Big Island Adventure

Hawaii... what could be more relaxing?  Unless you decide to go to the big island, bring along 3 kids under 3, and eschew the fancy resorts in favor of a couple of "Westy" WW camper-vans. Then, not so relaxing. But an adventure? Absolutely.

We did actually start our trip at a resort-- enjoying a night at the Sheraton Keauhou outside Kona.  The swimming pool was nice, and seeing manta rays from the restaurant was cool, but we were here for some adventure. So off to "Happy Campers" we went to pick up our Westies!

The next couple of days were pretty memorable: we ate, slept, and played from these little vehicles at some of the most spectacular beaches around the island.  We saw huge waves, amazing rainbows, spectacular sunsets, and tremendous vistas.  We BBQ'd some amazing meals, and loved being able to roll out of our Westie in the morning to have breakfast on the beach.

There were definitely some rough moments: Tyler was eaten alive by the bugs.  Adam and Rachel would move their Westie to a deserted corner of the parking lot since Lilah was up so early.  And I don't think either one of us really remembers Volcano National Park thanks to a massive toddler meltdown in the parking lot of the visitor center.

After a couple of sleepless nights with all 4 of us in the van, Ryan took the boys out to camp on the beach.  A great plan, until a storm came through and knocked over the cheap rental tent!  Ryan will never forget ferrying the Spencer back to the Westie in the rain, and coming back to find a now-awake Tyler screaming at the rainclouds in confusion.

We even had a breakdown-- one of our Westies overheated on Easter Sunday, stranding us on a desolate stretch of highway outside Hilo.  As luck would have it, there was a charming Hawaiian church across the street that took us in for an amazing brunch and afternoon of hospitality while Happy Campers tracked down the right parts.

The grand finale?  Tyler took a fantastic nap on the flight home, only to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  He was unconsolable for the last 2 hours of the flight.  It was horrible.

Well, you really do get to see the Big Island in a unique way from the back of a camper van.... a lot of fond memories from this trip, but suffice it to say that it took us nearly a year to brave getting on a plane again after this Big Island Adventure!

Full slideshow here....