The New Adventures of Squidboy: Hawaii!

I had to go to Hawaii (the Big Island) on business (yeah, it's rough...), so we decided we might as well take some extra time and all go. Here are some highlights:

Day 1: Our flight left at 6:00 am, which meant leaving the house around 3:00 am (we'd had a lot of snow the night before and were surprised the flight wasn't cancelled or delayed).

Here's Raynor ready for his first flight

And here he is on the plane. Both kids were great on the plane. Raynor slept much of the time and Quentin entertained himself with a book of mazes (which is what he is doing in the background of this picture) and watching cartoons on the laptop.

My meeting was at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, a large resort on the west coast of the island. The corridors between the different parts of the resort were filled with art. It took us forever to get around the first day because Quentin stopped every few steps to take pictures.

Here he is taking one picture while already looking ahead to the next thing he wants to take a picture of.

Riding a dragon.

Going up the stairs. Having the stroller was great, but there were a few places where bridges went over the canals that the boats ran in (the hotel was big enough that there were boats and trains for getting around, but we mostly just walked). Getting over the stairs was a bit of an adventure.

Exhausted

The view from our room

Day 2: My first work function wasn't until that evening, so we decided to spend the day at the beach.

Raynor's first time in the ocean. He was uncertain at first, but mostly enjoyed it. The waves were fairly strong that day, so we kept him close to the shore.

Exhausted, again. Before the trip I worried about how to keep Raynor shaded at the beach. I ended up getting this beach shelter that we only ended up using once. Oh well, at least we put it to good use that day. And nobody got sunburned the whole trip, so I guess we did OK.

Quentin had a great time playing in the waves.

Day 3: I worked in the morning and early afternoon. Quentin went to Club Keiki, which is the children's program at the hotel. He ended up being the only kid there that day, but he didn't mind. He got to go swimming, but spent most of the time doing art projects, which is exactly what he wanted to do.

Crossing the bridge over one of the hotel's pools.

Another view of the same pool.

We rented a paddle boat and rode around the lagoon (which is manmade, but open to the ocean), looking for turtles. We found a bunch of them, which made Quentin very happy.

Quentin chasing fish in the lagoon.

While Daddy and Raynor wait on the beach.

Day 4: On the one hand, it felt like we hadn't had enough time to really enjoy the resort, but on the other hand, we were ready to leave to explore the island. Before checking out, we went for a swim.

I had booked a whale-watching tour, thinking it would be fun. First we couldn't find the place and almost missed our tour. Well, we found it, but it was a windy day and the ocean was choppy, and it was a smaller boat than I had expected. We rode out a little ways and the boat was tumbling around on the waves. I clung to Raynor and Quentin clung to me. The captain decided it wasn't safe, so we stopped and looked (unsuccessfully) for a whale that had been in the area, then turned around to go back. Quentin was terrified, then just ill. I managed to contain my seasickness better than he did, but I was still feeling it the next day. Oh well, at least it was an adventure.

After our ill-fated whale-watching tour, we headed to the Kona Brewing Co. so Matthew could try some of the local beer. We all had some ice cream and I enjoyed a "ginger-ade," which turns out to be perfect for nausea! Oh, and Matthew is wearing those shorts because he had to change out of his better pair after Quentin spewed on him (in the boat). After the brewery, we walked around for a while (Quentin bought a stuffed turtle) and then headed out for volcano, where we were renting a house. Quentin got sick in the car on the way. An interesting day.

Day 5: We wanted to have plenty of time to see the volcano, so we rented a house about 5 minutes from the park entrance. It was a beautiful place with wonderful jungle views, but a little bit cold.

Quentin stayed in the loft bedroom, which he loved (after some initial trepidation about climbing down the ladder).

In the lava tube. Quentin loved it so much, we went through twice in a row and then a third time the next day.

Headed out over the lava.

Day 6: More time at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This time we hiked through a crater. The hike was about 4 miles long, which is the longest Quentin has ever done. He absolutely loved it.

Here's where we stopped for lunch.

Back in the lava tube.

Reading about Pele.

Day 7: We headed down to the east coast of the island, explored Hilo, ate some great cream puffs (the lilikoi cream were the best), then headed to the final house we were renting, south of Hilo.

Exploring Coconut Island.

Here's the house we stayed in. The decorating was quirky and colorful.

Quentin stayed in this room the first two nights.

Day 8: Exploring around Hilo in the rain.

At the Hilo zoo. Quentin played on the playground in the rain.

The rain stopped long enough for us to have a picnic in a secluded spot near ocean cliffs and pounding surf.

After that we went to Akaka Falls, where it was pouring rain, so I didn't get any good pictures. It was fun, though.

Day 9: Our last full day.

At Lava Trees State Park.Note Quentin's Burger King crown (the rest of us had Thai food the night before, but Quentin opted out).

Hanging out at the house and enjoying the hamock chairs.

Day 10: Our flight left from the other side of the island at around 9:00 pm, so we spent the day driving around the island and stopping at various scenic spots.