Part 1: Magic Sands & Black Sands Beaches
We have been to the islands of Hawaii numerous times, but always to Oahu or Kauai. In fact, our first time to Oahu and Kauai was in 1988 when our family vacation included only ourselves and our two sons who were 7- and 4-years old. This adventure included exploring Waikiki, Diamond Head, visiting the Dole Pineapple Factory, hiking the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon, and snorkeling the shallow reefs at Poipu. However, our 4-year old, (who is 40-years old now), has little memory of the trip and we decided it was time to revisit, but this time with both of our sons’ families including our 4 grandchildren. In order to make the adventure new and fresh, we decided to visit the “Big Island” of Hawaii, and rented a 7-bedroom house in Kona, Hawaii known locally as “The Big House” near Magic Sands Beach.
We embarked on our trip from our home in Florida on Monday morning with a 6-hour flight from Orlando to Seattle, followed by another 5-hour plus flight from Seattle directly to Kona. From there, we rented a car and checked into the Holiday Inn Express for one night in downtown Kona near the shore. After settling in, we walked down towards the water, had dinner & drinks at a second story restaurant named “Poncho and Lefty’s,” and watched the sun set over the ocean before exploring the waterfront beach and returning to the hotel.
On Tuesday, after a hotel breakfast, we explored the local Kona area by car, identifying interesting shops & locations, visiting Magic Sands, Keauhou, and Maniniowale beaches, and locating “The Big House” where we would all spend the next week. Our younger son, Tony, and his wife and two children, (9- and almost 6-years old) arrived from a 3-day holiday in San Francisco at noon, followed by our older son, Mike, his wife and two boys, (9- and 7-years old) who arrived from a 4-day holiday visiting friends in Los Angeles. We greeted both families with flower leis before everyone grabbed a quick lunch and then settling into “The Big House”, choosing bedrooms, and jumping into the swimming pool. It was then time for gathering supplies, ordering pizza for dinner, and walking the unique and lovely decorated footpath to Magic Sands Beach for watching the sunset. Then it was baths and bedtime for the kids and nightcaps for the adults on the patio terrace deck, before bringing the long day to its end.
On Wednesday, the grandkids were up at 6:15am and ready for breakfast and an early swim in the pool, before we set off on the first day’s adventure. This morning we would make the 90-minute drive south to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach that is known for its encounters with sea turtles. We took 3-cars and drove south along the coast, heading first to the top of a volcanic plateau where we stopped and took a break at “Coffee Grinds” for coffee and smoothies. We then continued our drive around the most southern point of U.S. land in the world and headed east to the black sand beach, parking on the far-side of the parking lot. There are less than 25 black sand beaches in the world, and when we arrived this one had one large loggerhead turtle nesting in an area restricted for turtles, and another turtle eating moss in a nearby tidal pool. Eventually everyone began snorkeling seeing a large variety of reef fish of all colors, as well as sea cucumbers, eels, and more turtles! The kids built sand castles and explored for hours. After 3-+ hours, we packed-up and began driving back. Along the way, we stopped for lunch in the little town of Naalehu, where there was a local market taking place with food trucks. After lunch, we continued back to the house and took the occasion for more pool time. For dinner, we drove into downtown Kona at “Papa Kona’s” where we were seated on the deck looking over the ocean and watched the sunset. After dinner, we strolled along the many shops, getting ice cream and watching locals play volleyball before returning home for bedtime.
