Holiday Flashback: My Holiday Trip to Hawaii -- Part 2: Kona

Last Thursday, I dished all about my fun layover in Seattle on my way to Hawaii this December for a holiday vacation with my family.

But this week it's all about the main event. The big kahuna, if you will.

Before this vacation, I had never been to any of the Hawaiian islands, so I really didn't know what to expect. I knew there would be beaches. I knew there would be warm breezes. But I didn't know there would be everything that the big island of Hawaii has to offer.

My family and I stayed on the Kona side of the big island, sort of near where the old airport used to be. My parents were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and decided to go all out by renting a gorgeous beach side home for us to enjoy for two whole weeks. I got to sleep in the upstairs, outside "bird's nest" which was basically like sleeping in paradise.

I could spend pages and pages telling you about all the amazing things we did while we were there, all the amazing food we ate, and all the amazing people we met, but I'd much rather show you.

There were sunsets.

Turtles.

And gorgeous ocean scenes.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt truly relaxed.

And very caffinated.

I'm quite proud of the photos that I took while I was there, although, it's almost difficult to take a bad photo while you're in Hawaii.

Holiday Flashback: My Holiday Trip to Hawaii -- Part 1: Seattle.

Happy Hump Day! I hope everyone up north is slowly starting to dig themselves out from the crazy blizzard weather. Have an extra cup of hot cocoa for me please :)

You know, I can't believe its only been three weeks since I was in the warm Kona sun with my family, sipping lilikoi juice and eating pineapple, ah! If I can close my eyes and concentrate, I can still hear the ocean waves, crashing against the shore...

Let's go back to paradise today, okay?

Before December, I had never been to Hawaii, let alone Kona, or anywhere on the big island. I never really realized just how FAR away Hawaii was. So far, in fact, that I had an amazing afternoon layover in Seattle, WA, which was a total treat.

I'd never been to Seattle before, either, so I decided that instead of spending the day inside the airport terminal, I should hop on the lightrail and head into the city to see something -- anything -- to say I had actually been to more than the airport there.

After asking for suggestions on what to do with six hours in Seattle, I decided to head to Pike's Place Market, which was the perfect activity.

Between hitting up the original Starbucks...

... finding amazing flowers ...

... making friends with a seagull...

.... and just enjoying the local flavor, it's safe to say I enjoyed my time there.

Now, I just want to go back!