Rain on the Island of Fire - Big Island in April 1

Springbreak! Yeah and what better way to make the most of it by trying to catch the first flight Saturday morning to Hawai'i - if it would only be that easy ;)
We started off by missing the first flight, big tears, standby mode and finally getting to our planned destination some 10 h later than planned. But we got there! Later but not less happy - we also had Mimosas on the way that might have helped a bit.

If spending some hours at the airport you better be prepared with some serious toys for all ages!

The first day on the island was our 11th wedding anniversary :) and we celebrated with a kayak and snorkeling tour with Adventures in Paradise. At 7 am we left at the Napoopoo pier and paddled over to the Captain Cook monument accompanied by some Spinner dolphins. Once there, we saw tons of fish and octopus. And one big advantage of getting there early is that we almost had the place to ourselves and left when the crowds arrived.

11 years and still looking tired in the morning.

Kayaking buddies.

The kayak tour was great and we were ready for some of the famous Kona coffee. So we headed back to Kona, where we would spend another night at a hotel before going on our road trip. We found a small hut with the promising name of Kona Wave Cafe. The coffee was excellent and their shaved ice perfection since their syrups are made from real fruit without dyes, we would be back for more.

Hawai'ian treats - iced Kona for the grown-ups and shaved ice for the 'little' ones.

Pineapple, lime, and mango!

And then it was time, K couldn't wait no more. Time for sandcastles and so we took it easy, spread our towels on the beach, and watched K build kingdoms, while also enjoying the luau show taking place near our spot - we could not have asked for more.

One happy builder.

Luau show.