There is something to be said when staying on a volcanic island. Every house, store, and hotel is/was built directly on top of hardened lava. …you’ll find hardened lava flows everywhere they have yet to build! Welcome to Hawaii’s Big Island.

• Saturday (2/9): Hello Big Island! After arriving in the early afternoon, we checked into the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. We spent the rest of the day lounging at the resort, drinking Mai Tais, and just relaxing…
• Sunday (2/10): This was our day of leisure… Massages at the resort’s spa, Mandara, followed by an afternoon at the pool and dinner/jazz at night!
• Monday (2/11): You’re on vacation, you’re relaxed and you’re itching for something out of the ordinary… what do you do? You swim with dolphins! Today, we headed over to Dolphin Quest at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. We spent 45 minutes playing in the water with dolphins. Afterwards, we headed “upcountry” to the city Hawi. While driving, we passed the Parker Ranch; one of the largest privately held ranches in the United States. On the way, we found a great snacking place in Luke’s Place; best fish tacos I’ve ever had!
• Tuesday (2/12): Here’s another fun day of exploration… Jenny and I ventured out in search of whales with by Captain Dan McSweeney. Check out our Whale Watching post . Afterwards, we journeyed up to Kilauea, the Big Island’s volcano, just in time for a torrential downpour! Rain doesn’t stop the lava flow and it didn’t stop us. But, the three hour drive to the volcano was followed by a five hour return! …small roads plus loads of rain equal adventurous trip home!
• Wednesday (2/13): We spent the day in Kona. What a great little town! Wish we had more time to explore. Kona is that laidback city on the ocean. Everyone is your friend, surfers are riding, and the atmosphere is cool. After lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, we hit the farmer’s market, stores on main street and hung out on the beach! What a great little town…

Here’s where the story ends… Unfortunately, Jenny or I must get back to the real world. Ah… Hawaii is paradise…

You’re on vacation, you’re relaxed and you’re itching for something out of the ordinary… what do you do? You swim with dolphins! Today, we headed over to Dolphin Quest at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. We spent 45 minutes in the water with dolphins. While you don’t get to ride them (holding on to a fin), each participant got to play, touch, instruct, and examine multiple dolphins. Note: They fill like rubber! They are incredibly smart and they are naturally very playful animals.
Here’s a few interesting facts we learned:

• Pacific dolphins are deep feeders… They dive deep to find fish
• Dolphins can hold their breath for over 15 minutes…
• Dolphins breathe voluntary (they have to think to breath) whereas human breathing is involuntary
• Dolphins nature predators are sharks and whales…
• Atlantic dolphins are top feeders…They typically eat close to the surface. Interestingly enough, the dolphins at the Hilton are Atlantic Spinner dolphins despite the fact that they are located in Hawaii (a pacific island)
• Scientists believe dolphins shut down half their brains while resting… this provides awareness for breathing and predators