Jimmy and I joined our Jacksonville, FL friends Francy and Matt on a trip to Hawaii. We’ve traveled with them before to GynOnc meetings. We arrived on the Big Island Wednesday and got our rental car (Pro tip-reserve it as early as possible anytime you go to Hawaii ) and were craving local cuisine immediately. It was like 4 pm there but 8 Mississippi time. We ate at Umeckes. We then checked into the Fairmont.

Thursday morning Francy and I did the 7 am yoga. We got breakfast, hung out at pool and did some snorkeling! I wasn’t very good at it, but it was absolutely crazy seeing all the beautiful fish. We signed up for the garden tour and it was so interesting. We learned about the local culture and how it relates to the food and the Landscape. That evening was the opening reception then went to watch the sunset. It was really only night we had a fabulous sunset.

Friday I did the 7 am yoga again and hung out by the pool most of the day. We were mostly whale watching. We saw a lot of whales each day we were there! There was a yummy food truck where we got tacos for lunch. We had reservations at Merriman that night. It came highly recommended by our daughter-in-law and the concierge. It was delicious and so fresh. Our waiter offered mocktails right off the bat. We were so impressed! All mocktails in Hawaii have fresh ginger and taste amazing. We then headed up to the stargazing tour on Mauna Kea volcano. It’s at 14,000 and chilly! It got cancelled due to no visibility. We were disappointed but it did snow on that mountain the next night. It was rainy and cloudy the rest of trip.

I got up and did the 8 am water exercise class in the rain. Then it was spa day for me and Francy on Saturday! Absolutely amazing. It’s called spa without walls cause it’s all outdoors.

That night was dinner at Lava Lava Beach Club – it’s super local and popular but all outdoors. It was rainy and very windy so not best night to be there but we enjoyed it anyway. We were with friends from Phoenix plus Matt and Francy. We loved The Fairmont Orchid.

Sunday was a travel day. We took a Southwest flight to to Maui. It was an easy quick flight. Once we landed, we got rental car and took a trip to Costco. Later we went to early dinner at another local favorite -Hali’imaile General Store. It was delicious!

On Monday, we all explored the Kaewakupa Beach. We saw a lot of whales. Then we had lunch at Monkeypod. We met up with our other friends from Jacksonville along with Matt and Francy. We had a whale watching excursion set up but cancelled it due to rain. So we pivoted and went to the Maui Ocean Center.

Maui Ocean Center is one of the largest tropical reef aquariums in the world. Their mission is to ‘foster understanding, wonder, and respect for Hawai‘i’s Marine Life.’ All of the animals that live there are found in the oceans around Hawaii. There is also an Open Ocean tank with sharks and rays. We walked through a clear tunnel with cool fish all around us. It against local laws to exhibit live whales, so the Ocean Center has a Humpback Whale sphere instead. This is a 3D film featuring humpback whales project onto a planetarium ceiling.

We then drove to Lahaina. It is the part of Maui where they had huge fires 2 years ago. We stopped at a little local restaurant, Paia Fish House on the way back to our Airbnb. It was a long line but it went by fast. The best fresh seafood and poke bowls!

On Wednesday we got up early and did 1/2 of the Road to Hana. It’s about 52 miles and was about hour away on other side of island. We loved it! You drive through Paia (hippie town) to get there. Also you drive by Mammas Fish House. We never got in but went by to see it.

We went to met our friends at the 4 Season for drinks and casual dinner in the lobby! They have live music and Hulu dancing.

Next morning we got up at 2:45am and left for our sunrise bike tour. We were about 45 minutes away from bike shop. Once we got there we loaded up in a van and headed up Haleakala National Park. You have to have a reservation if you want to get there between 3 AM and 7 AM. We watched the sun rise over the clouds and the volcano crater. It was freezing and windy but breathtaking! We then headed down to lower visitor center to get our bikes. It was fun riding down but you are mainly riding your brakes. We were glad we did it but you could just drive yourself up to top to watch sunrise. We explored the cute cowboy town of Makawao afterwards. We had breakfast at Ohana Island grindz.

We went back to the AirBnB and had to got packed up to leave. It was a fun and restful trip. We ate so much fresh fish and so many ginger mocktails. Aloha and Mahalo! We will be back!