#waikoloa

[thnx4thefish]

Brought Bbokari and Wolf Chan with me to Hawaii so they could visit the beach and the Pacific!

Sending lots of healing energy to the whole group now that we're really IN IT for comeback season.

[tm7tm7tm7]

[sutjigunter]

So grateful, we had a very Merry Christmas 🙏 Christmas feast at Macaroni Grill 🎄🎉❤️ #ourchristmasday #christmasfeast #christmastrees #bigislandchristmas #waikoloa (at Big Island, Hawaii) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmp52fKLevcHubVr4Aa-sNvicHU-snZRE7itHg0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mapsoffun]

My last swim at Hilton Waikoloa Village was in their saltwater lagoon, and it was pretty incredible. One of the criticisms of the resort from other guests I spoke to was some disappointment that there wasn’t a proper beach to sit on and swim in the ocean or bay. That’s a valid complaint, but the shorelines weren’t exactly beaches as much as they were covered in jagged stones. This lagoon is a decent compromise: no, you don’t get waves to splash in, but you do get a small beach and sit on a lounge chair, and you can swim with actual tropical fish (and a sea turtle or two). You’re not going to see a huge number of fish, but you will see a nice variety, and that alone is a pretty cool feature and reason enough to consider getting a dive mask/snorkel or at least a pair of goggles.

I went early, just as they were finishing up the little dolphin show they do some mornings around 8 AM, and it was like having much of the lagoon to myself. I could not have asked for a more peaceful and yet invigorating swim on our last full day in Hawaii.

[tiare-room-service-massage]

Tiare Room Service Massage

Massage and Spa Treatments to your door … Hawaii … 808-322-4720

[waikoloaproperties]

Explore Waikoloa Village Condos for Sale - Premier Waikoloa Real Estate

Discover a range of Waikoloa Village Condos For Sale on the Big Island. With over 10 condo complexes to choose from, Waikoloa Properties offers a variety of properties for ownership, rental, and investment. Find your ideal piece of paradise in Waikoloa Village with our experienced real estate team

[findhomeaway]

https://t.co/ABpLqVBKd4

[daisylovesrumble]

Urge These Resorts to Stop Offering Cruel Dolphin Experiences! | PETA

Hawks Cay Resort in Florida and The Kahala Hotel & Resort and Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii are supporting the abuse of intelligent dolphins by partnering with notorious Dolphin Quest or Dolphin Connection. These companies cruelly confine dolphins to tiny lagoons so they can offer tourists “swim with dolphins” experiences for profit.

[tropic-havens]

Waikoloa, Anaeho'omalu Bay, Hawai’i.

[petri808]

Day 11 @flufftober “sweet tooth” TakaRitsu . Just tooth ache fluff kind of Drabble.

It’s their first vacation trip as a married couple, and Masamune wants to make it so memorable, that his husband will always remember the time they spent together. Of course, in Japan it’s not a legal marriage, but now that Ritsu is added to his family registrar, Ritsu Onodera is now legally, Ritsu Takano… Oof, just thinking about it still gives Masamune goosebumps. Everything they’ve gone through to get to this point is in the past, and now their future is looking bright. Two successful men in the publishing world, who will one day take over Onodera Publishing, but for today, all that awaits is sand, sea, and a little paddle boarding in Anaeho’omalu Bay in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

The six day, five night honeymoon trip is a collective gift from both sets of parents to give the young couple a little relaxation before starting their fresh beginning. Many tourists choose Oahu island because of it’s wider array of things to do, but considering Ritsu and Masamune come from he city, a city vacation is a the least enticing idea. Therefore, Waikoloa on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii was chosen for it’s warm climate, and natural beauty— A place where life moves at a relaxing, slower pace that ebbs and flows like the waves on the islands sandy shores.

At the Waikoloa Marriott, Masamune and Ritsu are checked into an oceanside suite on the top floor that overlooks Anaeho’omalu Bay. It’s a pretty typical hotel with it’s pool, bar, restaurant, a salon and small gym, but what makes it special is it’s ties to the local culture. In ancient Hawaii, the local islanders would use the natural landscape of some bays to create what is referred to today as aquaculture ponds and fisheries. By adding rocks and wooden slatted gates, they would entice young fish to swim through the gate by providing abundant food sources, so by the time they try to leave, they’re too big to get through the slats anymore. The shoreline of the hotel features a renovated pond so tourists can see this amazing technique up close. It then stretches out into a mile or so long white sand beach where vendors rent out surfboards, kayaks, and paddle boards.

Around 4 pm, Masamune convinces Ritsu to go out with him on a tandem paddle board as long as he can sit while Masamune does all the paddling for them. It’s September, so the air is still fairly warm despite moving towards autumn. Plus, they didn’t plan to stay out too long.

“The sunset will look the same whether from our balcony or the beach, so I don’t understand why you want to be on a board in the middle of the bay.” Ritsu complains.

“Well,” Masamune counters, “the balcony is not really romantic and the beach has other people. This way, we can relax without distractions.”

“Guess that’s true” Ritsu relents as he sits down in the center of the board.

After kissing his husbands forehead, Masamune stands up and pushes away from the sand with the help of the vendor staff. Thankfully, the weather is on their side with very little wind to stir up the waves. For about twenty or thirty minutes, he paddles against the tide to get them past the break-point in the waves maybe two-hundred yards off-shore. It may not seem so far when you’re just looking out over the water, but when the waves are working against you, and you’re trying hard not to lose balance, it takes time to travel such a distance. But finally, they reach a point where it feels like the tide is no longer pulling too strongly and they can relax, just floating and bobbing surrounded by the deep blue sea. Masamune sits down behind with Ritsu between his stretched out legs, then passes the paddle forward to Ritsu to hold in front of them.

“What do you think?” Masamune asks Ritsu as he wraps his arms around the man. “Isn’t it so much more relaxing like this?”

Ritsu shifts back against his husbands chest. “Okay, I’ll admit it kind of is… Even the way the water is shimmering from the sunset is cool.”

Masamune sighs happily in his contented win. “Boy, the pictures of Hawaii’s sunsets don’t do it enough justice. They’re mostly red and oranges in the photos, but who knew they came with pinks and purples too!”

“I can imagine some of my clients immediately seeing these sunsets and breaking out their colored pens,” Ritsu chuckles and sighs too with a smile. “They’d look amazing with watercolors.” He turns his head so he can see Masamune better. “Thank you for bringing me out here.”

Over the gentle pitter-patter sounds of the water lapping against the fiberglass board, light whooshing of the trade winds, and occasional seabirds flying above, a sense of pure euphoria drowns out the conch shells roar in their ears. There’s a crinkling and tinge of moist shine in Masamune’s eyes as he smiles and leans in, placing a pressure-laden, long-lasting kiss on his husbands lips. “No,” his voice grows fervent, “thank you, for being here with me.”

What a perfect way to end their day.

[themanhattanfoodproject]

We spent a week in Hawaii last month on the big island of Hawaii itself, and one thing I was looking forward to was eating lots and lots of poke. I am someone who does my research before I go somewhere, and something I figured out pretty quickly in trying to better understand where we were staying was that there were a couple of grocery stores in the immediate vicinity, and the better one for my purposes was located up the road from our resort village in the next one, in part because it was a local chain and the touted their house-made poke, but also because they had a loyalty program and a pretty decent-looking selection of private brand products.

Foodland Farms definitely delivered. We went there on our first full day in Hawaii to pick up some poke for lunch and local snacks for the room, and basically everything we got was a homerun. The lady working at the poke counter was happy to give us samples and was clearly very proud of the poke on offer, and she made it really difficult to pick a couple for our first forays, but it was of little matter because we’d get lunch here most days as it was on the way back from the tradeshow my husband was attending, so we tried a lot. 

Not pictured was the seaweed salad I had later in the week, and damn, I wish it was more widely embraced because it’s my favorite salad out there. It’s savory, it has great texture, and unlike salads made with baby greens, it can stand to sit for a while and not turn into soup. 

(Photo of the store from their website, because I didn’t get a photo while we were there, stupidly.)

If you find yourself going to Hawaii Island and staying at either the Hilton Waikoloa Village or the Fairmont Orchid, do yourself a favor and sign up for a loyalty account for the Foodland Farms Mauna Lani and take advantage of the great deals and even better, freshly-made poke.

[kaijuandcoffee]

Manō Sunset! I wanted to do something featuring native and endemic Hawaiian flora and fauna. As a diver, tiger sharks are always a humbling animal to encounter out in the water: they’re as nerve-wracking as they are beautiful to witness up close. I’m truly lucky to have shared the water with these animals.

Niuhi or manō (tiger shark). Tiger sharks are apex predators and play a vital role in keeping ecosystems clean, healthy and balanced.

Tiger sharks can be considered ‘aumakua, the physical manifestation of the spirit of a relative or ancestor, who takes the form to look after and protect their families. Not all sharks are ‘aumakua, and not all ‘aumakua are sharks. However all sharks have a place of deep importance to Hawaiian culture and history.

Pua Kala (Hawaiian poppy): Hawaii’s only native poppy. While the blooms are short lived, they are one of the few few native flowers that can survive fire. This flower lives in dry woodland coastal regions on all the main islands. 

Ma’o Hau Hele, known as the Hawaiian Hibiscus, this yellow hibiscus is Hawaii’s state flower. Sadly, it is now listed as an endangered species. Support organizations like the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative to help protect Hawaii’s invaluable native ecosystems.

The Kingdom of Hawai’i was illegally annexed by the U.S. and should be returned to its Native people. Learn more and stay updated with Native Hawaiian-led causes and activism, (such as shutting down the water-poisoning Red Hill Navy facility and the building of the thirty meter telescope on sacred land) here:

https://instagram.com/kanaeokana?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU=

[protoslacker]

Reading about the wild fire that burned through Lāhainā made me quite sad. I saw the Save our Wetlands Web site linked in comments to a thread on post by Kaniela Ing at Xitter and provided a ray of optimism:

Lāhainā was once wetland. Boats circled around Waikoloa Church. It’s only became dry and fire-prone because of illegal water diversions and land theft by sugar barons in the 1800’s. Today, the same families reap insane profits off continued control of our irrigation, land regulators, and politicians. As we rebuild, we must restore the Green New Deal promise of public land and water use.

There's a substantial percentage of immigrants among the people of Lāhainā. My hunch is that indigenous Hawaiian people could make common cause with their working class neighbors.

My hope is the voice of the people will prevail in the rebuilding.

[mapsoffun]

The rain kept going all afternoon, letting up just in time for sunset, which was pretty cool since our part of the resort was noted as a great place to catch sunsets. We’d see people scurry over with cameras to both take photos and then pose for some, and it was charming.