Hawaiian Cruise: PART 3 The Big Island!

Hey, hey, Wednesday!

Well, I’m still here in sunny Mexico, but I thought I’d share some more pics with you of sunny Hawaii 🙂 .

This is PART THREE of our Hawaiian vacation recap from our spring break last year!

If you missed the other stuff, let’s recap:

First up, Erika and I kicked off Season 2 of our podcast The Bestie Breakdown by BREAKING DOWN HAWAII!  If you want to hear us chat about this trip in its entirety (both the land and the sea), make sure you listen HERE.

After that, I shared PART ONE where I went into a little more detail and showed you pics from our time in Ko Olina including both our character breakfast and luau at Disney’s Aulani Resort.

Next up, in PART TWO, we boarded Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America and set sail on a seven night Hawaiian island cruise.  I shared details from the day we boarded along with whale watching in Maui at our first port.

Today, our ship arrives in…

…the big island of Hawaii!  We were so excited to spend the day exploring gorgeous Hilo!  We had so much fun whale watching, but this day right here, might rival it as the best day of the entire vacation.  We had heard that there was so much to see and do in Hilo that we set up our own private excursion to make sure we didn’t miss a thing.  Early that morning, our framily of 12 hopped off the ship and set out for a day of fun!

Our driver and guide for the day was born and raised on Hawaii, so he was determined to show us his version of home.  First stop, we checked out the lava and aftermath of the most recent volcano.

I love taking tours with locals because they really know where to take you that’s off the radar.  We had plenty of time here to check out the lava and see the damage the volcano caused here on the island.  He had insight to the neighborhoods that were destroyed, how the island coped with the loss, what the days and weeks were like following the catastrophe…it was very informative.

Smoldering lava.

I was so glad that our kids got to get up close and personal with this part of the tour.  We all learned so much!

After a morning spent learning about volcanoes, he took us to another treasure in Hawaii…

…the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut plant and shop.  Oh my goodness!  We literally ate it up 😉 .

I think I ended up coming home with 12 bags of macadamia nuts (some savory and some sweet).

Next up, we wanted to eat somewhere our guide thought was local and off the beaten path, he took us here…

…for a delicious lunch!!

We were all excited to sit on the patio and enjoy a delicious meal!

Vacation time is the best time 🙂 .

After lunch, we headed over to see…

…the waterfalls of Hawaii.

I took a billion pics from our stop here at Rainbow Falls but will spare you them all.  It was GORGEOUS!  We hiked around, we took in the waterfalls, learned about the birds, it was such a cool place to stop.

Oddly enough, after this, we went to a cavern but for some reason, I don’t have any pics.  Agh!  Let’s hope Erika does on her post today!  Ha!

We finished off our day at this beautiful park here.

It was such a full but FUN day to see Hilo, Hawaii!!

When it was time to board the ship for the night, we were tired but oh so happy.

Over night, our ship sailed from Hilo to Kona (on the other side of the big island).  We woke up there the next morning…

…excited about a relaxing day in beautiful Kona.

Bowen was playing his ukulele early in the morning.  See?  I told you ukuleles are amazing for kids (who aren’t sharing your cruise cabin…).

These two besties were ready for our super fun RESORT DAY!!

But first, we had to tender 😉 .  If you don’t know what tendering is, that’s when the cruise ship can’t dock at the port, so you take a lifeboat to and from the port.  It’s super easy and often very convenient…Mades just wasn’t sure about it. Ha!

After a busy day before, we were so excited to head to the gorgeous Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort for the day!!  This is a BEAUTIFUL resort in Hawaii!  Years ago, Andrew, Kensington and I actually stayed here for a week…

….agh!  My heart!!!  She was only around 8 months old.  I actually blogged this entire trip and you can read it HERE.

So, we were excited to be back if just for the day 🙂 .

This resort has amazing pool areas, restaurants and even a dolphin experience right in the center of it!

 

 

 

We parked it for the day and were super happy!

Hawaii with my favorite people.

 

After a very full and wonderful day, we said goodbye to the resort and headed back to the ship…

…where we cleaned up and enjoyed dinner and the evening activities!

That wraps up PART 3!  We’ll share some more pics later on this summer, but don’t forget to catch Erika’s post today too!

Happy Wednesday, friends! xx