Hawaii Recap (The Big Island)

Traveling and Day 1: Tex Drive In, Waipio Road, Bamboo Restaurant

We had two good flights on the way out (although they seemed REALLY long), and with no delays, we arrived on time, grabbed some KFC for supper and headed to bed.

On our first full day in Hawaii, we were up early, found some breakfast in Honoka'a at Tex Drive In, and then made a crazy long, crazy challenging hike down (and back up) Waipio Road. We were pretty shot the rest of the day, but managed to make some dinner reservations in Hawi at Bamboo Restaurant later that evening.

Here is a full recap of our travel day and first full day in Hawaii!

Day 2: Akaka Falls, Hilo Bay Cafe, Settling in to Kamea'a

Our second day in Hawaii happened to be a travel day, so after packing our things up and grabbing more breakfast at Tex Drive In (which happened to be right on our way), we hit the road en route to Kamea'a via Hilo with a stop at Akaka Falls along the way. It seemed like a much longer day than I anticipated it being (it was humid and sticky and warm as we were entering the rainforest), but it was beautiful! We grabbed a late lunch at Hilo Bay Cafe (delicious!!) before making our way to the house we had rented in Kamea'a right down near the ocean and settling in for the evening.

Here is a full recap of our second day in Hawaii!

Day 3: Ocean walk, Hilo Farmers' Market, Thai Smile, Rainbow Falls, Kaleo's

Our third day in Hawaii started out with a rainy morning walk down the street to see the ocean. Afterwards, we relaxed a bit (Cashel got in a long nap too) before heading to the Hilo Farmers' Market to find some lunch (we settled on some delicious Thai food at Thai Smile) and souvenirs. Afterwards, we made a short stop by the beautiful (and easily accessible) Rainbow Falls before calling it a day and heading back to the house. We made dinner reservations in Pahoa'a town nearby at Kaleo's (excellent food!) before trying to attempt to go see the lava flows at the end of Hwy 11. It was too rainy, however, so we didn't get to see anything afterall :(

Here is a full recap of our third day in Hawaii!

Day 4: Easter Fun, Panewa Zoo, Punalu'u Bakery, Setting In

Our fourth day in Hawaii, we were up fairly early again and Cashel was surprised to find some Easter treats on the table (although he wasn't too interested in the Easter egg hunt shortly after). We had lots of packing up to, unfortunately, as it was another partial travel day. We visited the Panewa Zoo in Hilo for Cashel, after which Cashel was ready for a nap, so we grabbed a little Jack in the Box before heading out of town en-route to Sea Mountain near Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, where we had hoped we could check in early (we couldn't).

We had to kill some time before our check in at 3pm, so we stopped at the local grocery store, grabbed some ice cream treat at Punalu'u Bakery. Fortunately by that time, our condo was ready for us, so we settled in. We spent some time visiting with other guests in the pool area (pool was too freezing to swim in), then made some spaghetti for supper and called it an early night.

Here is a full recap of our fourth day in Hawaii!

Day 5: Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, Resting, Hana Hou Restaurant, Pool Time

Our fifth day, we made an early morning trip to Punalu'u Black Sand Beach to explore a bit, which wore us all out. Cashel crashed hard after that, leaving us some extra time to lounge around the condo. I got a little sun while Mark napped. When Cashel woke up, we made our way to find some lunch at Hana Hou Restaurant (good food, but nothing spectacular), then spent a relaxing rest of the day back at the condo. We did manage to make it to the pool for a short swim (still frigid) before settling in for the evening. Cashel LOVED this place as it had lots of stuff to safely climb on (along with lots of stuff to NOT so safely climb on), and lots more birdies to watch.

Here is a full recap of our fifth day in Hawaii!

Day 6: South Point Road, Greenwell Farms, Big Jake's Island BBQ, Kona

Our finaly day in Hawaii, we packed up our things and hit the road en-route to Kona for the day. Mark wanted to check out the South Point Road to see what the hype was about (It wasn't much, by the way - just an old country road that eventually got too rough to continue on), then we made our way to find some lunch at Big Jake's Island BBQ (absolutely outstanding ham sandwich with honey clove glaze - my mouth is still watering!) before taking in a coffee plantation tour at Greenwell Farms. Afterwards, we made the last little stretch in good time to Kona and killed a bit of time at Walmart before making our way down near the beach and touristy area for the evening. We explored the boardwalk area a bit before grabbing some dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., then took in a beautiful sunset down the street a bit on the rocky beach front area. Our flights home were both without any issues, and our little guy slept the whole way (can't say as much for Mom and Dad, but we tried).

Here is a full recap of our final day in Hawaii!


We had a wonderful time in Hawaii, although I think it will be quite a while before we think about going anywhere that far away anytime soon again. Those days spent flying are enough to wear a person out! Lovely, lovely place to visit. We would highly recommend it to anyone :)