We Take Ourselves With Us

Millions of years ago when we first came to Hawaii ( okay, it was 2013 ), we elected to stay only on the Big Island since we had just shy of a week and had never been here.  One of the highlights of our trip was a morning and afternoon spent in Kealakekua Bay, snorkling and swimming to our heart's content while the crew of the Fair Wind grilled burgers that smelled so delicious they drew a whole pod of dolphins into the bay. So, when we returned to Kona, we knew we wanted to repeat this fantastic experience ... and we did!  Because only on the island of Hawaii can one go from snow covered peaks to warm clear tropical waters in less than a day. Not to be a shill for Fair Wind , but it really has this thing buttoned up.  You eat a super yummy breakfast while sailing over to Kealakekua Bay And then you end up here. There's no filter on these photos, folks.  This is the real color of the bay.  Seriously.  Ridiculously.  Amazing...

It's easy to lose track of time on vacation, especially when one is more than a day's worth of time zones away from home, but all of us knew it was December 30.  Reason one: Miss Harper was turning 15!  Reason two: we were going on a cruise through Milford Sound! To be sure, one of these reasons was more important ... Milford Sound :)  Oh, I meant Harper's birthday (even though it was really only 12/29 in the US, therefore not officially her birthday at all). To begin the day, we went in search of a good GF place that was open early enough to allow us to get to the cruise coach by 8:30 am.  Our AirBnB host had recommended Vudu Cafe , which opened just in time.  Here's our birthday girl, perhaps not at her morning best.  Her standing breakfast order: cold brew or iced coffee and any GF entree that included avocado.  Look at that beautiful flat white! One food comment that surprised us--we did not find NZ sausage especially good.  N...