Thursday was our big “excursion” day. During our first trip to the Big Island, we drove all the way to Hilo and then on to the volcanoes, and it was just too much for little k to handle. We decided to avoid the screaming/crying with n and just went to Akaka Falls, which we missed the first time around, and then to a botanical garden, not too far from Hilo.

No trip through Honokaa should be made without a stop at Tex Drive In.

Mmmm…malasadas. Especially bavarian cream! This was the only place that I really wanted to go back to from our first trip.

Look at n peaking out from the backpack. That cracks me up.

So, apparently there are two botanical gardens that are in direct competition with each other. We went to our trusty friend, Yelp, to help us decide which one to go to. That is how we ended up at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. It is not too stroller-friendly, so I’m glad that k was willing to walk. D carried n in the backpack.

Wishing Well

Nice view

Ironwood tree (my family will know why I took a picture of this ;))

Orchid

Forgot the name

Cat whiskers

Tiki and D looking like a ghost

Afterward we went on to Hilo for lunch. We were looking for local food and someone recommended L&L. We didn’t really want to go there since we can get it over here (although maybe it’s better over there?) so we ended up at Cafe Pesto for pizza. We had eaten at the other location last time, so we knew we would like it.

After lunch we headed a few doors down to a lunch counter that also had shave ice.

I ordered one with ice cream for k and I to share, and it was gigantic. See how it looks bigger than k’s head?

On the way home, n and I fell asleep in the back seat. On the way there, and on the way back, k and Grandpa were having a long conversation about anything and everything, but mostly about k’s doll named Abby. It was funny because when I woke up, they were still talking! Much better than screaming and crying.

On Wed. we decided to go down to Kona for a little shopping. Our first stop was a fairly new Target, my favorite store.

Instead of the Dollar Spot, it had an “Aloha Shop”! This is where I bought almost all of our souvenirs for the trip.

We bought my brother in law a Spam slicer. (They had other Spam merchandise as well). We also bought a trivet for ourselves, mainly because it had a map of Hawaii, and D is a sucker for maps. In the kids’ section I found a cute Hello Kitty necklace with a rainbow for k.

Afterward we went to the nearby International Marketplace for some more browsing, but I didn’t buy anything.

For lunch we went to Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill. It is a little off the beaten path, but I had read good reviews. I had signed up for a coupon online and I received a personal e-mail from the manager/owner! They also made it a point to visit each table to greet everyone. It was doing pretty good business for lunch, and there seemed to be more locals. D’s parents both had the crab crusted mahi mahi and they liked it. n was being fussy, so I had to spend a lot my time outside trying to calm him down. I can’t wait until he lets me sit down for an entire meal at a restaurant.

This cool car is parked outside of the restaurant.


Notice the license plate.

Next stop was Costco. I bought a bag of macadamia nut Hershey kisses, which I’ve never seen before, as well as a tub of shortbread cookies for D to bring to his co-workers. Right after I made by purchases, the electricity went out! They stopped letting people into the store, so I guess we made it just in time. D also filled up his gas tank, since Costco has the best prices on the island.

Our final stop was Kua Beach. D’s parents had told us how beautiful the beach was, and it was true! The color of the water was amazing. We also saw some whales.

(By this time, k was NOT in a picture-taking mood).

Back to reliving our Big Island trip. In the morning we went to Mauna Kea for some more playing in the sand (k + n), snorkeling (D) and lounging (L). Although you can’t tell from the picture, the water became kind of rough, so I was a bit worried about D. We had a picnic lunch on the beach.

In the afternoon we went to the Hilton to see the dolphins.

Afterward we went to Merriman’s Market Cafe at the Kings’ Shops.

This was probably the best meal deal of our trip because we went for happy hour where all of the dishes were $5. We had been to the original Merriman’s in Waimea last time, so we knew the food was going to be good. We ordered 9 dishes, and it was plenty. We had pizzas and flatbread(shown above), hummus, garlic fries, meatballs, ricotta fritters, and a tomato-mozzarella salad and bruschetta.

k even had the butter and cheese pasta that was free for kids 3 and under. I guess it was finger-lickin’ good.

We had a post-dinner stroll, and saw the “Hawaiian Kenny Rogers” perform.