The best family bonding time we've had in a while!
We are a Seattle family that is visiting family on O'ahu that needed a vacation within a vacation if you know what I mean. A quick 4 day 3 night vacay for the wife and I, my 20 year old son home from college, and 17 and 11 year old daughters.
For starters, the location of this home could not be any more perfect. It is right across the street from awesome snorkeling, decent waves for the kids and multiple areas to set a beach mat down or relax in the shade. There are also other great beaches adjacent to the one across the street. The turtles at Kealoha Beach Park is a must see. You are a mere 10 minutes away from "downtown" Hilo with access to all kinds of wonderful restaurants and shops. Make sure to hit up the farmers market on Manono St. for tropical fruit at rock bottom prices. The home itself is clean with everything you could possibly need for a Hawaii vacation. The kids made good use of the (3) body boards each day and loved returning to the house to take a hot outdoor shower in the yard to rinse off the sand before going into the house. My wife enjoyed using the blender in the kitchen to make fruit smoothies in the morning for breakfast. She mixed up papaya, mango, passion fruit, apple bananas, vanilla yogurt and ice to create these bomb smoothies! The home has wifi, a couple of flat screens and dvd players that are available for use. Hopefully you won't need them as there are so many other things to do. My youngest found a deck of cards in a drawer and had us playing crazy 8's at night. There are also other board games to be found if you look around. One other thing about the evenings here. There are these chirping, whistling, singing frogs that will serenade you to sleep each night. They sound so much like birds! The downstairs has a separate entrance on the side of the home. When the kids were down there, it felt like the wife and I had the whole place to ourselves!
The owners run a little boutique in town that sells a variety of local crafts. I stopped by to say hello on our second day in Hilo, but was told that I had just missed her. The very next day, Michelle stopped by to say hi. She is a friendly local woman that is quite knowledgeable about Hilo and Hawaiian culture in general. Although we chatted for only 15 minutes or so, it was apparent to me that she is a good person with a good heart.
I don't know if or when we will be back in Hilo, but if we ever do make our way back to this rainy old town, our family will definitely plan on returning to this wonderful beach home.