Once again, we have had to recover from the last couple of epic days on the other side of the island.  This is not a bad thing.  I love recovery days.  Days that are unplanned, unscheduled, un-anything. To me, that means freedom, relaxation, and no stress because no expectations. We woke up and, of course, made our coffee run for the boys’ Estate of the Day coffees and wondered what to make for dinner in the evening.  Casually, Dan reminded us that while we were enjoying a couple cold beverages on the beach last night, we had him make us a reservation at Napua for dinner.

Apparently, the drinks served at the Mauna Lani Beach Club are a bit strong:) 

We were just trying to relax a little after our 350 mile trek; perhaps take a quick dip in the ocean with our boy and watch the sunset on the beach before coming back to the condo to cook dinner.  Well, we clearly accomplished that goal. It was actually so fun to sit with my family at the end of the day, look out on a beautiful mountain beyond the waves as the sun slowly faded behind us.  My boys always know how to make me laugh and last night was no exception.  We did make it back home to eat “breakfast-for-dinner” and watch Jurassic World.  (We always like to view a movie whose set was our current backdrop while here in the Aloha State.  The Jurassic franchise is always a good choice for that.)

Anyway, back to our recovery day… Dan and I grabbed groceries for rest of the week, then hurried home as Casey was ready to snorkel with her boys at the beach.  We spent a beautiful morning relaxing at the beach, adhering to the usual agenda: I wade in the water a bit then sit on the beach and watch my family swim way further out than I am comfortable with to snorkel and see what interesting marine life they can find. 

Casey, again, swam all the way back in and we were all very proud for a second time.  After a couple hours, we worked up our appetites and headed home for a delicious lunch at the condo. Then, while Mike napped and Casey ‘relaxed’ (i.e. played music on her iPad), Dan and I snuck out to the Waikoloa shops to see if we could find anything fun.  We didn’t really, but had a good time anyway.

Mike and I also managed to sneak away for a good hour or so later on in the afternoon to take a long walk by the shore.  We started at the Mauna Lani Beach Club and worked our way up past the new and improved Mauna Lani Resort Hotel (about to open to the public next month) all the way to the Fairmont Orchid beach (where we renewed our vows in 2017).  It is one of the nicest places to walk if you want to see a rugged shoreline but still easily keep your footing.  The waves were insanely big for this side of the island; the wind was so strong I could not keep my hat on.  It was fun to watch the locals try to surf these high waves.  I desperately wanted to ‘sneak’ into the Mauna Lani lobby (I mean, the lobby was open) and look for our friend Danny Akaka, but Mike is a rule follower and wouldn’t let me.  It was probably a smart thing as we noticed that even though there seemed to be a few guests at the hotel, they had security at each access point on the beach.  We wondered if there were some VIPs in for a soft opening.  Of course, if we had found our friend Danny, I am sure he could have spilled the tea.

Finally, we headed out for our almost forgotten reservation at Napua, which is a nice restaurant that overlooks the Mauna Lani Beach Club and, apparently, serves strong drinks.  They clearly had a wedding party dining there and it was sweet to see a small group enjoying such a lovely occasion.  We ended the day with a delicious dinner while listening to a young local man playing some great live music.  He looked so Hawaiian that Casey asked while he was on break, “Where did Maui go?”  (referring to Duane Johnson’s character in Moana) We didn’t tell him what she said but we like to think he would take it as a compliment.