Part 2 of 3! I want to share some highlights from our trip, my most favorite, memorable activities/moments/food/drink from our little over a week trip to the big island of Hawaii. 

First, the hike: Pololu Valley is a great one, the views from the top are stunning….and when you reach the bottom, you’re on a beautiful island with black sand.

It’s not a difficult hike, probably 20 minutes each way, but it’s pretty steep so probably not kid friendly. I was actually pretty out of breath on the way back up but it was so worth it!

Hiking, and the helicopter tour (more one that in the next post; I know you are waiting with baited breath…) are excellent ways of seeing the island in all its beauty.

The area of the island we stayed at while we were there was full of old lava flows. The landscape was rocky, and vegetation could be sparse in some parts. This valley and surrounding area was the opposite: lush, green, and gorgeous water.

The black sand I was expecting ended up being more gray, but it felt really soft in my hands, I liked it. There were all of these dead trees on the beach, and lots of smooth looking rocks, some quite large!

Next is golfing at the Mauna Lani course! Truly unforgettable. Not because I did well (LOL) but because of the breathtaking views literally EVERY HOLE.

Not only was the course beautiful, the rental clubs & the golf carts were TOP.

The clubs were Callaway Rogue, here’s a description from their website:

“Quench your thirst for ball speed and forgiveness with the Callaway Rogue Driver. Designed to achieve the Jailbreak Effect – elevated ball speed and distance – the Rogue combines lighter Jailbreak bars behind the face and X-Face VFT Technology for unprecedented energy transfer into the ball.”

UNPRECEDENTED ENERGY TRANSFER.

I’m impressed. Dad says: “The clubs were excellent quality, especially the driver.” My review is carries less weight because I hardly ever golf these days, but I did love the clubs, they had a really nice weight. As far as our score, we scored a really good time haha. I’ll leave it at that…..

I’ll now transition into my favorite drink! After golf, we headed to Tommy Bahama, which (I didn’t know this previously) has a restaurant. Here are a couple photos of the sun going down from their outside balcony area.

So, my favorite drink:

Their frozen Mai Thai was SO good! They have a regular Mai Thai but the frozen one is next level good. I actually think it was the BEST Mai Thai I’ve ever had! The food there was fine but there were two places that we especially enjoyed and would recommend:

Sushi Shiono & Merriman’s –

 

I’ll start with Merriman’s – I unfortunately did not take any photos, but it was excellent. I had steak with a side of jalapeño mashed potatoes and they were even better than they sound. Also had a great wine list, below is a horrible quality photo of the wine we ordered, it was niiiiice.

At Sushi Shiono, we sat at the counter and had Omakase which is just sushi/food selected by the chef. While we have many dietary restrictions, we’ve only ever had great experiences once we explain what we can & can’t eat.

My favorites were the fatty tuna, salmon that was seared on the top, and a white fish that I can’t recall the name of. I’m not a huge sake fan but I had hot tea and it was so yummy.

Next up, my sister is going to post about the helicopter tour, she’ll be my first ever guest blogger which is very exciting!