Bug,  Super Dad,  travel

Voggy Views from Kukio

Toby working

You might wonder why Toby is wearing working man’s clothes while we are here enjoying paradise and that would be because Toby is actually here to work. The perks of being a photographer who takes pictures of luxury homes is that you get to work in all the best places. This week he’s shooting a resort home just around the bend from where we are staying in Kona.

I can’t really blog about the house itself because it is owned by someone very very wealthy and privacy is part of the package deal. But I can say this: it’s pretty amazing. The people who are building the house let us take a sneak peek while Toby scouted out the views.

princess bed

This was a nightmare for me because as everyone knows two-year-olds want to climb up on and touch everything. The whole place looked like it needed a giant “Don’t Touch” sign to me. I about died when she clambered up on the very staged and very exotic bed that was about as high as something right out of The Princess and the Pea story.

Thankfully the “stagers” (people who set up the furniture etc.) were very nice and didn’t seem to mind a bit. I’m so glad too because it was hard enough keeping her out of the wine cellar that had just been varnished and smelled like cancer. They suggested I let her play in the shallow end of the vanishing pool in the back yard.

playing by the pool

Gulp. Yeah, that would be my heart in my throat. Do you see that seam between the pretty flagstone and something dark and blue? That’s the deep end. Let’s just say I was working just as hard as Toby keeping Baby Bug from learning how to swim the hard way.

a secret beach!

After Toby put in a couple hours of “work” he took us to a nearby cove in Kukio. It is the most perfect beach ever. It was overcast and the sun was setting so the light didn’t really do it justice but the temperature was perfect. That’s the strangest thing around here. Usually when the shadows start turning purple I start looking for my sweater but around here night can come and go and you can wear no sleeves without even the slightest shiver.

trying not to disturb the turtles

There are two resorts on both sides of this little beach but right in the middle is a public walkway for the rest of us humans. Before I knew the name of this little cove I called it Turtle Beach because this is where we saw real sea turtles!

sleepy turtle

They crawl up on the sand here and take a rest from swimming. It’s very strange to be so close to them. I assume they are protected so we tried to give them a wide berth (thank you zoom lens). Of course Baby Bug wanted to go take a ride on “Crush” because she is such a fan of the movie Finding Nemo. I had to explain that these turtles were sleepy and Crush was somewhere out in the EAC. Maybe some other time Bug.

shhhhhhh.... the sea turtles are sleeping

beach bug

That was okay because there was plenty of sand to play in and she could do what she always does which is throw rocks in the water. Too bad I didn’t bring a “shubble” though. I don’t think this sand is very good for making sand castles with anyway. It is very coarse because it is made of volcanic rock and coral. It can be a little “ouchie” on the feet if you are not careful.

sunset on turtle beach

That pretty much sums up our day in Kukio. I can’t wait to go back when there isn’t so much “vog” in the air. Vog! Isn’t that a funny word? That’s what they call the smog around here because it is pollution coming from the volcano instead of cars and factories. It can be worse than breathing the air in LA, they say. Imagine that, 100% natural organic pollution. And guess what? It’s just as cancer-causing as the man-made stuff.

More photos here again!

20 Comments

  • Sleepynita

    Wow, to have a husband with a job like that! I would kill for a trip to Hawaii right now, given that I just shoveled a ton of snow from my driveway…boo.

  • jen

    I have been stalking your flickr photos, and was delighted to find a post here to go with them!

    You guys look like you are having a marvelous time.

  • ~moe~

    What awesome pictures, SAJ! I love these. A few of my friends got to go to Hawaii on a work trip recently too. They loved it. And I was extremely jealous. I’m glad you’re all having a great time.

  • Susan

    Love the pictures and am so jealous that your in warm climates and I’m stuck in Arkansas where its only 50 outside. Burrr its cold!

  • Camels & Chocolate

    I love, love, love Kona – of the 50 countries I’ve visited, I still think it is one of the most beautiful places! And I think Baby Bug and I would get along just fine: I, too, love Finding Nemo and refer to all turtles as “Crush” (though I’m 25, not 2).

  • a madhouse wife

    So beautiful! Thank you for sharing the pics. I’m on spring break and it’s totally overcast here and probably will be all week. So I’ll just visit your blog and pretend for a minute that I’m in Hawaii. You should totally shoot their tourism photos; you’ve convinced me!

  • Dani

    Envy! What a lovely place to be spending your time! BB is adorable in her little swimsuit and I, too, consider all sea turtles to be Crush. Have fun!

  • Amanda

    oooohh cool cool cool!! It looks so amazing! Except the pool… give me the creeps. So cool to see a turtle that close up! Glad to hear that you guys are having a great time!

  • Angie

    I’m pretty sure I’ve been to this very same resort beach with the sea turtles – Mauna Lani?? It’s so great! I’d love to be there right now!

  • Chris

    Wow, great idea you guys, going as a family. It’s great that Toby has a chance to spend time with you guys and show you the places he knows. Bug is just about old enough, I bet this trip all together will make an impression on her, if not an explicit memory. Just remembering what my nephew said when he was about 7 or 8 — “before I was five, it’s like I wasn’t even born.” He doesn’t know it yet, but all that stuff that happened before that, that we adults all remember, it all affects how he perceives his life now. OK so here’s to good memories and warm weather! (They salted the roads here tonight)

  • jenB

    These are wonderful photos and memory making experiences. It looks beautiful and darned that BB is so adorable I can hardly stand it. More photos of mom :-)

  • Scarlett

    wwwoooooooowwwiiieeee so glad you and baby bug get to go have so much adventures with toby on a “working holiday”! SUPER FABULOUS!!!! beautiful pix, of course, and what fun for baby bug she’s gonna have so many great pictures to show her what her babyhood was like! ya’ll rock! have so much fun!

    hugs!