We went to Hawaii, to Kona, for Spring Break. With the kids. We thought it was going to be torture flying all those hours with three kids and a five hour time difference. Instead we had one of the best family vacations we've had in a long time. Yes, I was surprised too.
It had a lot to do with the fact that we did not bring a stroller and Amanda is now potty trained. We didn't have to pack diapers or carry diapers or worry about when and where we were going to change the diapers. One less worry. We didn't have to lug the stroller or check the stroller or find space in our room to store the stroller or listen to the girls, and occasionally Andy, fight over the stroller. Yes, I wish we would have had it during the 1.5 hours we were at the Kona airport and Amanda was so asleep that I had to carry her through checking the bags, waiting for the flight, security and then on the plane. My body still hurts from that. No other time during the entire trip did I wish for that stroller and for the kids it was out of sight out of mind.
We honestly didn't do that much. We left the resort the first day to get breakfast and find a grocery store, and the second day to go to the beach. We would venture out for dinner and a second trip to the grocery store, but otherwise we just hung out at the hotel. We had a small dorm fridge in our room so the kids had yogurt and cereal in the room for breakfast and I made PB&J for lunch at the pool. We didn't do any touristy stuff, we just played. For six days straight.
The weather was fantastic. A few overcast afternoons which were probably more of a blessing than a hindrance because it prevented us from staying out too long in the sun and frying the kids, but otherwise fantastic weather and no rain. We slept through the sunrise but saw a few beautiful sunsets.
Our biggest fear beforehand was the flights. We flew four hours to L.A. and then another 5-6 to Kona. We were convinced it was going to be a nightmare, but the kids were awesome. There was one point on the trip to L.A. where Amanda was overtired and extremely cranky for about 30 minutes and that was it. The rest of the time there and back they were really well behaved. Better than I could even ask.
The hotel had several pools and water slides and a cool lagoon with a beach but no waves. The only downside was that the pools weren't heated, but when the sun was out it wasn't that big of an issues for Charlie and me and it never stopped the kids from swimming. At the end of each day they were exhausted from playing so long and hard and barely made it through dinner (Amanda didn't even get that far a few nights). Some of that had to do with the time change as well, but we aren't complaining. What more could we ask for?
There was also a Dolphin Quest at the hotel. I would have loved to do it but it wasn't in the budget and the kids were still too young. Too young for our standards, the hotel would have gladly had them. For something like that we want them to be older and make sure that they really remember such an amazing experience. We told Sarah when she is around 10 we can reevaluate. Even though we didn't participate you could still get really close to the area where the kept the dolphins and we got to spend a lot of time watching them. The trainers were also right there so you could ask questions, it was very cool.
The adjustment after we got home was a little more difficult, but we jumped right back into school and activities and our big, crazy life and haven't had much time to look back. The time together and relaxation was exactly what we needed.
We're already starting to think about where we want to go next year!
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