Places to Stay in Kona

One of my friends asked me about my opinion on where to stay in Kona...here were my thoughts to her (that I thought I would share):

So as far as Kona goes, there are a ton of little condo resort type places as well as plenty of houses to rent, but not a ton of hotel resort type places.  As a kid, I was not in love with Kona because it is pretty bare bones on the “kid” activities and it is really laid back, plus it is black sand beaches (which is not what people normally see in pictures of Hawaii).  But let's face it, I was a kid going to Hawaii, so who is to complain about that.   

Kona is not your normal “hawaii experience”  - with the black sand beaches, it does not feel very yellow sand tropical, but it is mostly always sunny and it is a wonderful area.  You can find a ton of rental houses on www.vrbo.com and then we have stayed at Kona Coast Resort http://www.shellhospitality.com/Kona-Coast-Resort which I know is a time-share place, but I think you can rent condos there without the timeshare stuff.  My mom has stayed at the Keauhou Surf and Racket Club http://www.konacondo.net/more/SR.html which is right next door to the Kona Coast Resort and it was nice too.  Now these are strictly condo places…maids do not come every day, there is no concierge and the pools are on the smaller side as compared to the big resorts.  But you get the kitchen, BBQ and ability to prepare your own food which is nice.  Plus there are areas for the kids to run and play outside the condo. 

As far as hotel/resorts in Kona (which I have never stayed at, but have admired from the outside looking in J), there is the King Kam http://www.konabeachhotel.com/ which was just being renovated two years ago, so I think everything is fairly new there and they are right in downtown Kona…they officially start the entry into downtown and are pretty much the start of the IronMan swimming course.  There is the Royal Kona Resort http://www.royalkona.com/Index.cfm where we have attended a luau (prekids) and it seemed very nice.  Farther south is the Outrigger Kanaloa http://www.keauhoubeachresort-hawaii.com/index.cfm which is right by my favorite snorkel beach.  And then the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa just was renovated about 3-5 years ago and I think is fairly nice as well: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1469

Okay then if you move up the coast a bit (heading North from the airport – as opposed to South toward Kona) you head into the Kohala coast which has many more vacation resort areas which is more the hotel/resort experience…we have only stayed at the Waikoloa Hilton, but have played golf at both Mauna Kea and Mauna Lani…all 5 star resorts.  These hotels have more traditional yellow sand beaches and provide more of the typical “Hawaiian resort experience”.    Here are their links:

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/KOAHWHH-Hilton-Waikoloa-Village--Hawaii/index.do

http://www.princeresortshawaii.com/mauna-kea-beach-hotel/

http://www.maunalani.com/

If you like golf, the Big Island has amazing golf, but you are definitely going to pay for that amazing golf.  Both Mauna Kea and Mauna Lani have amazing courses (the type you see in magazines) but they are really expensive.  There are cheaper courses – Mike has played the Kona Country Club which is one of the cheaper courses and it is decent too.

Here is my blog post from last January 2011 when we returned home…it has mostly information on traveling with the kids at the time, but might have some additional helpful info: http://gruvemomtimes.blogspot.com/2011/01/hawaii-advice-with-kids-in-mind.html

Cheers to loving the Big Island and Kona!

Encouragement

Mike and I went out to dinner with one of our friends on Saturday night.  We had a wonderful time and of course had a substantial amount of wine!  The conversation turned to what I might want to do "when I grow up" and my friend said to me, "Whatever you decide to do you will be successful at it."  I respect this person immensely and for her to say this to me, meant more than I can express here.  Instantly I had tears in my eyes because I have not had that type of encouragement in a while...truthfully I have no idea when the last time was I have had that sincere type of all-encompassing encouragement.

As parents we always are encouraging our kids...take that next step, learn that word, take that leap into the pool, etc, but I don't think as adults we think of encouraging other adults.  It makes a HUGE difference!

I have been thinking about this non-stop over the past two days and realized I had to encourage all people that read this blog and everyone I know to keep your eyes peeled...if you know people that are in a transition in their lives, have been thinking about them lately or just need a kind word, SAY IT - call them, go to dinner, email them, FaceBook them...I am telling you it means the world. 

Cheers to having people in my life who encourage me and wishing that to all people I know (and even those who I don't know)!

2012 Goals

Well of course it is that time of year!  Time to set those goals for this year.  For me I think the goals are pretty simple...they are the first things that come to my mind (in no particular order):

1.  Work on stopping spending.  I have been really good over the last 2-3 months, but I really need to get a handle on it and pay down some debt.

2.  Lose weight - The exercise part I have no problem with and really enjoy (however, I need to be more consistent with it)...I need to curb my eating.  And with curbing my eating, I need to work on eating small meals throughout the day.  Generally I don't eat until about 3:30PM or 4PM because I have been so busy taking care of Tommy and Morgan.  So my goal is to eat smaller/healthier meals throughout the day and then I think the weight loss will come with that. 

3.  As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I would like to work on curbing my anxiety.  Although I need to work on curbing my anxiety not only about my kids, but also about what other people think about me.  I am really concerned with this...I am constantly worried if I have offended someone, done something wrong to someone or disappointed someone ...while this is good, I think I take it to the extreme.  So I need to find a balance with that. 

4.  My constant goal, which I do a pretty good job at if I do say so myself, is enjoying every moment at all times.  This life is so very short, and I truly always try to make every moment count. 

I think that might be it.  Of course I might add to that over the course of the year, but for right now, I think those are pretty good goals!

Anxiety - Am I really this mom?

I have decided I am an anxious person - not necessarily to the random person I meet on the street, but it is there...one of my most prevalent flaws (and yes I have many :)). 

Yesterday, Tommy had his first ski lesson.  Mike and I had talked about it many times and we were both really excited to get him up on skis - we both grew up skiing and have wonderful childhood memories of being on the mountain.  But as we approached Hoodoo yesterday morning, my "nervous stomach" was in full effect!  I couldn't tell what I was nervous about, but I just knew I was nervous.  We arrived in the parking lot, got Tommy dressed and ready to go and headed into the Lodge.  We paid for the lesson, the rental gear and a lift ticket and were set to go.

This is post-lesson, but I wanted you to get the full image!

Our next step was we had to go drop him off at the Mountain Cub Club Room where they would outfit him with gear and then they would start the lesson at 10AM.  Well as soon as we said goodbye to him (which I really did not draw out or anything), I felt like I was going to hyperventilate and cry all at the same time.  What was this about!?!  I was very thankful that Tommy did not see me in that state, because then I think he would have been fearful/anxious too.  But of course not Tommy, he just trotted off with the very nice instructors as happy as a clam! 

I had to have Mike reassure me that these people do this for a living...he will be fine.  I think it is just the giving my child over to people that I do not know and then having to trust that all will be okay.  This is probably as a result of me being a stay-at-home mom and pretty much being present at any interaction the kid has had his whole entire life.  Yet seriously it was freaking me out and we dropped him off at 9:30AM.  I had to wait until 11:50AM to pick him up and the clock was ticking very slow! 

I started to read the sheet that they gave us that talked about all the things we should think of and know...don't hover (the kid has a better lesson when the parents aren't standing there taking pictures - totally makes sense), make sure they are properly outfitted and finally make sure they have sunscreen on their face.  Shit...yes I said shit because I did not even think about sunscreen nor did I have any in the car.  So I ran to the gear shop and bought some sunscreen and ran it upstairs to him.  Tommy was in the Mountain Cub Room and having a blast.  He had his boots on and was playing Foosball with one of the "instructors" (who looked about fourteen at the most).  I put sunscreen on Tommy's face and gave him chapstick and off I went.  I felt completely better knowing that he was having a good time. 

Of course that did not stop me from camping out on the second floor of the Lodge right in view of the lesson area.  That is right I was that parent who was not "hovering" but yet was most definitely hovering from the constructs of the Lodge.  And yes I talked to him at the window through the whole lesson.  When he would fall over and the instructor would try to get him to stand up, I would say, "Come on buddy, you can do it" or when he was trying to sidestep up the green carpet and failing miserably, I would say, "Don't give up, you can do it."

This is the view from the "window" - Tommy is the guy down on the ground to the right of the green carpet :)

Bottom line, the lesson went great, but seriously is has had me thinking about the major anxiety I had yesterday while dropping him off.  I think it is fear of the unknown.  An example of this...Earlier in the preschool year this year, Tommy had two separate friends ask him over for playdates from preschool.  I was struck with the same anxiety/fear of having Tommy play at houses where I really did not know the parents, other than just a hi/goodbye at drop off and pickup.  But I think as kids get older this is the stuff they do.  I just need to prepare myself for all of this. 

Now Kindergarten approaches in September and while I am really excited for Kindergarten to happen, I wonder on that first day I let him take the bus to school if I will be an anxious mess the entire time?  Maybe, but I know I am going to have to deal with it!  So bottom line I think my severe anxiety stems from the fear of the unknown for my children.  I know I cannot be there to protect them as they grow older an have more experiences, but I think for THIS stay-at-home mom, it is going to be quite the challenge to let go of this anxiety and embrace these experiences.

I am so happy Tommy did the ski lesson yesterday and even though it was hard work, I know he had a great time.  And I LOVED the people/facility at Hoodoo.  It was a wonderful experience and I can't express how excited I am for him to do more lessons.  I need to figure out how to dial back my anxious feelings and give way to the excitement I feel for him at the same time. 

So in this 2012 year, that is one of my goals...really try to stay away from my anxiety and embrace all the fun experiences of the year!



And here are some more pics from the trip to Hoodoo:

Tommy skiing down the hill...right before he crashed into the carpet :)

Tommy is #102 - listening to the instructor.

Morgan enjoying some time in the snow with Mom

This one is for Aunt Diana who made sure Tommy was carrying his equipment as we always had to do!

Tommy post-lesson...great time, but you can tell he is tired!

Morgan just really likes to play in the snow!