The Big Happy Island: Part One

The Big Island’s landscape is completely different than Oahu/Honolulu. The west side is covered in black rocks with very little vegetation due to only 4-5 inches of rain each year, while the east side is lush with rainforests due to the 100+ inches of rain a year. We were told (although I can’t confirm this on Google) that on the Big Island, you can find 12 out of 14 ecosystems in the world, lacking only arctic and sahara. One of their active volcanoes has been going off lately, but since it was a 2+ hour drive to get there and we were told there was no active lava flow, we decided not to make the all-day trip. We stuck close to the rockin’ pool, swam with dolphins, took a breath-taking helicopter ride, experienced a luau, and hiked down a cliff to an amazing beach.

Hilton Waikoloa Village, north of Kona on the Big Island…a monorail and a boat travel right through the lobby and take you anywhere on the resort. Saltwater fills the “river,” so you can see all kinds of ocean fish as you walk around the resort. We even saw a sea turtle! View from our oceanfront room (What have we done right in life to deserve this kind of goodness?!)  HEAVEN Locals use contrasting colored stones to “graffiti” all over the island. Here they used black rocks on white coral to sign their autograph. Love that John caught the splash!Luau Getting the pig out of the “imu,” or pit Ok, you have to promise to keep your mouth shut. Like pinky promise. Please do not mention the following picture to my husband…ever. A hula dancer came out of the crowd from behind our table, grabbed his hand, and had him on stage before he knew what was happening. To put it lightly, he was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER to be on stage and does NOT want to talk about it or relive the experience. He did a fabulous job though, and he was a much better sport than I would have been. For history’s sake… The one on the left was John’s hula partner The guy on the left was the flame thrower…wow!