3 islands, 2 weeks, 1 amazing honeymoon! COMPLETED 1/14!

[Mollydolly334]

Day 10

Good morning, Waikoloa Village! Jake and I were awake at 7:15 AM this morning. We both had a great night sleep- the beds here were kind of firm but perfect for sleeping; I definitely slept the soundest during our time on this island! We couldn’t resist checking out our upgraded ocean view right away…







Hmmm… more of a “partial ocean view” if you ask me. The golf course was directly in front of us, and if you turned your head to the left, you could see the ocean. I was a little miffed, if they had advertised this as a partial ocean view, we would not have taken the upgrade and saved the $150. I hate feeling tricked like that! However, upgrade or not, it was still a beautiful view and very peaceful. We loved seeing the golfers out there every day!

Jake and I decided to explore the resort grounds before getting some breakfast!









Then, at 8:00, we made our way over to breakfast. We really got an incredible deal for the Fairmont Orchid through Costco Travel. Jake and I were scouring the website for the entire year leading up to the honeymoon to try and find the best price possible! We ended up with no resort fees, free beach equipment rentals during our stay, and a free breakfast at the buffet every morning. Both Jake and I were SO excited for the breakfast buffet portion of this; like I said, we are big buffet people, and this felt so indulgent! If only I knew how sick I’d get of this buffet, haha…

The breakfast buffet was located at Orchid Court restaurant. At night, I believe this restaurant turned into an Asian-Fusion sit down restaurant!





Overall, we really enjoyed this buffet. I personally liked it more than 1Hotel’s breakfast buffet in Kauai! They had a ton of different options for savory as well as sweet, and a lot of the dishes rotated out on a 3-day rotation, so we were consistently getting new things to try as well. They also had 1-2 Asian dishes every morning too, like fried rice, miso soup, dumplings, bao buns, etc. Despite never having that kind of food for breakfast, it ended up being one of the things I looked forward to the most each morning! There were self-serve dispensers of different flavors of juices; we loved getting POG every morning! It was the best POG juice we had over the duration of the trip; you could tell it was freshly made.



They even had a little donut wall!!!

Jake and I sat down right away and made a beeline for the buffet! As always, I got my traditional sweet plate and my traditional savory plate.



My sweet plate is on the left! Clockwise from the top left- Belgian waffle with bananas, chocolate chips, and maple syrup, macadamia nut sticky bun, vanilla iced donut with sprinkles, chocolate croissant, and a cinnamon-sugar malasada. Savory plate is on the right- clockwise from the top left- tater tots, bacon, a portuguese sausage link, a pork shumai dumpling, fried rice with furikake and chili sauce, and a (deconstructed) kalua pork benedict. Everything was delicious! Standouts were the fried rice (they had their own little toppings bar for it with furikake, different sauces, sesame seeds, etc.) and the malasada. Jake and I tried the famous Leonard’s malasadas last year and I was very underwhelmed… but these were HEAVENLY! I had one almost every morning; they were pillow soft and so sweet.

One thing that we did have to watch out for were the birds. There were crows absolutely everywhere, and they weren’t shy about flying onto people’s tables and stealing food! Luckily, the wait staff passed out plate covers in case you needed to leave the table.

We were definitely full after this; it was so funny to see our plates on the first day vs. the last day . We were ready for some relaxation time!!

Jake and I made it to the pool around 9:00 AM, and scored this awesome circular lounger! I didn’t take a picture of our exact chair, but it looked like this!



It was more like a bed with a circle mattress, it was AWESOME! It was warm out today, but we definitely noticed that the Big Island was a bit cooler and less humid than Kauai and Oahu had been. Totally fine with us!



Jake and I hung by the pool for pretty much the entire morning. I was able to finish up my current book, and we took a couple dips in the pool, too! We walked over to the beach and put our feet in, but didn’t stay for too long, because we knew that we’d be there a lot the next day. We also had some (unpictured) drinks at some point; Jake got a Lava Flow, and I ordered a non-alcoholic pineapple juice/ginger ale drink.

Around 1:15 PM, Jake and I headed back to the room to shower and change into some Green Bay Packers gear. We had big plans! There was a Monday Night Football game (at 2:00 Hawaii time, hehe) and Green Bay was playing the Raiders. When Jake lived in Kona, he frequented the WISCONSIN BAR called Quinn’s Almost By The Sea, and they were going to be showing the game today!! Can you believe that there is a Packer bar all the way in Kona?? I was so excited to check it out! Jake said that some days, he used to get to the bar at 7:00 AM to watch the Packers play! We are both huge Packer fans; my family has season tickets that have been in the family for generations!

We left the hotel around 2:00 PM. Since it was already dark during our drive from the airport last night, I was shocked to see all of the black lava rock! It was so interesting to see; it felt like we were on the moon.



We parked in downtown Kona and walked about a mile to get to the bar. Downtown Kona was very cute and charming. It kind of reminded me of Minocqua, WI. The city was crowded with lots of people; there was the Ironman World Championship competition going on that whole week. The actual race was on the day we left (October 14th), so we saw lots of people practicing running and biking during our time on the Big Island. It definitely made things a bit more congested around Kona, but it honestly didn’t affect our vacation much.



At 3:00, we reached Quinn’s Almost By The Sea!



We absolutely SCORED and got there right when a couple left, so we were seated immediately and got a perfect little table right in front of the TV!! It was packed in there with Packer fans!





Jake was in heaven. Wisconsin sports AND Hawaii! What could possibly be better than this?



Wait a second, $8 COCKTAILS?? It DOES get better . We were shocked at the cheap prices- this was less than half of what our drinks had been costing so far this vacation!! Jake was driving tonight so he stuck to just a beer, but he encouraged me to imbibe. And imbibe I did

This was a Plantation Iced Tea (Cruzan Mango and Malibu Coconut Rum mixed with pineapple juice and iced tea). This was delicious and so refreshing. It went down so easily and I had it finished within minutes. So, I decided to order another drink right away! I didn’t take a picture of it, but the next drink I ordered was a Berry Berry Lemonade (Skyy Raspberry Vodka with strawberry puree, triple sec, Sprite, and lemonade). Once again, this was so refreshing and went down like water. Uh oh, looks like we may be going down a certain path tonight



Go Pack Go!!

It was so entertaining just to look around at all of the Packers memorabilia. They also had a good amount of stuff from other Wisconsin sports teams. Everybody there was also drinking (typical Wisconsinites, haha) and having a grand old time trash-talking each other. We made lots of conversation with the friendly people around us!

After those two drinks, I was starting to get snack-y. So, we ordered some fried cheese curds. I mean, kind of a must when you’re watching the Packers play, amirite?



I did have to laugh at the presentation of them on top of the salad mix; A for effort Trying to make fried cheese curds healthy is a lost cause! These were perfect to eat while watching the game. Since I had food in my stomach now, only makes sense to order another drink, right??



This was when I fully accepted that Drunk Molly was entering the mortal world tonight; Jake laughed when he took this and said “Why are you smiling so weird??” This was the Quinn Quencher (Smirnoff Citron, Midori, Malibu Coconut Rum, pineapple juice, and sour soda). It went down a little harder than the other ones, and I was starting to feel very giggly at this point, haha

Sadly, the Packers lost the game But it was still a great time, and I’m so glad we took the time to do this! A for service (and A+ for prices) at Quinn’s! We left the bar at around 5:00 to stroll about downtown Kona. Jake decided to stop at an ABC store to get a new Hawaiian shirt to wear tonight; I joked around that he was so embarrassed by the Packer’s loss that he didn’t want to be seen wearing a Packer’s shirt!

We walked down Ali’i Drive and shopped around a bit more while deciding what to do for the rest of the night. Jake stopped by the bathroom, and there was an ice cream shop right next door, so I made a total impulse decision and got some. I guess Drunk Molly isn’t so different from Sober Molly after all



This was ube flavored soft serve on an Oreo waffle cone. Oh my lord… I don’t know if it was due my tipsy state, but this tasted like the nectar of the Gods. The ube flavor was such a sweet and nutty vanilla and it went perfectly with the crushed Oreos. I made Jake try a few licks, and by the end, he wished he would have gotten his own!

We sat down on a little ledge and watched the sun start to set as I finished my cone. Best impulse decision ever! Jake told me later that there were a bunch of homeless people wandering around where we sat and trying to approach us, and he had to bring out his “crazy eyes” to scare them away. I was blissfully oblivious



Jake had been wanting to show me the Royal Kona resort, so we decided to grab another drink and maybe a snack there!

It was about a 15 minute wait to get a table, but we were rewarded with some pretty incredible views!!





Over the course of our 2-week vacation, this was by far the most beautiful sunset we witnessed. Jake explained that this was because of the Big Island’s position compared to the other islands, as well as the fact that we were on the west side of the island!

Once we got seated, I was reaching the point where I was starting to slow down. I wanted to keep the buzz going, but I also didn’t want to feel sick, so I decided that I’d have one more drink here, and we’d get a substantial meal afterward. This is why I don’t drink very often; I feel like it is always such a balancing act between feeling fun and ready to party vs. feeling sick and dizzy.

This resort and bar area was really cool and different compared to what we had been seeing in Kona. I really liked the architecture and 60’s feel to it!



Once I saw this drink on the menu, I KNEW I had to get it! It was a mojito with Bacardi Dragon Berry rum (AKA a dupe of my favorite drink at Trader Sam’s- a Mosquito Mojito)! Jake got a Lava Flow! While we enjoyed our drinks and the beautiful view, we decided on a restaurant for tonight. We were pretty hungry, and pizza is our go-to when we’re starving, so we took the 10-minute drive to Kona Brewing Company after finishing our beverages!

Jake and I had eaten here on Oahu last year and loved it! They have some really great pizza here, plus, Jake loves that it is the home of his favorite beer

We were sat on the outside patio after a short wait, and it was a beautiful night with a fun atmosphere out there. Jake ordered a Kona Longboard (are you surprised?), while I stuck to WATER!



I sent this silly Snapchat to my friend Gabi, who was just as surprised as I was, haha! I thought I was sobering up, until I tried to go to the bathroom and ended up opening a door and stepping inside the employee warehouse!

Jake and I were STARVING at this point; when our food arrived, it was like God himself delivered it!! We decided to split a Hawaiian Luau pizza with BBQ kalua pork and some pepperoni dough rolls. This was exactly what we ordered when we ate at the Oahu location last year, and it hit the spot then and now!



However, after devouring a couple slices and pepperoni rolls, I felt my stomach start to turn. This tasted amazing, and I didn’t have any digestive problems with it last year, so I figured I would be fine. But, the rich pizza and seasoned sauce combined with all of the sweet cocktails I had consumed earlier was starting to take a toll. I immediately regretted eating this; I just had a feeling that it would come back to haunt me later tonight Unfortunately, I knew that I just had to play the waiting game on this one, take some Pepto, and hope for the best!

Honestly, I would still eat this pizza again and again though. Both Jake and I are pizza lovers and this is a great option for wood-fired pizza! They have so many flavors here as well as different types of appetizers and small plates… everyone can find something that they like at Kona Brewing!

Very full and satisfied (and sobered up on my end), Jake and I headed back to Waikoloa Village, making it back to the Fairmont Orchid by 9:45 PM. We went to sleep pretty much right away… and I had a feeling I’d be in for a rough night. Stay tuned!




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[NAB]

We stayed right in Kona in October. Loved it our Airbnb was right behind the stores and church on the Main Street.

Ate at Quinn’s too ,love seeing your pictures! The Big Island sure does have a lot of Lava rock . Hope you didn‘t bring any home ! It’s bad luck heard people send a lot back .

 

[Mollydolly334]

We stayed right in Kona in October. Loved it our Airbnb was right behind the stores and church on the Main Street.

Ate at Quinn’s too ,love seeing your pictures! The Big Island sure does have a lot of Lava rock . Hope you didn‘t bring any home ! It’s bad luck heard people send a lot back .

I really wish we would have spent more time in downtown Kona, this was the only day we really spent an extended period of time there and I loved it!! So cute and quaint! And no worries- no lava rock made it back home to WI

 

[alohamom]

Oh my goodness, that sunset in Kona!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Oh my goodness, that sunset in Kona!

It was INCREDIBLE- definitely one of the most (if not the most) beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen!!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Hello DISfriends!!! Just popping in and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas (or Mele Kalikimaka ) and Happy New Year!



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[NAB]

Merry Christmas!

 

[buteraa]

Congrats fellow Wisconsinite on your recent marriage! I'm really enjoying your trip report so far, but I'm a little anxious to find out how your night went after the pizza!

 

[suse66]

Hi Molly! I finally caught up and am doing a massive reply dump! My DH and I are going to Hawaii for the first time in August to celebrate our 25th so I am loving learning all about the Islands from you!

I’m so excited to share all the deets on our amazing honeymoon. We are VERY blessed to be able to travel for this long, stay at these wonderful resorts, and experience the beauty of Hawaii. Trust me- this didn’t go unnoticed! Often, throughout the trip, we looked at each other and just said, “We are the luckiest people in the world.” It was a magical start to married life, and I’m so honored to be able to call this amazing man my husband

I love this for you! What an amazing way to start your married life together.

Bonus picture of my niece and nephew (2-year old twins named Evie and Ollie) because they are two of my most favorite people on Earth!!! They were the flower girl and ring bearer in our wedding and were absolutely perfect. Both Jake and I are obsessed with them (Evie LOOOVES Jake and always cries when he kisses me- it’s turned into a running joke!) We are taking them on their first WDW trip next year as a huge group and I am probably going to be a crying, emotional mess every single day!!

Could they be any cuter????? You are going to have the best trip!

I wish I was the type of person that can hide my facial expressions well, but I wear all of my emotions on my sleeve. The lady must have been horrified by my bewildered facial expression, because she immediately backtracked and said she’d sit somewhere else. I mean- really?????

I am exactly the same way! No poker face here. And also, whta in the world?????

As soon as Oahu came into view, my Spotify shuffled to “We Know the Way” from Moana! IT KNEW!!! We didn’t get a picture in time, but we ended up flying RIGHT OVER Aulani and got a perfect view!! It was an awesome way to be welcomed to Hawaii!

Magical!!

I was definitely in the mood for something sweet, so we walked over to Black Sheep Cream Company for a little treat before heading back to Aulani. At home, I really prioritize eating healthy and exercising, but on vacation, I let my sweet tooth fly free! I enjoyed MANY desserts throughout the trip and don’t regret a thing

Vacation is an alternate reality so normal rules don't apply.

We both ordered the same thing- the Liliko’i-Lada! It was basically a pina colada with lilikoi (passion fruit) flavoring, and it hit the spot! I also chugged some water with a Liquid IV packet (I was super dehydrated after our flights last year and I was not letting that happen again). If we weren’t hitting a wall before, we DEFINITELY were now. As we were finishing up our drinks, our bartender brought out a surprise!

Yum! And so sweet!!

Once we were finished, we started the trek to Lanikai Beach, which was about 1 mile away. However, I immediately realized that we DID NOT BRING OUR BEACH TOWELS! Ugh! We were so distracted and excited this morning that we forgot the one thing we needed for the beach So, we made a pit stop at a corner store.

Oh no! That is an expensive mistake. Did you bring beach towels from home?

Luckily, Jake and I are extremely resilient, and once we left the restaurant, we were back to our usual happy Hawaii selves I actually remember the drive back to Aulani being very fun this night; we like to be complete weirdos and imitate singers while listening to the radio (such as Fergie, Blink-182, Pink, Snoop Dogg, etc.) and we were cracking each other up!!

You guys are too cute and sound like the best of friends. Which is the perfect foundation for a great marriage!

We started out holding hands, but it was already HOT, and our hands got all sweaty, haha! It was fun to check out the Ko Olina Villas and Marriott properties! But, obviously, we liked Aulani the best We made a vow to do a “lagoon bar crawl” and check out the interior of the Four Seasons resort before we left Oahu!

Haha! We always say that.....we hold hands and then we are "uh clammy!".

As we headed down to the beach, we kept our theme of “treat yourself” and rented a casabella lounger for the day. We used Karamie’s (@paradesintherain) gift card that she so generously gifted us for our wedding- thank you Kara! It was looking pretty cloudy, so I wasn’t too concerned about being out of the sun. Jake also claimed that he “didn’t need sunscreen because it was so cloudy.” We’ll see how this plays out

Lovely! What an awesome treat!

This was AMAZING; I only wish that the pineapple was thawed out a bit more (it came straight from the freezer), and I was way too impatient to let it thaw out myself! Jake also got a non-pictured Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar! I will say, as I’m getting older, pineapple is starting to bother my stomach and cause acid reflux. It’s such a shame, since the pineapple is so delicious and fresh in Hawaii. But, this was the last time I consumed raw pineapple this trip

mmmm!

We wanted to take a stroll around Aulani at night, but the beach day was catching up to us! Fully satisfied, we walked back up the room and called it a night at 9:30 PM. One more full day left at Aulani (and on Oahu)!!

Sounds like a perfect day!

I had a pretty funny interaction with the front-desk lady while I was paying. I was using one of our many Disney gift cards, and it said “Happily Ever After” with a picture of Cinderella Castle. She commented on how cute it was, and I responded, “Oh yeah, I just got married last week!” You should have SEEN her face!

You totally do have a baby face with beautiful dewy skin. I can see why people would think you are younger.

Jake and I continued to spend the afternoon in and out of the lagoon! It was super relaxing to swim and wade since the waves were very gentle. We also had some great people-watching at Aulani; I love watching families with kids while at WDW, and this reminded me very much of that!

Beautiful! Sounds like a perfect day.

VERY full and satisfied, we decided to take a lap around the city center to see what was open. We looked around Island Country Market one more time, just perusing the souvenirs. Well, lo and behold, as soon as we entered the store, they started playing “Name” by the Goo Goo Dolls! You can’t make this stuff up!!! Both Jake and I were thoroughly creeped out, haha. It is a great jam though!

Kismet!

When he and my Mom traveled to Hawaii back in 2017, my dad absolutely raved about Kauai; especially the Princeville area and the St. Regis resort there. He claimed that it was his favorite city and area of the entire trip (and they visited all 4 islands). Well, when Jake and I were perusing the Costco website, we saw an amazing deal for 1Hotel Hanalei Bay (aka, the old St. Regis resort). We were able to cancel our Maui reservation and switch over our flights and hotel with no extra fees or charges. It felt like fate! It felt really cool to be traveling back to the area that my dad loved so much, and I definitely felt his presence over the next few days.

That made me tear up. I know his illness and passing took a real toll on you and am glad you felt a connection to your dad on Kauai.

Jake ordered a Hanalei Bay IPA to drink. He explained that this was going to be his beer of choice while in Kauai, just because of the name! Silly boy! I ordered the “Cay Polynesia”, which had Grey Goose pear, prosecco, St. Germaine, lychee, and hibiscus elixir. It was very yummy!

Sounds delicious!

One thing that really stuck out to us about this hotel (and this pool in particular) was how QUIET it was. I mean, you could hear a pin drop! This hotel was not adults-only and we definitely saw families hanging around. But, everyone was so quiet and peaceful! It definitely had a different crowd and vibe to it. It was absolutely PERFECT for a honeymoon or couple’s getaway.

Dreamy!

This one was called “A Spark of Light” by Jodi Picoult. Both books that I brought to Hawaii were by Jodi Picoult- she is by far my favorite author! When I was a child, I used to be such a reader and always had a book in my hand. But, with college, my job, and especially wedding planning, I’ve really strayed away from reading regularly. This was the first full book I had read in almost a year (and for the last 5 years or so, I have ONLY read while on vacation)! Luckily, this trip combined with having more free time after the wedding has re-ignited my passion for reading full-steam. I've become quite the voracious reader! Since we’ve been home, I’ve read 8 BOOKS and have started another one!! I’m so happy I picked up this hobby again. I feel like it has really helped me decrease my screen time.

So true! I was always a big reader and when I am back at school each fall I kind of get away from it. It's really nice to get back to reading again.

We were both getting pretty tired. We were just about a week into the trip now, and really feeling all of the action. We had been eyeing up a fun restaurant called Tahiti Nui to grab an after-dinner drink, but decided to call it a night. Overall, we LOVED spending time in Hanalei both during the day and at night. I loved how slow-moving and small-town everything was; it kind of reminded me of Northern Wisconsin in that way.

It can be really intense being on the go all the time. Nice to have some time to relax.

OMG, everything here was soooooo delicious! It really solidified its spot as the best food we had at the resort, which is just so funny because it was the most casual option by far! The sandwich was so juicy and savory, the cinnamon roll was warm and flakey, but the COOKIE. YOU GUYS. This was the best chocolate chip cookie that Jake and I have ever had (yes, better than Gideon’s, better than Crumbl, better than Mrs. Fields..). It was ooey-goey, with the perfect amount of salt and semi-sweet chocolate chips. We FOUGHT over this! We vowed that tomorrow, we would each get our own cookie I wanted to overnight one up to my mom in Wisconsin- chocolate chip cookies are her #1 favorite food and I knew she would love this.

The perfect cookie can be a life changing experience!

You could tell I was drunk, how many times could I say “OMG”?? Jake actually ended up being very happy about the mishap because that meant he scored a free meal, and was able to get an extra Mai Tai

A little tipsyness is fun on vacation.

It is very rare that I get drunk. I like alcoholic drinks ok and will have a drink or two on occasion (the sweeter and weaker the better), but I absolutely HATE how alcohol makes me feel. I’m prone to headaches and indigestion as it is, and alcohol makes it a million times worse. Plus, “Tipsy Molly” is very fun to be around, but “Drunk Molly” can turn on a dime and become a crying, emotional, dramatic MESS! My friends in college used to joke and say “You know the party’s getting good when Molly starts crying!”

Alcohol is definitely something to enjoy in moderation. Don't get me wrong, I will happily enjoy some drinks but it can turn on me quickly.

It was just a 5 minute drive, and we arrived at the restaurant at 7:45 PM. The Princeville city center is relatively small; they had a Foodland as well as a little collection of restaurants. However, you could definitely tell that Tiki Iniki was the place to be. There was a large line outside the door, so we went up the front and asked what the line was for. We were informed by the guests at the front (rather rudely) that this was the “walk up line” and “you need reservations for this place.” Yikes!! You could tell that it was short-staffed, and the restaurant was small, so we prepared for somewhat of a wait. We almost bailed and stopped by the mom-and-pop Chinese stand next door, but both Jake and I really wanted to try a local tiki bar. We did end up waiting about 30 minutes; not the end of the world.

An authentic tiki bar is awesome to expereince!

Including this gem! Anyone else recognize this sign? It was definitely taken from the Polynesian Resort at WDW I loved finding a touch of Disney on Kauai!

Love that!

Yeah, I had no willpower today #vacationdiet. I could NOT say no to this; some good old fashioned birthday cake just sounded so delicious. This was from a little ice cream shop called Tropical Dreams, and the cake looked as good as it tasted! I demolished it . We looked in a couple other souvenir shops while in Koloa town and checked out the food trucks again, but they were still closed Booo! We felt like we had seen all that we could see in Koloa so we headed towards Poipu.

Nothing wrong with indulging on vacation!

At this point, I’m not going to sugar-coat it; we were BORED. The rest of Kauai just seemed so disappointing compared to Hanalei! Things were just really quiet and a lot of the shops and things to do were closed. We still had a ton of time to kill; it was 12:30 and we realistically didn’t need to be at the airport until 3:30. We were really regretting not seeing the Waimea Canyon, but it didn’t make sense to us in that moment to backtrack over and see it.

Too bad!

We would absolutely come back in a heartbeat- we are already planning that next time we visit Hawaii, we would like to split our time between Kauai (staying in Hanalei of course) and Maui. And we WILL check out the Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon next time; I know that my opinion isn’t really fair because we didn’t see those two major tourist attractions. Realistically, we could spend an entire week in Hanalei/Princeville alone and be happy as clams.

Nice to hear Hanalei was such a win for you!

Originally, Jake and I had booked a garden view king bed room, but he offered the chance for us to upgrade to an ocean-view for just $150 more total! Jake immediately said yes before I could even agree; we were so lucky with our ocean views at both resorts, and we were excited to see the ocean here too! He also gave us some complimentary reusable water bottles; there were water filling stations all around the resort which was really nice and convenient. Pretty soon, we were on our way to the room!

You never know what an "ocen view" will turn out to be.

We noticed some people crowded around the lagoon right outside the restaurant, so of course, we had to see what all of the fuss was about. We saw a couple turtles on the sand, but were shocked when we saw a giant MANTA RAY swimming in the lagoon!

That is so cool!!

Luckily, Jake’s card wasn’t lost, and we were finally able to enjoy our dessert! Over by the pools, there were about 4-5 firepits going with lawn chairs all around them. Hale Kai had an awesome option where you could order all of the supplies to make s’mores! We got graham crackers, marshmallows, Ghirardelli chocolate, and roasting sticks, and had enough to have two s’mores each. It was a little pricey (about $20), but it was convenient and delicious! I hadn’t had s’mores in so long and it was really fun to be outside by the fires, since it was a lot cooler on the Big Island than it had been in Kauai.

Yikes on the credit card situation. The smores sounded yummy!

Hmmm… more of a “partial ocean view” if you ask me. The golf course was directly in front of us, and if you turned your head to the left, you could see the ocean. I was a little miffed, if they had advertised this as a partial ocean view, we would not have taken the upgrade and saved the $150. I hate feeling tricked like that! However, upgrade or not, it was still a beautiful view and very peaceful. We loved seeing the golfers out there every day!

It's a nice view but totally not an ocean view.

It was more like a bed with a circle mattress, it was AWESOME! It was warm out today, but we definitely noticed that the Big Island was a bit cooler and less humid than Kauai and Oahu had been. Totally fine with us!

Wow!!

Wait a second, $8 COCKTAILS?? It DOES get better . We were shocked at the cheap prices- this was less than half of what our drinks had been costing so far this vacation!! Jake was driving tonight so he stuck to just a beer, but he encouraged me to imbibe. And imbibe I did

It can be fun sometimes. And $8 is SO cheap!

We walked down Ali’i Drive and shopped around a bit more while deciding what to do for the rest of the night. Jake stopped by the bathroom, and there was an ice cream shop right next door, so I made a total impulse decision and got some. I guess Drunk Molly isn’t so different from Sober Molly after all

Ice cream is a food group in my world.

Once we got seated, I was reaching the point where I was starting to slow down. I wanted to keep the buzz going, but I also didn’t want to feel sick, so I decided that I’d have one more drink here, and we’d get a substantial meal afterward. This is why I don’t drink very often; I feel like it is always such a balancing act between feeling fun and ready to party vs. feeling sick and dizzy.

Yep! And you don't want to cross that line and feel gross.

However, after devouring a couple slices and pepperoni rolls, I felt my stomach start to turn. This tasted amazing, and I didn’t have any digestive problems with it last year, so I figured I would be fine. But, the rich pizza and seasoned sauce combined with all of the sweet cocktails I had consumed earlier was starting to take a toll. I immediately regretted eating this; I just had a feeling that it would come back to haunt me later tonight Unfortunately, I knew that I just had to play the waiting game on this one, take some Pepto, and hope for the best!

Ugh!

Hello DISfriends!!! Just popping in and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas (or Mele Kalikimaka ) and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Jake!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!! Hope you had a great holiday

Congrats fellow Wisconsinite on your recent marriage! I'm really enjoying your trip report so far, but I'm a little anxious to find out how your night went after the pizza!

Yay, I love seeing fellow Wisconsinites on the DIS Thanks for reading along!!! Spoiler alert- it was ROUGH

Hi Molly! I finally caught up and am doing a massive reply dump! My DH and I are going to Hawaii for the first time in August to celebrate our 25th so I am loving learning all about the Islands from you!

I love this for you! What an amazing way to start your married life together.

Could they be any cuter????? You are going to have the best trip!

I am exactly the same way! No poker face here. And also, whta in the world?????

Magical!!

Vacation is an alternate reality so normal rules don't apply.

Yum! And so sweet!!

Oh no! That is an expensive mistake. Did you bring beach towels from home?

You guys are too cute and sound like the best of friends. Which is the perfect foundation for a great marriage!

Haha! We always say that.....we hold hands and then we are "uh clammy!".

Lovely! What an awesome treat!

mmmm!

Sounds like a perfect day!

You totally do have a baby face with beautiful dewy skin. I can see why people would think you are younger.

Beautiful! Sounds like a perfect day.

Kismet!

That made me tear up. I know his illness and passing took a real toll on you and am glad you felt a connection to your dad on Kauai.

Sounds delicious!

Dreamy!

So true! I was always a big reader and when I am back at school each fall I kind of get away from it. It's really nice to get back to reading again.

It can be really intense being on the go all the time. Nice to have some time to relax.

The perfect cookie can be a life changing experience!

A little tipsyness is fun on vacation.

Alcohol is definitely something to enjoy in moderation. Don't get me wrong, I will happily enjoy some drinks but it can turn on me quickly.

An authentic tiki bar is awesome to expereince!

Love that!

Nothing wrong with indulging on vacation!

Too bad!

Nice to hear Hanalei was such a win for you!

You never know what an "ocen view" will turn out to be.

That is so cool!!

Yikes on the credit card situation. The smores sounded yummy!

It's a nice view but totally not an ocean view.

Wow!!

It can be fun sometimes. And $8 is SO cheap!

Ice cream is a food group in my world.

Yep! And you don't want to cross that line and feel gross.

Ugh!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Jake!

Hi Susan!!! So good to see you here That's SO exciting!!! Tell me all about it- where are you booked and for how long??? You are going to absolutely LOVE Hawaii- I feel like it is very Disney-like in the way that it is completely immersive and feels like a bubble. Except that bubble is "aloha" instead of "magical"

Thank you so much for your kind words We really could not have had a more perfect honeymoon. Jake and I do travel really well together usually, but this trip was just the perfect combination of relaxing and adventurous- it was definitely our best trip yet! We were absolutely charmed by Hanalei and it was so special to feel my dad's presence on that island. And we obviously loved Oahu both times we have visited! But the Big Island was a totally new and unique experience, you'll read more about it in my later establishments. It's definitely a different vibe over there!

I am SO excited yet kind of nervous to take the kids to WDW- they will all be so little!! (the baby will be 3 months and the twins will be 2 years old). We have a lot of adults going along so we will all take turns watching them/riding things with them! It will be so fun to have a new and slower-moving experience with lots of character meets. But, Auntie Molly may need to forcefully buy herself a dole whip and take a break in the Tiki Room at times too

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 11


Well, as I suspected, I WAS in for a rough night. The combination of sugary cocktails and greasy pizza was just too much for my stomach to handle, and I did end up getting sick a couple times during the night Luckily, the worst of it ended around 2:00 AM, and I was able to settle and get back to sleep until about 8:00 AM. This was the latest I had slept all trip, and it felt so weird!

Naturally, I was slow-moving this morning, and we headed down to Orchid Court at about 8:45 AM. I definitely wasn’t starving, but I wasn’t in any extreme discomfort. We were cursed with the mentality of “the breakfast buffet is included, might as well have some!” I figured I’d get some bland food and see if that helped. I managed this meager plate!



Clockwise from top- a shrimp shumai dumpling, breakfast potatoes, vegetable lo mein, a chicken-apple sausage link, a cinnamon sugar malasada, and a chocolate iced donut. Unpictured is a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal, which ended up being pretty much the only thing I ate this meal. The cereal was easy on my stomach and actually ended up settling it to the point where I wasn’t feeling nauseous anymore! Fortunately, this was the last time that my stomach acted up on this trip- thank goodness! I am known in my friend group for my sensitive stomach; my friends always joke and say “It’s not vacation if Molly isn’t throwing up” . Between that and Drunk Molly’s behavioral antics, I’m surprised I haven’t been exiled from my friend group for good, haha!

Jake and I were very excited to have a relaxing day today. If you remember from earlier in the TR, 8 days ago at Aulani, we had called and booked a 60-minute couple’s massage for 12:00 on this day! They had a choice between a “waterfall” or “ocean” experience, and we chose to have our massage be ocean-front! Well, upon arrival to the resort two days ago, we had seen a sign in the lobby advertising a deal for a full-day beach-front casabella lounger rental included with the purchase of any couple’s massage. We inquired about being able to take advantage of that deal, and they added the casabella rental to this day free of charge for us!! We were very impressed, and I was very satisfied that I was able to check out all 3 of our resort’s spas!

We checked in and grabbed our lounger at about 9:15 AM. It was a peaceful morning!



I will say, our lounge chair was not nearly as comfortable as the casabella lounger at Aulani, haha! However, one perk that we had here was that they had packed us a free lunchbox full of canned Hawaiian Sun drinks, fresh fruit, and chips. They also passed around cold towels throughout the day as well as some mochi ice cream balls later in the afternoon. All of the free snacks throughout the day kept us satisfied so we didn’t need to buy any food, so that was a definite plus.

Jake and I walked the beach and listened to music before our massage (we didn’t want to be all wet and gross, so we didn’t swim just yet). I was also able to get started on my second book of the trip!



The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. Overall, I liked this book a lot better than the previous one! There were times where I literally couldn’t put it down! This book is rich with detailed (and tragic) history about the Holocaust, as well as an intriguing side story and nice little twist at the end. If you’re a history buff like me, you’ll love this book.

Soon enough, it was time to head over for our massage! This was only Jake’s second massage ever, so he was very excited in particular. I was pumped to experience a “couple’s massage”- since that was a first for me as well! I was wondering if they’d incorporate us in any way during the massage. They led us back to the locker rooms, and I got to enjoy a nice shower as well as some lemon water before heading out to the ocean.

I didn’t have my phone out, so there are no pictures of any of the massage experience. We had a secluded cabana that was right on the ocean, and it was so lovely and peaceful to hear the crashing waves as we got our massage. Jake and I both opted for female massage therapists as well as a “Lomi Lomi” massage with the most gentle level of pressure. Jake loves Lomi-lomi salmon and asked what the connection was; apparently, a “Lomi Lomi” massage entails that they massage your body in long, continuous strokes all the way down- much like how you would rub spices into fish before you cook it!

Overall, the massage was AMAZING and so relaxing. It was definitely the best massage I’ve ever gotten! I noticed that my massage therapist was spending a lot of time around my neck and shoulder-blade area, so I figured that I had some knots up there. I really enjoyed the Lomi Lomi technique, and the massage was nice and gentle while still getting out all of the tension in my body. I always wish that they spend more time on the feet and head massaging- that’s my favorite part! One thing that I did notice was that there was no “couple” involvement; I’ve heard about some places having the couple hold hands during the massage, etc. It wasn’t a huge deal to Jake and I (we weren’t expecting a ton of interaction anyway), but it was kind of funny that we paid all that extra only to just be adjacent to each other during the massage .

As always, the massage felt so quick, and we were changing back into our robes before we knew it! It did kind of feel weird changing with our cabana open to the ocean- hopefully no boaters or swimmers out there got a special show . My massage therapist commented that she could have spent at least another 30 minutes on my shoulders alone, saying that the tension and knots I had were “shocking” for someone my age. She even recommended craniosacral therapy ! I tend to carry a lot of tension in my neck/jaw (I have TMJ) and I also have bad posture. But that really puts things into perspective!

I did end up snapping this pic of the lagoon when we were walking back to the main spa area!



I was suuuuuuper relaxed after the massage and ready to take a nice, steamy shower to rinse off all of the oil. The spa had this eucalyptus spray that you could spray into the mist, and it smelled so good. I could feel the tension melting away- nothing could break this relaxation!

I bent down to soap up my legs, when a little friend came out to greet me…



Um. Relaxation- OVER! I’m pretty sure I stared at it in shock for like 2 minutes while it rolled around, but as soon as it came crawling towards me, it was game over. I booked it out of the shower- butt naked mind you - and dried off/got dressed at lightning speed!! Bugs don’t usually creep me out, but I was thoroughly disturbed after seeing a wild MILLIPEDE. I did let the front desk staff know that it was there when I checked out, but I was a little sad that my relaxing shower got cut short. I ended up seeing another one in the dirt a couple days later and excitedly showed Jake and recounted my harrowing tale, haha!

I was still really tired; being up sick during the night and the relaxing massage was a lethal combination! I really wanted to go back up to the room to nap, but I was determined to get as much beach time as possible, especially since we were coming up on the end of our trip. So, I just snoozed in the casabella chair. I told Jake to wake me up after 30 minutes, but I woke up almost an hour and a half later . He said “You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you!”

We spent the rest of the afternoon just laying out, enjoying the beach chairs, reading (me), and wading in the lagoon.

As I was enjoying the view, Jake pointed out that the big mountain in the distance was Maui!! I was so surprised by this; I’m not sure what I thought it was, but it was so cool that Maui was that close and we could see it so perfectly!

At around 4:45 PM, we headed upstairs to shower and get ready for the evening. We were going to head out to Jake’s favorite restaurant on the Big Island- Lava Lava Beach Club!

Once we knew that we were going to the Big Island, there was no question that we had to eat here at least one night. Even back when we first started dating, Jake would show me pictures of this place all the time and vowed that we needed to eat here someday. It’s a really cute beachfront restaurant that has tables right in the sand, and best of all, it was only a 10-minute drive from our hotel!

On the drive over, we were flipping through radio channels and we stopped at the FUNNIEST local station! A man was speaking in Hawaiian Pidgin and recounting a very detailed recipe for some sort of Kalua pork and cabbage dish. He was so funny- I literally could have listened to him all day!

We arrived at Lava Lava Beach Club at 5:30 PM!



They did let us know upon arrival that it would be at least an hour wait, but we were 100% anticipating that (that’s why we left the hotel so early)! So, we used this time to explore! The restaurant had a great set up of an outdoor cocktail bar as well as a variety of lawn games to keep people entertained while they wait! Jake and I decided to venture off the property.

Right at the entrance, they had a cat sanctuary with close to 30 stray cats just hanging around. There were also quite a few wild mongoose mingling with the cats! We both love animals, so we just watched the kitties from a distance for a little bit. Then, we took a little stroll to the Marriott Waikoloa Village and A-Bay!



Jake had told me all about the amazing sunsets at A-Bay, but sadly, it was kind of overcast tonight. It was still really nice to sit on the chairs and chat for a bit!

At 6:20 PM, we got the text that our table was ready (just about 50 minutes later)! My appetite had come back full-force, and I was ready for some dinner!



We got a seat right in the sand, and they had a talented musician playing acoustic guitar and singing all night. Right as we sat down, he started playing “Return to Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins, and it set the relaxing tone immediately!



We had a young kid as our waitress who really did a great job and was a seasoned pro, despite the fact that he couldn't have been older than 21! Jake and I ordered our drinks right away- we were both in the mood for a frozen cocktail! Jake had a lava flow and I had a strawberry daiquiri.



Whenever Jake showed me pictures of this place, he would talk about how their ribs were his favorite ribs ever and fell off the bone. We had a truly awful experience with ribs at Tiki’s in Waikiki last year, and honestly, that was the last time I ate them! I was determined to right the ship with ribs today. Jake and I ordered the same thing- a half rack of guava BBQ ribs! I ordered mine with sweet potato waffle fries and Jake ordered his with regular fries. We also split a side order of pineapple fried rice, just because it sounded good!





The ribs had a great flavor! They were pretty tender, but not as “fall off the bone” as Jake remembered. They still tasted really yummy though- I loved the guava BBQ sauce! The sweet potato fries were also perfect (they are one of my faves at home), but to be honest, we liked the fried rice at the Fairmont breakfast buffet better than the fried rice here .

Both Jake and I were in the mood for dessert tonight! Their dessert menu was very expansive and had a ton of different options. Jake and I must have been on the same wavelength tonight, because we both ordered the same dessert as well! We each ordered the “Kiss My Chocolate Monkey”



“Vanilla Sponge Cake, Kokoleka Hawaiian Chocolate Mousse, Banana Custard, Bruleed Bananas, Butterscotch Drizzle, Chocolate All Around.” I know I’ve said in the past that I don’t always prefer mousse or custard based desserts, but these are literally all but one of my favorite flavors (banana, chocolate, butterscotch, vanilla cake) in one dessert! Just missing peanut butter So, I felt like this couldn’t go wrong.

This dessert tasted great but was CRAZY rich. I could barely finish half! Which was OK, because Jake finished his whole portion AND my other half He was in dessert nirvana.

Overall, the dinner was really satisfying, one of the best, but it was one of the most expensive meals of the trip. You do pay for the atmosphere here, and that is definitely worth it!

We were finished eating by 7:45 PM, and we headed back to have an early night in the room. We went to bed at 9:30 PM. We had two big excursion days planned back to back, and we needed our sleep!


​

 

[MsChristy12]

Hi Molly! Wow what a trip report! You go girl!!

We just came home from Oahu/Aulani couple weeks ago, and I'm still missing the ocean and palm trees!!
We also stayed at the Fairmont Orchid in September and LOVED IT! We were there just about 2 weeks before you guys. Maybe we had the right timing, the resort was pretty quiet and even the pool only had a handful of kids in there both days we were there. I would definitely stay there again or recommend it to others.

I only scanned through your posts, will have to come back later to read them all! Especially about 1 Hotel in Kauai, that looks like a resort I would love! Also, I don't know if anyone told you this, thank you for making the font bigger and a different color! Not that I can't read the regular font size in black, but just easier especially in between your pictures

 

[suse66]

Hi Susan!!! So good to see you here That's SO exciting!!! Tell me all about it- where are you booked and for how long??? You are going to absolutely LOVE Hawaii- I feel like it is very Disney-like in the way that it is completely immersive and feels like a bubble. Except that bubble is "aloha" instead of "magical"

Thank you so much! We have never been to Hawaii so are very excited! We are looking at mid August with 3 nights in Waikiki, 6 nights in Aulani and 2-3 nights in Turtle Bay. So only 0'ahu this trip but will definitely be exploring other Islands later on.

Thank you so much for your kind words We really could not have had a more perfect honeymoon. Jake and I do travel really well together usually, but this trip was just the perfect combination of relaxing and adventurous- it was definitely our best trip yet! We were absolutely charmed by Hanalei and it was so special to feel my dad's presence on that island. And we obviously loved Oahu both times we have visited! But the Big Island was a totally new and unique experience, you'll read more about it in my later establishments. It's definitely a different vibe over there!

I am loving this TR...so happy and upbeat. You two are the cutest!

I am SO excited yet kind of nervous to take the kids to WDW- they will all be so little!! (the baby will be 3 months and the twins will be 2 years old). We have a lot of adults going along so we will all take turns watching them/riding things with them! It will be so fun to have a new and slower-moving experience with lots of character meets. But, Auntie Molly may need to forcefully buy herself a dole whip and take a break in the Tiki Room at times too

Dole Whip breaks will definitely be in order! As long as you take it as a first introduction to Disney and build in plenty of down time, you will be golden.

Naturally, I was slow-moving this morning, and we headed down to Orchid Court at about 8:45 AM. I definitely wasn’t starving, but I wasn’t in any extreme discomfort. We were cursed with the mentality of “the breakfast buffet is included, might as well have some!” I figured I’d get some bland food and see if that helped. I managed this meager plate!

Poor you! Glad you started feeling better and it didn't spoil the whole day.

Jake and I were very excited to have a relaxing day today. If you remember from earlier in the TR, 8 days ago at Aulani, we had called and booked a 60-minute couple’s massage for 12:00 on this day! They had a choice between a “waterfall” or “ocean” experience, and we chose to have our massage be ocean-front!

Nice!

I will say, our lounge chair was not nearly as comfortable as the casabella lounger at Aulani, haha! However, one perk that we had here was that they had packed us a free lunchbox full of canned Hawaiian Sun drinks, fresh fruit, and chips. They also passed around cold towels throughout the day as well as some mochi ice cream balls later in the afternoon. All of the free snacks throughout the day kept us satisfied so we didn’t need to buy any food, so that was a definite plus.

Sounds like a perfect afternoon!

a “Lomi Lomi” massage entails that they massage your body in long, continuous strokes all the way down- much like how you would rub spices into fish before you cook it!

Heavenly!

My massage therapist commented that she could have spent at least another 30 minutes on my shoulders alone, saying that the tension and knots I had were “shocking” for someone my age. She even recommended craniosacral therapy ! I tend to carry a lot of tension in my neck/jaw (I have TMJ) and I also have bad posture. But that really puts things into perspective!

Do you have benefits for physio? I find that has really helped with neck/shoulder tension.

I bent down to soap up my legs, when a little friend came out to greet me…

EeeeeeeeK!!!!

Once we knew that we were going to the Big Island, there was no question that we had to eat here at least one night. Even back when we first started dating, Jake would show me pictures of this place all the time and vowed that we needed to eat here someday. It’s a really cute beachfront restaurant that has tables right in the sand, and best of all, it was only a 10-minute drive from our hotel!

Love this!

Right at the entrance, they had a cat sanctuary with close to 30 stray cats just hanging around. There were also quite a few wild mongoose mingling with the cats! We both love animals, so we just watched the kitties from a distance for a little bit. Then, we took a little stroll to the Marriott Waikoloa Village and A-Bay!

I would want to be right in the middle of those cute cats but maybe not the mongoose!

We had a young kid as our waitress who really did a great job and was a seasoned pro, despite the fact that he couldn't have been older than 21! Jake and I ordered our drinks right away- we were both in the mood for a frozen cocktail! Jake had a lava flow and I had a strawberry daiquiri.

Yum!

Both Jake and I were in the mood for dessert tonight! Their dessert menu was very expansive and had a ton of different options. Jake and I must have been on the same wavelength tonight, because we both ordered the same dessert as well! We each ordered the “Kiss My Chocolate Monkey”

Sounds delicious!

Overall, the dinner was really satisfying, one of the best, but it was one of the most expensive meals of the trip. You do pay for the atmosphere here, and that is definitely worth it!

What a great night!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Hi Molly! Wow what a trip report! You go girl!!

We just came home from Oahu/Aulani couple weeks ago, and I'm still missing the ocean and palm trees!!
We also stayed at the Fairmont Orchid in September and LOVED IT! We were there just about 2 weeks before you guys. Maybe we had the right timing, the resort was pretty quiet and even the pool only had a handful of kids in there both days we were there. I would definitely stay there again or recommend it to others.

I only scanned through your posts, will have to come back later to read them all! Especially about 1 Hotel in Kauai, that looks like a resort I would love! Also, I don't know if anyone told you this, thank you for making the font bigger and a different color! Not that I can't read the regular font size in black, but just easier especially in between your pictures

Thank you so much for reading along!!! Wow, you're so lucky you are able to come to Hawaii so often! We loved the Fairmont as well; it was very romantic and felt like the perfect honeymoon resort. But 1Hotel blew us both out of the water; it is hands down our favorite hotel we have ever stayed at in our lives!! What is your favorite island???

Thank you so much! We have never been to Hawaii so are very excited! We are looking at mid August with 3 nights in Waikiki, 6 nights in Aulani and 2-3 nights in Turtle Bay. So only 0'ahu this trip but will definitely be exploring other Islands later on.

I am loving this TR...so happy and upbeat. You two are the cutest!

Dole Whip breaks will definitely be in order! As long as you take it as a first introduction to Disney and build in plenty of down time, you will be golden.

Poor you! Glad you started feeling better and it didn't spoil the whole day.

Nice!

Sounds like a perfect afternoon!

Heavenly!

Do you have benefits for physio? I find that has really helped with neck/shoulder tension.

EeeeeeeeK!!!!

Love this!

I would want to be right in the middle of those cute cats but maybe not the mongoose!

Yum!

Sounds delicious!

What a great night!

I think Oahu is the perfect island for a first Hawaii trip. That was the first island I visited as well and I think it's still my overall favorite island. It feels like a perfect mix of all the islands; you have the city in Honolulu, beautiful beaches on the windward side, small-town feels on the North shore, PLUS Disney at Aulani!!!

It was a beautiful and very relaxing day; much needed before our next two big excursion days! I'll have to look into physio benefits; hey- I wouldn't say no to "doctor orders more massages"- you know, in the name of HEALTH and all

Just want to also say that we got your adorable Christmas card and LOVED IT! Hope you had an amazing holiday and happy new year!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 12


Jake and I slept in and stayed in bed until 8:30 AM today!!!! This was the latest we slept all trip, and we felt so lazy. Which is so funny, because I regularly wake up at 10:45 AM on the weekend at home . We got a full 11 hours of sleep last night, so Jake and I were more than ready for a busy day today! Today and tomorrow were planned to be full of driving and excursions.

We jumped into some athleisure and headed down to the Orchid Court breakfast buffet at 8:50 AM. Luckily the earlier dinner and good night’s sleep last night did me well, and I was feeling 100%!



Clockwise from the top- chicken potstickers, canadian bacon breakfast slider, waffle with syrup/ bananas/chocolate chips, cinnamon-sugar malasada with housemade pineapple jam, portuguese sausage link, and fried rice with furikake/chili oil. I also had a bowl of Raisin Bran and granola with milk. Cereal is one thing that I always eat at home (one of my go-to breakfasts is cereal mixed with vanilla yogurt and chopped apples), and this definitely carried into the rest of the trip. It was nice to have a little taste of home! What’s your favorite cereal? Mine is definitely Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Our agenda for today was to explore the east side of the Big Island! Before our trip, Jake had explained that each side of the island was a totally different atmosphere. Waimea to the north was like a western cowboy town, Hilo to the east was wet and tropical, and Kona was dry and sunny with all of the lava rock of course. I was ready to see all of the lush greenery today!

We did pass through Waimea on the drive, and it totally reminded me of a small town in Texas! They had a sign for a “Halloween harvest festival” going on the week after, and we both commented on how fun that sounded and how this would be the perfect town for something like that. We passed so many cows, sheep, donkeys, goats, and horses on our drives the next couple days. I’m just glad that we didn’t see any wild boar!



Driving through the mountains! Jake always says that this drive reminds him of Big Sky.

After driving for about an hour and 15 minutes, we reached the Waipio Valley Lookout!



When Jake’s friends visited him here back in 2019, they drove/hiked all the way down that cliff edge to go to the black sand beach down there!! That would be a big fat NO for me, haha!



Despite this being the “cloudy and rainy” side of the island, we lucked out and had a beautiful day! This was a really pretty view; we stayed for about 15 minutes just enjoying the sights.

We weren’t too impressed by the waterfalls in Kauai, so we decided to try and see some here! We drove for another hour or so and ended up at Akaka Falls!



We took a nice and scenic little hike to get there. Overall, we were much more impressed by Akaka Falls! It was beautiful and very peaceful to hear the water flowing!





Jake and I walked the trail for a bit, it was very rainforest-y over there and a totally different vibe from the Kona area!



When we hopped in the car, we decided to start heading over to Hilo- our main destination for the day! Until we saw it…. A sign on the side of the road advertising “Cuddle Baby Cows- $20”

STOP THE CAR!!!

There was no way that I was passing that up!!! Jake was like, “We live in Wisconsin, we see cows every day” . But, being the doting husband that he is, he paid the $40 for us to go in and see the baby cows It was a sweet little farm with a couple other families there. And the baby cows did not disappoint!









It’s funny; before I met Jake, I was never overly concerned about germs or getting sick. But, Jake can be a germ freak sometimes and that has totally rubbed off on me (I think that as well as a combination of COVID culture has made me very anxious about illness. Now, before every vacation or event, I have a lot of anxiety surrounding the potential of getting sick). I remember loving this experience, but also being very eager to wash my hands when it was done The cows were so soft and mellow. Some people at the farm were even laying on them or next to them!! I just stuck with some nice pets! We were there for about 20 minutes.

Overall, it was definitely one of the highlights of the day! It sounds strange, but this was a fun and unique experience, and I love animals! It also felt nice to give business and support to a local farm.

We decided to make one more stop before heading to Hilo. We had been seeing signs on the road for various lookouts and beaches, and Jake had remembered really loving a hike called the Onomea Trail. So, we pulled over and hiked for about a mile or two to see the sights!





Overall, this was my favorite part of the Big Island. It reminded me of Kauai! It felt very lush and green.

We found this really nice and secluded little beach. Only a couple of other people were down there and it felt very “secret”! This beach literally smelled AMAZING- better than any candle because it was natural and fresh!! It was like a mixture of fresh rain, gardenia, and eucalyptus.







It was so relaxing to just stroll and take in the sound of the crashing waves. We also saw some giant crabs over on the rocks! Definitely take the time to do this trail if you are driving to Hilo! It was my favorite part of the day

We were getting a little peckish, so we finally made our way over to Hilo! It was only about a 20 minute drive from this spot! We got there at about 1:45 and were able to find parking downtown no problem. First order of business was a snack that we had been thinking about since Monday…



Ube soft serve! Ever since Drunk Molly had impulsively bought some in Kona on Monday, Jake was dying to have a portion all to himself! I had found this place online called Makani’s Magic Pineapple Shack. It was soooo cute in there, and they were blasting Disney music, so instantly I was a fan They also had dragonfruit and acai flavored soft serves as well as smoothies and acai bowls with various toppings. We each got a cup of the ube soft serve.



Happy boy with his soft serve!

This was just as good as we remembered and so refreshing after our morning activities! We enjoyed our treats outside, and headed out to explore the town. We peeked in a thrift shop and some other souvenir shops. They also had the Hilo Farmers Market (what an awesome coincidence- this was not planned) going on that day, so we checked out all the fruit and merchandise booths! I love exploring different town’s farmers markets while on vacation.

Overall, I don’t like to be negative, but I wasn’t a huge fan of Hilo. Jake and I live in a neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI that is known for being a little “trashy.” We live in a very nice and secure apartment complex, but I don’t necessarily feel comfortable walking outside by myself at night, it tends to be noisy, and we do have a lot of crazies at our local grocery store/etc. Hilo… kind of reminded me of our hometown . It just seemed really rough around the edges and there were a lot of vagrant/homeless people kind of walking around aimlessly. A lot of the buildings were falling apart and it just seemed kind of decrepit. I don’t really have a desire to return Which is sad, because it’s well-known for being an “Old Hawaii” town!

It was about 3:00 PM right now, and my stomach was starting to rumble for a late lunch. Jake had been wanting to check out a place called Pineapple’s that he had been to once when his parents visited the Big Island. It is the only open-air restaurant in Hilo! And it was perfect timing, because their happy hour was from 3-5! We sat at a high-top in the bar area. Jake wasn’t hungry, so he just stuck with a beer. I ordered a Lilikoi iced tea and two of the “happy hour” mini-sized apps!



Kalua pork slider on a guava bun with pineapple BBQ sauce



Jalapeno BBQ chicken wings

This was the perfect amount of food for me and I inhaled this!! The food here was great; Jake wished he was hungry because everything looked so delicious! Because it was happy hour, it was also dirt cheap!

Before we headed out of Hilo, Jake wanted to show me something that his mom loved when his parents were there. This was called the Liliuokalani Gardens, and it was right on the water just outside of downtown Hilo!





This was a tranquil paradise compared to the hustle and bustle of Hilo! We had a great little stroll through this garden. It was very scenic and there were lots of nice photo ops.





Honestly, I’m going back on my statement on Hilo- I will come back to eat lunch at Pineapple’s, grab some ube soft serve for dessert from Makani’s, and enjoy it while walking around the Liliuokalani Gardens

We were starting to hit a wall right about now; we had done and seen a lot on our road trip adventures so far! It was 4:15 PM, and we decided to head back to Waikoloa Village. We made a pit stop just outside of Hilo to check out Rainbow Falls!



This was another pretty waterfall; we had the best luck with sightseeing on this island! It drizzled on/off a bit on the drive back, but it was an easy ride overall. It was so cool to see the environment change from lush rainforest, to rugged farmland, back to black lava rock!

We made it back to Waikoloa Village around 5:45 PM, and decided to do a bit of shopping before having a chill night. Waikoloa Village had a lot of cute shopping centers to see. This area reminded me a lot of Ko Olina in that way- just WAY bigger!

First stop was the King’s Shops- where we saw a cotton candy sunset from on top of this lookout point!





We then looked through the Queen’s Shops, which had the most stores and was my favorite shopping center of the 3 we saw. I picked up this beautiful painting at an art store here. It’s the horizon of Lanikai Beach on Oahu, painted on a small wooden surfboard! (It seems like an eternity ago; Jake and I visited this beach on day 2 of our honeymoon)! This looks so cute in our apartment. I get a little twinge of happiness every time I look at it because I am reminded of our incredible honeymoon



There was also a little hula dancing show going on in the Queen’s Shops, so we stopped and watched for a bit. A 5-year old girl went up there all by herself and did a solo- she absolutely KILLED IT and was so brave! I made sure to give her a standing ovation .

Lastly, we stopped at the Shops at Mauna Lani, which was only about a mile away from the Fairmont Orchid. (Tip- if you stay at the Fairmont, they actually have a free shuttle that takes you to these shops every half-hour. Very convenient if you need to go grocery shopping and don’t have a car!). We were very excited for our dinner plans tonight!

On our trip to Waikiki back in 2022, Jake and I took one night to have a picnic instead of going to a restaurant for dinner. We picked up a smorgasbord of food options from Foodland and brought it outside to enjoy on some picnic tables! This was a core memory from this trip and it was so fun to do something different and check out the local finds. We knew that we needed to re-create it this trip!

Lucky for us, there was a Foodland at this shopping center! We picked up some quick eats and couldn’t wait to enjoy a quiet little “picnic” in our room- we were BEAT and looking forward to just a chill evening.

After parking in the outside lot, we made our daily walk over from the parking lot to the hotel lobby. I led the way and took a “shortcut” way, crossing over a grassy median with dirt and mulch. All of a sudden, I hear Jake shout, “OH MY GOD.” I looked back, and the median that I had just walked through was CRAWLING with roaches. The thing was absolutely COVERED; there was probably at least a hundred of them all frantic and in a tizzy because I had just marched all over their home . Jake was like “CHECK YOUR SHOES!” Luckily, no roaches hitched a ride on me, but OMG, we could not stop laughing at how blissfully unaware I had been while skipping through a sea of roaches We were both doubled over, hysterical, and about to pee our pants for a good 5 minutes! I’m so glad that I had not seen the bugs until after I passed through; I’m pretty sure I would have frozen into a catatonic state with fear, haha!

We made it back to the room by 7:45 PM. Feeling very fancy, we opened the champagne and changed into our complimentary robes. Check out our feast!!



And feast we did!! We picked up some spicy ahi tuna poke (2 containers for Jake, 1 container for me), tortilla chips and guacamole, and fresh mango with li-hing powder to sprinkle on top. Of course, we had to get some dessert too! The peanut butter mochi looked very intriguing in the bakery case. Since peanut butter is basically a food group for me, I had to pick up a container of those! We also grabbed a jar of Nutella (let’s be honest, we just eat this plain with a spoon).

This was a perfect little snack-y dinner, since I wasn’t too starving after my late lunch at Pineapple’s. Jake, however, was ravenous, and ate both of his containers of poke AND a couple bites from my container . Jake becomes an ahi tuna fiend when he’s in Hawaii. He was joking that he was going to get mercury poisoning!

Our main meal was fantastic, but sadly, the desserts were disappointing. We opened the Nutella jar and immediately found a thin layer of mold on the top, so that was promptly trashed . Also, the peanut butter mochi was just plain WEIRD. First of all, it was crunchy peanut butter on the inside, which I am NOT a fan of. I’m a purist- creamy pb is the only way! It was also just sooooo thick- the mochi dough combined with the peanut butter literally created a glue in my mouth that was really hard to swallow. Jake tried some and said that it was “unusually viscous,” haha! It was very weird and hard to eat; I would not get this again!! I love strawberry or other fruit-flavored mochi, so I’ll just stick to that next time.

Overall, this was one of my very favorite days of the trip. It was the perfect combination of adventurous and leisurely! For the rest of the night, we just relaxed and watched T.V, making it to bed early. We had planned for another big excursion day and an early wake-up call the next day! Only two more days in paradise


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[NAB]

I love seeing your pictures, reliving being there. We did not cuddle the cows though….maybe we should have.

 

[MsChristy12]

Thank you so much for reading along!!! Wow, you're so lucky you are able to come to Hawaii so often! We loved the Fairmont as well; it was very romantic and felt like the perfect honeymoon resort. But 1Hotel blew us both out of the water; it is hands down our favorite hotel we have ever stayed at in our lives!! What is your favorite island???

Haha we aren't THAT lucky that could go to Hawaii often, but I wish! It kinda magically happened this year but I'm very happy that we were able to do it. Prior to our Big Island trip, I think it has been 7-8 years since we last went to Hawaii?
Back in July, Alaska Airlines had a BOGO promo for Kona. At the same time, our family had timeshare points that needed to be used and couple of the Kona resorts were available for the dates that we could travel, so it was kinda a no brainer that we needed to go! Then we went to Oahu last month all because we became DVC members earlier this year and we had full 2023 points on both contracts so I said let's use them!

Kauai is the only island we haven't been to, but outta the other three, I would say Maui is probably my favorite because you can be very active and explore the outdoors, but also enjoy true relaxation at some of the nice bougie resorts in Wailea. I'm not sure if it's because I'm older now (20s are way behind me! haha), but after these two recent Hawaii trips, I realized I really enjoy the country Hawaii a lot more. I love strolling through local shops, stop at random country shops to get snacks then go on a nice drive alone the ocean! The charms of country Hawaii...it's a unique vibe...that's Hawaii to me

I have a few favorite spots in Kona/Big Island that I wonder if you guys checked them out! Guess I'll have to wait for the last 2 days of your trip report!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Gorgeous pictures in all of these updates!!! I'm so glad you stopped to cuddle cows; it just sounds so sweet and magical. I was horrified about your walking through the sea of roaches LOL so glad you didn't see them while crossing and end up standing frozen among them!!!! Yikes.

Sometimes a little hotel picnic is the best dinner ever. We do that at least once on every WDW trip it seems--pizza pajama party usually

 

[JBRB828]

I'm hoping you went to the Seahorse farm on the Big Island! r

 

[maleficent55]

Molly! I stumbled upon your trip report and devoured it!!! So so fun, love all the descriptions and funny gifs and overall lightheartedness

I loved how you described Hanalai as finding “our place”, I feel the same! I’ve traveled to Hawaii 14 or 15 times (I lost count but I think 14 lol), my dad lived there for 20 years (the Big Island), I had other family there (Oahu) , I honeymooned there (Oahu and Maui) send didn’t discover Kauai since 2013 and FELL IN LOVE, and have since returned to the same condo in Princeville 3 times, the 4th will be in August. I get the “our place feeling”, there is NOTHING like the north shore of Kauai.
My husband and I actually renewed our vows for our 10 year wedding anniversary on Puapoa Beach, the beach at 1Hotel, the condo we stay at is the Hanalei Bay Resort right above it, next door to the 1Hotel.

We LOVE Tahiti Nui and Tiki Iniki! Next time you go to Kauai, since you guys are such foodies, definitely check out Bar Acuda, right in the heart of Hanalei. Reservations open at 30 days and go fast.

Fun to read about you experiences and take on the Big Island too, I’ve been to Quinn’s by the sea MANY times, also Lava Lava last time and saw that cat sanctuary. That was wild!

Happy marriage!!! Hawaiian honeymoons are the best!!!

P.S. you and Jake looked the absolute happiest in that pic at Quinns

P.P.S while we are not staying at 1Hotel, we will be next door for 10 nights and my hubby and I usually get to leave our daughter with my in laws for a date night or two during our trips, I can not wait to try Melina Terrace!