, you'd find your luggage if you checked luggage and go to the scanner to scan all your luggage.  After that, you are free to leave the airport.  Hopefully, you will already have your ground transportation booked and know where to go.  As you are leaving the airport, there are lots and lots of time share reps that will try to get you to attend one of their resorts.  If you are not interested, just ignore them, don't give them your transportation reservation paper, and keep walking towards the exit.  If you are interested in getting some free activities, then do talk with them.  They are known to hand out a lot of discounts and free activities, all you have to do is tell them what you want.  If you don't tell them, they won't offer.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

Our ground transportation was with TransCabo.  We reserved online and printed our voucher.  Outside the airport, there will be a lot of drivers standing around, go to the ones in the bright orange shirts.  They will say TransCabo on the shirts.  They will check your voucher and prepare your return to the airport voucher.  Your driver will then take your bags and escort you to his van.  They may have other passengers to drop off at other hotels in the van.  They have free bottled water available once you are in the van.  The drivers we had both times were very friendly and curteous.

  

ACTIVITIES:

Sunrider Sunset Cruise - We came across this company on TA. I was looking for a booze cruise that served more than chips and dip. We reserved a spot by email through the website; however, our name was not on the list afterall. We had no problem getting on board. They only take cash at boarding, $45 USD each. I heard others paid less through other vendors.

We were towards the end of the long line, but were able to find a couple of seats inside next to the bar. We sat next to another couple and spent the evening with them.

The cruise had an open bar and a buffet that served chicken kabobs, steak fajitas, chips, salsa, guac, and fruit. The food was very good and you could get as much as you wanted as long as it was open. They announced a "last call" for the buffet.

We cruised out of the harbor, down to The Arch, around The Arch, up the Pacific side a ways, and then back into the harbor. Overall, about a 2 and 1/2 hour cruise. There was dance music playing the entire time, some people were dancing inside by the bar.  This was a very fun cruise that I definitely recommend and would do again.

Amigos Del Mar Diving - We were still beginning certified divers. This 2 tank dive in Cabo was dive #7 & 8 for us. I came across this company on the PADI website. I contacted them by email  and then called their US phone number to make a reservation. We ended up having to change the reservation the morning of our original one, because my husband got sick. There was no problem changing the reservation.

We got there and got our equipment all picked out. We rented all gear for $20 USD total pp. The only thing we'd brought with us was our masks and snorkel. We were given shortys as the water temp was in the 70s. We paid with cash to receive a 10% dicount.

Our group on the dive boat consisted of 3 couples, a guide and a driver. Nice and roomy. There were no snacks on board, but lots of free water bottles.

Our first dive was at "Cortez's Finger" (aka Neptune's Finger or Coyote Rock). As we were anchoring, we saw several Manta Rays swimming by jumping out of the water. We decsended and swam around the rock. We hit a maximum depth of about 60 feet, the viz was about 15 feet, and temp about 72 degrees. We saw lots of schooling fish, large Morey Eels, lots of blow fish, including one spiky blow fish. Our guide made a couple of them blow up. I don't like when guides mess with things, but it was cool seeing them blow up. We also held a spiny cushion that stuck to your hand when turned upside down.

Our second dive was a few feet away at "Pelican Rock". The depth here was only about 40 feet. With the shorty on, I was starting to get cold. Another diver had put his hood on for the second dive. The water temp was still in the 70s, but after being in a while, it started to feel cold. This dive was uneventful for me. I was having some buoyancy issues. There was nothing really different seen here anyway.

Overall, the diving company was very professional, helpful and friendly. I would dive with them again.

We loved our hotel and the few activities we did that are reviewed here.  One thing I'd like to do if we go back is rent jet skis and ride around the harbor and check out The Arch up close.

Carlsbad State Beach Camping - December 2007

The campgrounds along the beach in Carlsbad (about 15 minutes from our house) are usually pretty crowded and reserved far in advance. We decided in September to camp at Carlsbad State Beach (TA Review) a weekend in December. The campsites are on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

We happened to chose a weekend of a winter storm that was dumping rain, ice, and snow all over the U.S. San Diego was being warned that monsoonal rain and mudslides were possible. While packing the car, a neighbor thought we were crazy to be going camping in this weather! We had to cancel our last camping trip, because of the 2007 San Diego wildfires, so we didn't really want to cancel this trip.

We were supposed to camp all weekend, but Mike didn't get back from his class in Vegas until Friday evening. When we first arrived at the campground Saturday afternoon, there weren't too many people there. We set up camp and started a fire.

It was COLD! In other words, it was 50 degrees and there was a strong wind coming off the ocean. It sprinkled on us a few times and finally rained for a while once we decided to turn in for the night. But, we managed to stay dry in our tent.

For dinner, we had hot dogs and smores roasted over the campfire.

Instead of packing up the car in the morning and heading to the local coffee shop, we made our own coffee over the campfire! We weren't prepared enough for breakfast, so we settled for a breakfast burrito on the way home.

Catalina Island Day Trip - August 2007

We went to Catalina Island with some friends on Saturday. It's about an hour and a half boat ride from one of the LA area ports.  The catamaran moves pretty fast and made Mike a little sick.  We didn't bring any medication with us, so I ended up putting pressure with my thumb on his wrist and he said it made him feel better.  Maybe those Sea Bands really do work!  Catalina Island seems like what I'd find in Cape Cod although I've never been there before.  A lot of people were out and about enjoying a gorgeous sunny day.  There are lots of people walking around, swimming, snorkeling, and cruising around in golf carts.

We had lunch and went to a beach club where we snorkeled and relaxed in the sun most of the afternoon. The water was pretty clear, but we didn't see a whole lot of critters in front of the beach club.  I'm sure there are a lot better places to snorkel on the island.  We later checked out Avalon and had a few drinks at a local bar, Luau Larry's.  For dinner, we went to a little place on the pier that had fresh swordfish that was absolutely awesome. 


One of these days we are going to go back for a weekend and maybe go scuba diving.

Stagecoach, Indio, CA - May 2007

Over a weekend in May, we drove out to Indio (about 2 and 1/2 hours from San Diego) to go to a country music festival, Stagecoach . It was the first year for the festival. As you'll soon discover, I'm a HUGE George Strait fan. We usually go see him every year in Las Vegas, but when I heard about Stagecoach and the opportunity to see him and other favorites, we sold our Vegas tickets and bought tickets to Stagecoach.  We even splurged for VIP tickets and had access to a VIP section.

We decided to camp out there instead of getting a room, so that we could be right there and not have to worry about traffic everyday. We were able to go in and out, which helped on Saturday, so we could change in the afternoon. The desert is hot during the day, but once the sun goes down, it can get a little cold.

Well, it wasn't really camping; it was just pitching your tent amongst hundreds of other people. You couldn't even have a campfire! I had my fill of porta-potties for a while!!

There were 4 stages at the festival. One of the stages was under a large covered area and had bluegrass bands. We spent a lot of time in that tent hiding from the sun listening to some cool bands. 2 of my favorites were Abigail Washburn and The Grascals. If you like bluegrass, check out their websites for samples.

The Grascals have a more traditional sound. Abigail is very unique, she has an awesome voice. She lived in China for a while, so she has incorporated her knowledge of the language into some bluegrass music (Listen to "Song of the Traveling Daughter") and it sounds really cool!

Bela Fleck (from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones) was also with Abigail playing in her quartet. I first heard of Bela Fleck from him traveling with the Dave Matthews Band, who I used to see in concert a lot.

Saturday, we saw Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, and the one and only George Strait. The were all fabulous! For George's oncore, we moved up front to watch him closer. A lot of people had left for some reason.

We don't know if we'll go back to Stagecoach in the future, it might be back to Vegas, but we had tons of fun.

Colorado Ski Trip - January 2007

We flew into Denver on a Thursday night for a weekend ski trip.  We drove to the mountains on Friday and met up and stayed with some friends at their townhome in Frisco.  Their place was close to and maybe even belonged to Mountain Side Condos, because we had access to the clubhouse and the huge outside hot tubs.

We skied at Keystone for night time skiing on Friday night.  They only have certain slopes open at night on the front of the mountain.  It was the second time I'd gone to night skiing there.  It's fun when it gets dark, but it also gets a little icy and cold.

On Saturday, we all skied at
Breckenridge.  So far, Breckenridge is my favorite ski resort.  I love the slopes and the views.  We stayed at Peak 9 the whole day and had lots of fun.  I ski and almost everyone else snowboards.

Oahu - November 2006

Our honeymoon continued with a week on Oahu (first week on Maui).  We stayed on the North Shore, outside of Haleiwa.  We ended up staying at a cottage on the beach owned by a family member.  It was a very, small one bedroom cottage, but it was nice and relaxing being on the beach.  We fell asleep listening to the waves every night.  We didn’t really splurge on food, we cooked at the cottage a lot. 

ACTIVITIES: 

Beach Walking - We walked the beach a lot outside the cottage.  We went from our cottage to the beach where the TV show Lost is filmed.  We saw smoke from a campfire in the tree line and some stuff, but we didn't get close enough to see anyone famous.  We also walked to Pipeline and watched some surfers.  We saw lots of sea turtles on our walk.

Driving Around – Oahu Reaveled – We discovered this book at the cottage and I started reading it.  I thought it would be a good idea to go out driving and making the recommended stops in the book.  While Mike drove, I read descriptions of the area and we stopped at several places from Haleiwa to a macadamia farm. 

We stopped at:

 Malaekahana State Rec Area – You can swim out to a uninhabited island and hang out, but we didn’t. 

Laie Point – there is a rock there with a hole in it that was caused by a wave. 

Chinaman’s Hat – There is an island off the shore of Kualoa Park that is shaped like a Chinaman’s hat.

Tropical Farms macadamia farm – This is a popular spot for tour buses.  There is a shop that sells a lot of things made with macadamias.  I think we bought some pancake mix.

Waimea Valley Audubon Center – We discovered this place in the book, Oahu Revealed.  We were looking for a hike to a waterfall, but didn’t want to go very far from the cottage.  It’s a great place to see some beautiful vegetation.  There is also a small waterfall and you can get in and swim out to it.  There was a lifeguard on duty to help tell you where to go or not to go.  The water was a little cold, but it was fun.

Waimea Bay Beach Park – We spent a day relaxing on the beach here.  The waves were pretty big.  In November, the waves start to get really big and draw surfers in from all over.  The beach also has a rock nearby that people jump off into the ocean.

Polynesian Culture Center – We spent 2 partial days here.  On our first day, we went around to all the different villages and watched presentations put on by each village.  The place allows you to learn about the life and culture of the different Polynesian Islands.  Besides the presentations, they teach you how to do different things, like play the ukulele.

Swap Meet – Held at the Aloha Stadium, it’s a great place for souvenirs and other shopping.  There are hundreds of vendor tents set up all around.  We took a couple of hours to go most of the way around.  After a while, you start to see a lot of the same stuff.  They also sell food and snacks.

Diamond Head Sunrise Hike – On our last morning, we got up early and walked to the top.  We had to use flashlights in the beginning as it was still dark.  At the top, we watched the sunrise and had great views of Honolulu and Waikiki.   

RESTAURANTS:

Spaghettini – We really enjoyed this place.  It’s a small place on the side of the road where you order your food at the window and sit outside under the awning.  It’s a great place to have some inexpensive pizza and pasta and people watch.  I thought the spaghetti was very good, better than the pizza we’d ordered also.

Pizza Bob’s – We ended up eating here twice.  The food was really good as well as the service.

Island Shack – We came across this place one day when we were out driving around.  It’s across the street from Sunset Beach and has a totem pole in front.  I wasn’t sure about eating there at first.  It’s basically an outside, covered eating area.  So, there’s grass on the ground.  There is a port a pot outside for a bathroom and a sink inside to wash your hands.  This place seemed to be pretty popular with surfers.  We had a chicken plate and discovered acai.  We had our first acai bowl here and absolutely looooved it!  We’ve since found that it’s becoming more popular in juice stores.

BBQ at our beach house:  We bought some chicken and veges at Foodland in Waimea and made kabobs on the barbie.

Maui - November 2006

We chose to go to Hawaii for 2 weeks for our honeymoon.  We spent most of our time relaxing, which is needed after planning a wedding! 

Our first destination was Maui.  We stayed there for a week and enjoyed catching up on our rest.  Among our activities, went to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and ride bikes down the mountain and we took a tour on the Road to Hana.

HOTEL:

As part of our wedding gift, a family member booked our stay at Maui Sunset (TA Review). These condos are both owner-occupied and time shares. Our unit was an ocean view.  It was a very nice room decorated with floral wicker furniture.

There is an activities desk on site that helps you plan your stay and book activities. They have an informal information session every morning and serve juice, coffee and pastries. There are also tennis courts on site.

ACTIVITIES:

1.  Independent Snorkeling - While sitting through a discussion of things to do on Maui, our hotel rep mentioned a secret place where locals go to snorkel. It's called "the aquarium" or "the fish bowl." She gave us a little bit of directions and we headed out to find the place. It was an amazing place to snorkel, but the area has been closed off to keeping the area preserved.

2.  Snorkeling Tour - We went on a guided tour to the most popular snorkeling and diving spot in Maui, Molokini. It's a crescent shaped island off Maui's southwest side.  We decided on Maui Magic as our catamaran after having several options. We got on the boat at 8 am and they had coffee, juice, and pastries for us. We pulled out of the harbor and headed south to find some spinner dolphins. Maui gets a lot of wind, so the day will determine how far south the boat will take you. The crew found a couple of dolphins to follow for a short while.

We then headed to Molokini. They docked us for about 45 minutes to snorkel around. There were several other catamarans there. The water was deep, so what you saw was fish up against the side of the Molokini. There were quite a few fish, but it wasn't the greatest snorkeling. 

After Molokini, the crew took us to a place between the harbor and Lahaina to snorkel and eat lunch. This area was known for sea turtles and we were the only boat in the area. We snorkeled there for about an hour and a half and had lunch. The crew grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. There were also free drinks all day, as well as beer. We didn't see any turtles while in this area.

We headed back to the harbor and on our way back, we got to see several sea turtles swimming in the open water. We were docked shortly after noon.

I recommend this catamaran and crew. They were all very friendly. This catamaran cost more than others, but I think it was worth what we got out of it.

3.  Road to Hana Tour - We ended up taking a guided tour on The Road to Hana. The road consists of 50 some miles of sharp curves and one lane bridges. We thought having someone else drive would allow both of us to enjoy the scenery instead of focusing on the road.

The company we went with was very good and we highly recommend them. Our driver was very nice and informative. He talked almost nonstop from the time he picked us up from the hotel to when he dropped us off. After being picked up from the hotel, we were taken to a place to get some juice, coffee, and pastries. Once in Hana, we stopped to eat a provided chicken plate lunch. They also provide beverages all day; water, juice, and soda.

You also get to see the Maui Winery on this tour. The road to the Seven Sacred Pools was damaged from an earthquake when we were there in November 06, so instead of making a circle around the island, we had to back track to get back to Kihei.

The drive itself is beautiful, full of vegetation, waterfalls, and cliffs. We saw rainbow eucalyptus trees and awesome bamboo jungles. You can pull off to the side of the road and get out and walk around to see things. Our 12-passenger tour van made a few stops, but not as many as we would have liked. We decided we should have driven the road ourselves, made several stops, and stayed the night in Hana before driving back the next day.

If this is something that you plan to do, make reservations for rooms in Hana early. If you plan to make the drive in one day, make sure you leave early in the morning, so you are back before it gets dark.

4.  Bike Down the Volcano - We got up at 2:30am to be driven to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise and then bike back down the volcano. It was very cold and windy at the top, but it was a neat experience to see the sun rising above a Volcano crater.

The bike down was ok. We were in a group of 8-10 people and rode down single file. They put the lighter people in the front; therefore, those in the back had to brake down most of the way. We were also wearing a helmet and couldn’t really look around at the scenery very well. It was exciting at first biking down, but the excitement wore off after about 10 minutes.

I still recommend doing it for the experience unless you don't want to get up that early or want to ride a bike. There are different tours where you don't get up as early, but you don't get to see the sunrise. You could always drive up to see the sunrise on your own.

RESTAURANTS:

Sarentos - Our hotel rep recommended this restaurant for a romantic dinner. We were on our honeymoon, so we wanted some place special.  The restaurant has free valet parking. You have to make reservations in advance to reserve a table on the rail to get a good view of the sunset (5:30pm in November was our reservation). It's an open air restaurant, so you can view the sunset and feel the breeze while eating. The food is a little pricey, but the food was really good, the service was spectacular and the atmosphere even better.  Definitely a place I'd recommend for a nice romantic dinner. 

Sansei - We were really hungry and wanted to eat early.  We got here right before it opened at 5:30pm and there was already a line starting to get inside.  We sat at the sushi bar and thought the food was pretty good.

Other restaurants we ate at but don't remember details on the experience:  Stella Blues, Cafe O'Lei

Second week on Maui 

New York City - October 2005

This was the first time to NYC for both of us.  We had a friend that lived in the city, so we shacked up in their tiny, tiny apartment on the top floor of a building with no elevator.

We were there for only 4 days, but had a lot of fun touring NYC on the double decker bus.  We went to the main office and bought our 2 day passes and were able to hop on and off the bus for 48 hours.  The bus makes all the stops at the major attractions, Empire State Building, World Trade Center Site, Central Park, etc.  It was a little chilly and we had to buy gloves while we visited the infamous discount shopping store Century 21, but we braved the elements and rode on the top of the bus the entire time.  It definitely offered the best view and experience of the bus.

We tried to go to Serendipity, the little restaurant featured in the movie Serendipity, but they were booked out like 6 months in advance!  I have since found their website and order their famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate online!

ATTRACTIONS:

1. Central Park - Central Park in the fall is absolutely beautiful.  Walking through the park and enjoying the colors and scenery was a nice escape from all the skyscrapers and people.  Our friends lived right across the street from the park, so we were able to see a lot of it on our trip.

2. Times Square - Times Square was the busiest place in the city.  Everyday there were people standing in the long line trying to get Broadway show tickets.  There was always so much going on there.  On our way to catch the train to the airport, we saw Brooks and Dunn performing outside above the Madison Square Garden sign.

3. Statue of Liberty - We took the last ferry out that day and there wasn't much of a crowd or line.  This time of day also allowed us to view the city at sunset.

4. World Trade Center Site - We stopped by the site in the afternoon.  It was very quiet.  There are lots of memorials to read and look at while there. 

5. Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock) - The Top of the Rock was opened to the public a few weeks before we visited NYC.  We didn't make it to the top of the Empire State Building, but the view from the top of Rockafeller Center was pretty cool.  We went at night, so the pictures didn't turn out so well, but the city was pretty amazing at night.

Sequoia National Park - July 2005

We planned a weekend trip up to Sequoia National Park to go white water rafting and to visit the National Park.  We drove from San Diego to Kernville and it took us about 4 and 1/2 hours.  We camped outside of the park at a place along the Kern River that ran through Kernville.  We decided to camp here, because it was right next to the White Water Voyage office and place where we needed to met for our white water rafting trip the next morning.  We did the Big Water Run trip.  It was a blast.

We visited the forest to see the Sequoias in Sequoia National Park the day after our rafting trip.  We stopped off at various trails and also the Trail of Hundred Giants.  It's a nice shaded path that takes you around to see over 100 Sequoias.

Grand Canyon - June 2005

We made a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon.  We camped out at the Mather Campground in the park.  We made reservations in advance online.  We hiked the Rim Trail along the Hermit's Rest Route the first day and took a mule ride down the canyon the second day.

I'd always wanted to ride the mules ever since I saw that Brady Bunch episode where they all go on a mule ride to the bottom of the Canyon!  It's recommended that you make reservations well in advance, but we were able to book a Sunday ride one or two months out. We booked the One-Day Mule Trip to Plateau Point. We had to check in the day before to get weighed, receive our rain coat and canteen, and sign a waiver.

We had to be at the corral very early the morning of the ride and wait to be assigned to a mule. They line you up in a single file based on weight and you start to follow the leader down the canyon. The trail is very narrow. The mules are trained to walk on the left side of the trail, which is the edge of the trial, so my heart was beating a little fast at first when I looked down. Eventually, I felt comfortable and trusted the mule was not going to go off the trail.

We made several stops along the way. Anytime there was too much separation between 2 mules we stopped as this causes the mules to run to catch up and can lead to an accident. We had one lady in our group get thrown off the mule as it was running to catch up to the one in front of it. This happened on our way back up and she fell in the direction away from the edge. We also stopped half way down to go to the bathroom and fill up our canteens.

Once out to the plateau, we had a box lunch (sandwich, fruit, chips, and cookies) and enjoyed the awesome views of being a long distance down in the canyon. After lunch, we headed back up the way we'd came. We stopped again for a bathroom/water break at the same place as before.

It was about a 7-hour trip that was exciting and a little scary at first, but definitely something I'd do again. If you go on this trip, just listen to directions and you'll be fine.

The Big Island of Hawaii - May 2005

This was our first big trip together. I was looking to plan a trip for my 30th birthday. Once we decided to go to The Big Island, we booked it a year early, because we couldn't wait until my birthday. Being the adventurous couple that we are, we decided on The Big Island for the main reason of seeing the active volcano. We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (TA review). We stayed there on points for 9 nights and absolutely had a blast traveling around by car.

Driving around the whole island can take a while. We decided to go on a circle island tour our first full day on the island. The tour guide was a little hard to understand, but we made all the major tourist stops. It was a long day; I think by the time we were picked up and dropped off, it was a 12 hour day. If you don't rent a car or you don't like to drive or you are only staying for a short time, this would be something I'd recommend. However, if you like to do your own thing and are going to be on the island for at least a week, skip the tour and drive yourself.

We did take a couple of days to drive around to the different beaches for snorkeling. We jumped in the car with our own snorkel gear, lunch and snacks, and a map from the hotel. One of the great things about the Big Island is that there are so many different kinds of beaches to see. The island has beautiful white sand beaches and spectacular black sand beaches. There are also green sand beaches on the island, but we didn't make it to any of these on our trip.

ATTRACTIONS:

1. Pololu Valley Lookout - While out driving around, we went up to the northern part of the island and followed 270 until it ended. You'll see cars parked on the side of the road and people out walking. The highway stops and overlooks this beautiful lush green valley. We put on our hiking shoes and walked down this path that takes you down to the bottom of the lookout. The trail was a little rocky, but not that steep for experienced hikers. For beginners, it may be a little rough on you and you might just want to enjoy the scenery from above. Once at the bottom, there is a black sand beach where most of the surfers go. This is the only part of the island that usually has waves.

2. South Point - We went down to South Point. It's the southern most point in the US. To get there from Kona, you take the main highway south. South Point (Ka Lae) is at the end of an 11 mile road, due south from the Mamalahoa Highway (Hwy 11) turning off between the Ocean View Estate and Wai’ohinu (home of the descendant of Mark Twain’s Monkey Pod tree). Once you get down off the main road, the road gets a little narrow and bumpy and you think you are going the wrong way. Just keep going, you'll pass some wind turbines on the way and eventually see other cars parked off to the right. If you keep going, there's supposed to be a green sand beach around also, but we didn't know that when we were there. Where we stopped, there are places were people jump off the side of the cliff into the ocean. That wasn't for me, but Mr. FT did it and loved it.

3. Punalu'u Beach - This was my first time experiencing a black sand beach. We stopped here twice, once on our circle island tour and once on our own. When we came on our own, we had our snorkel gear with us. We grabbed it and jumped in to swim with the turtles. The water was really murky and I was startled when all the sudden 2 big sea turtles were right in front of me and jumped up and out of the water! It was a cool experience though. Also visit the Punalu’u Bake shop when in the area. They have awesome Hawaiian sweet bread and samples. I've even ordered it online.

4. Hapuna Beach - If you are looking for a beach to relax and get the Hawaiian experience, go to Hapuna Beach. The beach has beautiful white sand and is pretty big so you'll be able to find a spot on the beach. We snorkeled up against the rocks on the south end and were able to swim with sea turtles. My husband came across a reef shark lying under a rock ledge also. It was docile, so nothing bad happened. I was swimming around the area where he saw it, but I was too scared to go under to see it closer.

5. Kilauea Volcano - We visited the park on our circle island tour and had lunch in the Volcano's House. We then drove around crater rim drive and stopped to walk through Thurston Lava Tube.

The highlight of our trip was hiking out to the erupting Kilauea volcano. We had been advised by a family member to wait until the evening to hike out. We drove into the park in the afternoon and headed down Chain of Craters Rd. Once we got a ways down the road, you could see the steam from the lava entering the ocean. This is sight enough worth seeing if you don't want to hike over lava rock in the heat.

We got to the end of the road where people are parked on the side of the road. We parked, grabbed our backpack, 2 flashlights (one for each person) with NEW batteries, and plenty of water bottles and snacks and headed out.

The hike is long and tiring and hot out to the active lava. There are markers in the beginning, but then you just head toward the steam. Once you get to where you can see the lava entering the ocean really well, most people stop here and watch it for a while. You can look up the mountain and see lava flowing down, which is easier to see when it's getting dark.

We were feeling a little more adventurous and decided to walk to the other side of the lava flow where we saw some other people sitting. We could hear crackling under us, which was probably lava underneath the rock. We came upon a hole that was glowing from the lava underneath, it was pretty cool. This hole eventually started erupting with lava and turned into a lava flow that was within a 100 feet of us. You could feel the intense heat. It started raining and you could hear hissing from the rain hitting the lava.

I look back now and realize how dangerous this hike can be. Be careful.

RESTAURANTS:

1. Captain Bean’s Dinner Cruise - We decided to go on the Captain Bean's Dinner Cruise and booked through our hotel. It's a cruise on a big catamaran that serves dinner and has a luau onboard. Once onboard, you are allowed to get drinks. I don't remember all the options, but we stuck with the Mai Tais. After the catamaran launches, the crew starts performing. They put on a little show and get the audience involved. They usually chose men to dress them in hula attire. Dinner is served to your table. The tables are in the middle of the catamaran that can hold up to 15 people or so. It wasn't a gourmet meal, but the atmosphere and entertainment made the cruise very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this cruise if you are looking for a little fun.

2. Café Pesto - We found this restaurant in Kawaihae by the harbor. It's a cozy little pizza, Italian joint. The servers are all friendly and the food is great. We enjoyed it so much that we went there twice during our stay on the island.