Sunset at the Lava Lava Beach Club in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii (above). The last time we were on the Big Island was over 50 years ago, so it was interesting to see the changes. There were a lot more resort communities and restaurants. Saddle Road, formerly a dirt road connecting Kailua-Kona with Hilo has transformed into a scenic asphalt highway. Kona Village was wiped out in the 2011 Japan earthquake Tsunami, and has been rebuilt, so most of the buildings in the Kona side were new to us.

Jenna and Mark (Evelyn’s sister’s son) held a wedding reception at Kohala Village Inn in Hawi, near the home of Jenna’s parents. Jenna’s brother, Kaid (bottom left) has a Taiko group who performed at the celebration, As always, there was way too much food, which is a tradition with Hawaiian gatherings. Pauline and Keith (top middle) are Mark’s proud parents.

Officially, our nephew and his bride (center) married on May 4, 2023 in San Diego. Her parents brought together their family and many friends who were part of Jenna’s upbringing to celebrate their wedding on the The Big Island. Everyone is thrilled Mark and Jenna have joined together. There were no champagne flutes on the Big Island (due to the recent New Year’s Eve celebrations), so our friend Alla found them in Oahu (top right), and we brought them over in carry-on for the flight.

Pauline, Evelyn’s sister, organized a Kona Food Walking Tour for the family. We saw the hotel where John Wayne had his honeymoon, learned about Kona’s vibrant past, and tasted typical Hawaiian foods and drinks at Kona’s top restaurants and gems in Kona. The clam chowder was our favorite. In another life, Evelyn had her own boutique (lower left).

Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort was a beautiful place to explore, complete with a dolphin quest, canal boats, 14 restaurants, a tram, pools, water slides and lots of sculptures with an Asian theme.

There were many colorful murals around downtown Hilo, where centuries-old wooden buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. On our walks in old town to check out restaurants, shops, galleries, and the Tsunami Museum, we walked past many murals and found Hilo to be a very walkable neighborhood. Downtown Hilo is the wettest city in the USA with 142″ of annual rainfall. Waikoloa gets 9″ and Kailua-Kona has 27″ of rain, in contrast. Of course, the rainy season is from November through March, so we saw rain most days.

Sunset at Lava Lava Beach in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii.