Final Day on Big Island - Day 20
Wow, this week went by faster than the previous two weeks. Our final full day on the island was a memorable one. The days started out with Jimm, Steven and Kat heading over to Lava Lava Beach in the hopes they could find some turtles snorkeling and get a chance to see them underwater in their natural habitat. We had spotted some turtles the day before in this area, so they donned our snorkel masks and with our GoPro camera in hand, they headed out into the water. As it turned out, Jimm picked the perfect location. They hit the jackpot! And for his first time with the camera, Steven got some amazing videos of both turtles and fish. The highlight video is at this link of Kat swimming right next to one of the turtles. Amazing! While the three of them were at the beach, I headed to Hilton Waikoloa Village pool to scope us out a great spot for the day since we knew it would be busy on the weekend. I was able to get us a cabana next to the waterfalls. While they were snorkeling, I was able to relax and get some alone to time to finish my book and enjoy the morning. The rest of the crew joined me around lunch time and we spend the afternoon soaking in another beautiful sunny day at the pool. Late afternoon, we headed back to the room to continue packing for our flights tomorrow and got ready for dinner. We wanted to catch the sunset on the beach at Lava Lava Beach Club restaurant (close to where they had been snorkeling earlier in the day). I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone traveling in this area. We had to wait over an hour to get seated, but they have an outdoor waiting area with bocce ball, ping pong, corn hole and a 60s mini van serving drinks. The time went by so fast! The picture above was taken along the beach just beyond the restaurant at sunset (see more images on the Big Island Photos and Videos page). The food was impeccable. Steven had the Seared Ahi with ginger black bean sauce, Chinese five spices, stir fried red peppers, asian mushrooms, broccolini, Yakisoba noodles, pea tendril salad and spicy avocado. He said is was “the best” meal he has ever eaten. High praise!
Sometimes, when you are lucky, you have a day or evening that just makes you smile from ear to ear remembering it and warms your heart. This was one of those days. Spending time with people you care about, in a beautiful location, doing activities you love and sharing those experiences together is a gift and one we will remember for a long time.
Aloha Big Island! Deb