Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Waikoloa Beach Resort

... the guide emphasized that many of these were controlled remotely (I know we saw the Keck telescope center back on the northern part of the island nearly at sea level). The tour thankfully gave us arctic parkas which was awesome because it was below freezing at the summit. Zach even grabbed a couple pictures of snow at the top. It was just amazing.

The tour ...

We got up really early this morning to another drizzly day in Honolulu. We had a 9:00 AM flight over to the Big Island of Hawaii to finish off our trip. We said goodbye to our Sebring and headed to the airport. The flight was SUPER fast, I swear we spent longer checking in and waiting than we did in the air. They did manage to squeeze a beverage service in, so I was able to get my POG ...

... setting your chaise lounge and keeping your toes wet. At the very far end where we hung for the day, there is another hidden waterfall area you can swim to. Plenty of chairs and umbrellas and palapas for shade. Oh,and the water is slightly salty like the other pool on complex.
The great hall is just that. A large area with plenty of comfy chairs for hanging out playing board games or cards in an AC ...

... very friendly though. The beach was
not quite it. The sand was kind of pebbly and I wanted to check out
the other beach to. So back up to the highway and down to Kaha Kai
State Park. The drive down the road was crazy in a car. There are a
couple signs that say the road is unimproved. That was the
understatement of the week. I am not even sure there ever was a
road. The car path was seriously beat up. It was as ...

... guava flavoring and pulled pork quesadillas and spicy fried chicken with a local sour cream with …well, I can’t remember. Everyone was happy and full and we decided to take to top off the jeep for the ride home. It was a lovely drive and we were all sad to soon say goodbye to this island.

We packed a bit and headed to the feature pool for a short last swim and then back to pack and prepare for the early departure. Another great day.

Hey guys, I bet you thought I would update this for a while.. Well I just got back from a wonderful 1 week vacation with my family to the big island, Hawaii. I won't go on too much about paradise, hehe but it was a very beautiful/fun trip. We spent the majoritiy of our time snorkeling with a myriad of beautiful tropical fish in some of the best spots for snorkeling. We stayed in a condo in South Kona which is mostly lava rock or black sand beaches, and ...

... level.  I thought we were supposed to maintain about at least a 500-foot altitude above the ground, so I took her up to 1,500 ft.   That was when Drew told me that novice pilots always do that - when you tell them to approach something higher, they go up.  Well, heck, I thought I was supposed to maintain an altitude.  I could've kept it at 1,100.  But that's really not important, I guess, because I really was flying the helicopter all this time.  I was ...

... Memorial Tree. It was meant to be a big deal, but instead we found ourselves in the middle of a logging fest. Two small girls who barely came up above our tyres appeared to be directing the traffic. Turns out their Daddy Lumberjack was doing himself a bit of tree chopping that day. (We hoped they weren't cutting down the Memorial Tree - when we asked about it the moustachioed tree masochist vaguely waved at a small forest of trees beyond a newly-constructed safety barrier ...

... made our way over to Kona - and had a phenomenal dinner at Kona Brewery. We enjoyed their outdoor dining area and the pizza was delicious. We then headed over to the shops where I picked up a peridot necklace which is mined at the Green Sand Beach, and which also happens to be my birthstone! All in all it was great day!