I don't want to come home! (Hawai'i December 2015)

Andrew and I spent a blissful week and a half in Hawai'i (and two pretty awful days of travel) before Christmas in December 2015. Andrew had a conference on the big island, and as usual I tagged along. The first half of our trip was spent at the conference hotel in Waikoloa, the resort area of the island with beautiful beaches. Andrew went to sessions in the mornings while I laid around at the pool, and this conference had an unusual schedule, in that the attendees had the afternoons off and then picked back up in the evenings after dinner. It was great, as Andrew was was able to take advantage of the sun and heat rather than being stuck inside in this amazing place during the day.

We snorkeled a few times, and also just relaxed by the pool and on the beach. I'd like to thank the organizers of the conference for planning what was clearly just an opportunity for a vacation in Hawai'i.

When the conference ended, we picked up a rental car and began our exploration of the rest of the island. We went on a tour of a coffee plantation, which was really cool. They showed us through the fruit trees (yes, coffee is a fruit!) and also explained the process of making coffee from growing the beans to the final product, all the while letting us drink said product for free. I'm not the biggest coffee fan, but they gave us a chocolate covered coffee bean and I tried some tea that they make from the shells of the beans. We also spent a day swimming with dolphins, which was absolutely my favorite thing we did, and hiked in a crater and to Akaka Falls.

  

The rest of our photos of our trip are on flickr.