Four Seasons Resort Hualalai - Island of Hawai'i

This is one of my new favorite spots for snorkeling with green sea turtles, which I absolutely love love love... did I say love?

Not only is it stunning for sunning but it's a tucked away resort beach that's right off the beaten path... on my way to Costco.

Yup, this is on my way to the store, people. So when we want to feel as if we've accomplished something mundane and tedious, deserving of something um, otherworldly as a result of our sacrifice in managing a well run household, we stop here. And pretend. Pretend like we're on vacation. Cuz... we are.

We just usually happen to have perishables in the trunk. If we are disciplined and go to Costco first, that is... lol! But, in reality, once the lunch crowd goes in for snacks and naps, we usually are at just the right time to have this lovely secluded beach all to ourselves. And heck, if we want, we can belly on over to the bar for snacks and cocktails at the bar. But we usually come with any festive supplies needed for a few hours at one of Hawai'i Islands premiere luxury resorts.

The first picture above is of King's Pond, which I freaking adore. To me, it is more reminiscent of a gorgeous Japanese water garden and because the Japanese culture is so respected and intertwined with the Hawai'ian Polynesian culture, it is a natural part of the Hawai'ian landscapes all over this island state. I just love it.

One of my most favorite forms of gardens and landscaping design is waterscaping. An art form close to my little gardening soul. This one is pretty special because it is so well done, tight to the hotel perimeter and yet even more fascinating, completely integrated into the natural black volcanic landscape of this particular are of the island. This is a beautiful resort and not too far from the Mauna Kea Golf Resort that we go to more regularly but a bit more secluded. And even more awesome is the fact that I've seen and swam with sea turtles here. I've not seen them too many times this far up but the reef, which you can just barely see in the picture is a perfect spot for them. A bit rough for most swimmers and I do get banged up a bit from time to time but I don't care. I know how to be careful and if I do take heed, then I hardly ever get a scratch. But if I do, it's because it was worth it. ;)

Knowing this, I always wear my scuba boots and will keep my 2 mm neoprene in the car from now on as it was almost a tad chilly last time I was here. By that, I mean, like perfect for most people at around 78 degrees or so in the water but if you like to be in the water a bit longer say, or on a partly sunny day, you might get a little chilly. It's truly a gorgeous spot.

My partner has a Hawai'ian sling for fishing but he hasn't used it yet. However, I encouraged him to bring it with us next time because when I was out, I saw a pretty good sized flounder. Although, now that I think about it, that isn't allowed on this particular beach. Not just because it's a resort but I think this area has a special wetland and marine preservation designation. Ok, scratch that. Not here, but like, just about everywhere else, fishing is absolutely allowed as long as you respect the water, the wildlife and other beachgoers. Basically, don't be a jackass and no sport fishing and always, always adhere to the signs and park or beach restrictions that are posted. When in doubt, always ask someone first.

And never, ever take anything home with you if you live out of state. Bad juju. If you've ever seen the Brady Bunch, you know. That's real. lol!

So I'm going to guess that the rooms here run about a grand a night. Not sure, but that's kinda the going rate for the higher end resorts on this side of the island. Hilo side, you just don't have any resorts really, which I think is pretty darn cool. But if you want them, then you must head to Kona. It's where we do our Costco shopping, like I said, so if you do get a room here or at one of the Westins (which I also love and we frequent more often) then rest assured that close by, you have all you need to stock your kitchen if you want to take advantage of the outdoor kitchens for grilling or just make your own surf and turf.

This resort is a hop skip and jump from the airport as well, though you'd never know it. It's so very peaceful and the drive is almost a bit like desert oasis meets rockstar tropical cliffside beach. Just crazy gorgeous. And if you want to take the scenic drive to the North tip of the island in the Kohala ranches mountainside, you will not be disappointed. Great way to see a sunset outside of downtown Kona beachside. And the drive will take your breath away.

Maui, Hawai'i - I see you from where I live!

Ok, so originally I thought that we'd buy a house in Maui. It was our original scout mission. And a series of bizarre, comical events sorta ruled it out from the get-go.

I had a realtor on Maui, a realtor on Hawai'i Island and seriously, if I had known the Rock lived in Maui, I'd be his neighbor. Love what the Rock is cooking any night. lol! But I digress.

Our original scouting mission to Hawai'i last year included Maui. In fact, original to the plan was a brief layover in Oahu, then onto Maui for the serious business of house hunting. My Maui realtor, super cool guy, but a bit of a sillyhead, had helped me find accommodations for our trip. I told him we'd be flying into Oahu then taking a direct interisland flight to Maui immediately following and that we would need help with a place to stay if he knew anyone on AirBnB he could recommend. He said he did and connected us, like a good soul and a realtor that knew there was business to be done.


Well I believe that things happen for a reason. You may not know it at the time and it may seem terribly inconvenient, but the Universe does intervene, apparently.

I'm contacted by our helpful host the day before and we exchange emails to make final arrangements. We are getting a car so I needed directions, we were coming in quite early, etc. Super nice of Doug to help us out, he had a full apartment we could use and it was right on the North Shore, couldn't miss it. Just across the street from Ted's at Sunset Beach.... words were flying, he was excited in an old surf-dude sorta way and telling me all kinds of things I couldn't quite process in the moment because my mind sorta stuck, like a glitch on one thing.... North Shore.

FULL STOP.  Finally, my brain connects to my big mouth and I blurt out, "NORTH SHORE?! WAIT! WHAT??!" Hold the freaking phone a minute....

I am panicking but manage to type out the email that said this:
North Shore. As in THE North Shore. As in.... Oahu??

And his smart ass response should have clued me in instantly, but I think the best of people, always. Even when I shouldn't.  His response was this:
Uh, yea? Duh? Where did you think you were going? North Shore is in Oahu. Google it.

I was a) irritated as hell at that rude response and b) irritated as hell with the realtor ON MAUI who connected me with a friend of his ON OAHU for what was supposed to be my house hunting adventures on MAUI.

Yea, I'm stupido? I mean, why the heck would I assume that the BnB you hooked me up with would be on a different island. Yep, my bad. I have a yacht, no biggie?

I'm not sure what planet he was on when we had this conversation or why he wouldn't have just clarified in case it wasn't extremely clear by the fact that I had hired him to help us house hunt in Maui... but something went amiss in the convo. Obvs.

But given that this was the day before our trip and I didn't have any other accommodations lined up for another week, I had to think fast. F you, ya crazy wanker, I was thinking to myself. Guess we're going to Oahu then. That's also because when I tried to explain that yes, I knew that Maui was on a different island than the North Shore but my house hunting was on Maui... he pulled the ol' guilt card and said that he had reserved it for us, now had no lodgers as it was last minute and would have to charge me for the stay.

Ok, red flags everywhere but we were literally hours from taking off on our Super Trip. I soothe him by agreeing that I was the dummy and we'd figure out what to do once we got there. Our Host with the Most was satisfied for a brief time until he later threatened us Haole with the local Hawai'ian mafia, which I assure you did not go down well with my ex-Special Forces soldier who instantly took offense. Tsunami pulled out the scary in such a low voice, I don't even really know what he said back to our host but Dougie Boy instantly shuffled off to bed. And later apologized to me the next morning asking us to please not leave, just chill and have fun. Wtf, for real, just happened? I just continued to sit there eating my crab and wanting to see what would happen next.

But that's a different weird, hilarious and surreal tale for another time. No one got beat up, hazed thrown out, shanked or wore cement shoes on this trip, I am happy to report. Things settled down after this bizarre show down with our host but it was the weirdest, creepiest stay in the most gorgeous location. So... definitely, it's a story worth telling later.

Moving on. Suffice it to say that I was so annoyed with this whole situation but absolutely committed to the trip, we decide to stay the new course and enjoy Oahu. Screw Maui. A misunderstanding that for most people, would upend their master plan. Not us. We just went with the flow and had a trip that still makes us laugh to this day. Poor Doug. He never stood a chance. A week later, we leave without further incident and the last thing Doug said to me before leaving was, "You are a great lady but these Army guys are crazy." lol! Ya think? All I could think to myself was, "Good luck, Mafia."

So the threat of Hawai'ian Mafia extinguished for the time being, we head to Hawai'i Island, bypassing Maui altogether.

BUT. We did eventually make it to Maui. For my birthday. And for some film industry event Tsunami had been called for that coincided with that weekend. Best part of my trip to Maui.... I ALMOST met the Rock. lol! Tsunami, not so impressed with the Rock by the looks of it even though I know he's also a huge fan. One day, Alice.

We stayed at the Westin Maui, Kahalui,  I think it was and it was pretty awesome. You can never go wrong with a Westin and this was pretty brand spanking new, like a year old. We cooked and grilled the whole time we were there. So much so that I am sure there were people who wished they had thought of it, too. And I assure you that filet mignon and lobsters on the grill caused a bit of a stir when the fancy folk realized that what they were smelling throughout the resort wasn't coming from the schicky-micky restaurant onsite. Sad. lol! But then again, those people wouldn't have shared a back pack with their bathing suits just to pack their carry ons with an entire lauder and pantry of good eats like we did!

Wish I could tell you all the awesome things we did in Maui but I can't. It was just a long 4 day weekend and a half hour flight from home. Yep, on a clear day, you can see Maui. For real, you can. When we drive to the beaches near our house, Maui is actually visible. In fact, it's so close that sometimes GPS gets confused and thinks we are in Lahaina. We are close enough that the only radio we get by our house is Maui radio.

So we ate super well in Maui but that's because we brought our goodies with us. Not necessary at all, but super practical because we have everything at home we'd eat out at a resort if they knew how to cook as well as we can. And a half hour flight almost seems silly. Up and down. That quick.

We googled for some top chefs but bagged the idea because we were just so chill and enjoyed the massive 2 bedroom apartment style suite at the resort. I highly recommend it and if family ever do come in and want to go to Maui, that's where we'd go. We ran out of time for the Road to Hana trip I desperately wanted to take but knowing it's such a quick trip, we put it on the back burner for next time.

Snorkeling was ok but I didn't find the right spots yet on Maui as the snorkeling is better at home. But again, I haven't spent hardly any time in Maui to say that with any conviction and snorkeling is one of those activities that it doesn't really matter how good it is as long as you can do it safely. At least, that's what I tell myself as a potential setup for returning back to Maui just to prove myself wrong.

I should really write another post about Oahu because the truth is that Oahu is just stunning. Small and stunning and overcrowded compared to Hawai'i Island, but stunning, just the same. It's my favorite layover island next to Papeete, so far and we both welcome any excuse to go back. Lucky for us, it is a required stop over when flying to Tahiti, or just about anywhere else, for that matter, so it's easy enough to squeeze in time in Honolulu when the mood and timing strike.

Our next trip, and we haven't exactly decided, is either back to Moorea or to Savai'i, Samoa. Samoa is an hour closer and I can use my timeshare so we are looking at Samoa. But it's hard to pull yourself away from a place you know and love so much, so we'll see. So far, we've been to 6 islands in the South Pacific. Let's make it 7, shall we?