Hawaii 2016!

We got to tag along to Kona, Hawaii with Jed's parents when they rented a condo for 11 days!! This was our second time and we love it so much we're either going to make it our own tradition after we stop crashing Jed's parents' party or just move here. No joke; it is so gorgeous and peaceful. <3

Hold on to your butts and get ready for a whirlwind of pictures.

We flew out on Thanksgiving day and skipped the traditional dinner, which none of us care terribly much for anyway.

maiden voyage of our luggage

breakfast of champions, Vietnamese style

first class upgrade with Jed's dad's extra air miles!!

classy Thanksgiving table, lol 

First thing we did after the holiday was go to a dive shop and get our early Christmas present from Jed's parents: snorkel gear!! We decided last year on our cruise that we were over crappy rental gear when we snorkel and were planning on buying our own gear this time, but were then surprised to have it bought for us!! We will enjoy this gift and the gorgeous views they let us see around the world for years to come. We snorkeled 7 days we were there and looooved it. <3

foggin a bit

Most days were spent snorkeling, hanging in the pool/hottub, eating, reading, watching Netflix, and relaxing.

spent sizable portions of the 1.5 weeks like this

even chilling out on the patio was gorgeous

curlz after the pool. love my high humidity hair

Saturday we took the Fair Winds II to Kealakekua Bay and enjoyed my favorite snorkel spot. We also saw humpback whales briefly.

Wednesday we went to Hilo side and got rained on! There's a reason it's so gorgeous and green on that side.

drenched and happy in the warm rain

Akaka Falls

pineapple and Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory

Rainbow Falls

the Island of Hawaii is a very diverse and awesome island

We got an underwater camera and got some pix of our main snorkel spot: Kahalu'u. We didn't get to see any turtles til the last couple days of the trip and then saw a group of 4! I could float and watch those graceful, beautiful, peaceful guys all day.

We wanted to get down to Kealakekua Bay for the awesome snorkeling again and the only way to get there is via tour boat, renting kayaks, or hiking. So on the day before we flew out we did 1.8 mi 1300' elev loss down to the bay to snorkel and have lunch and then 1.8 mi 1300' gain in 82° and 70% humidity back up. Next time we'll go earlier cuz coming back was brutal.

gotta get me one of those wide angle lenses to do this justice

monument to poor ol' Cap'n Cook

dying, ugh

Aaaand food pix.

love the cheap local tropical fruit at the farmer's market

at On the Rocks you can dine with your feet in the sand

look at that gorgeous couple! 

looks fairly standard but my vegan taro burger w/namasu and salad was so amazing at Huggo's On the Rocks I didn't stop talking about it for days, lol

walked in downtown Kona one day buying souvenirs and eating our fave snacks

so many onigiri and musubi were munched this week. this was our picnic for our hike.

breakfast overlooking the ocean on the last morning at Island Lava Java

Souvenirs! I got my first blue Hawaiian opal pieces from our fave jewelry store, Sassafras, and Jed got a koa wood/abalone/tungsten ring and monkey pod carved masks. We loved getting souvenirs for our immediate fam (my parents, Jed's siblings, and our niecelnephs) and sending customary postcards (I know no one does it any more but I love postcards).

Seriously miss it already and are already talking about what we want to do when we go back. <3