Clawing our way to financial independence

We are back after an absolutely wonderful 8 days (10 with travel) in Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Oh my, I HIGHLY recommend tripping off as we did, what a great break, a chance to regroup and relax, and a really nice boost to our relationship. We escaped all dog, cat and work responsibilities and spent some pretty carefree days exploring the island. Mornings I would get up at around 7, and enjoy a cup of tea and read a novel while the sun came up, the birds chirped and the waves across the road pounded in. Mr W would get up around 8 and we would have breakfast on our balcony and watch all the morning activity at the local beach.

We would go out and about mid day and found many great beaches, went up to the active volcano, explored the town, and did lots of snorkelling. We ate some dinners in the condo, or ate out. Food was a bit expensive, but we soon found that if we got off the beach side and went in land we could get much better food at much cheaper prices. I think my favourite food was coconut shrimp cakes, mmmm. We also found a local market to buy fresh papayas (5 for a $1.00), pineapples, mango and grapefruit. I miss the fruit already! The last two days we were there we discovered an amazing beach away from the hordes of people. It was a white sand beach with a small little lagoon meaning we could swim even when the surf was high. Only a few people ventured there so there was lots of room to get a little space and privacy. We saw turtles bathing on the lava rocks one day, very neat! We also saw at various times, whales, geckos, lots of fish and urchins, and beautifully coloured birds, including parakeets.

I will post some pictures soon, have to download all 200 of them first ;) And now will get back to the regular routines, and have a chance to catch up with with y'all.