Even though I have been to the Big Island on two prior occasions, I considered this my first real visit. Last time, it was a long weekend without kids, mainly spent at the resort. The time before we were scouting for a wedding location, and all that I remembered was the desolate landscape.

 The premise of this trip was that it was a better use of childcare dollars to have time in Hawaii versus the outrageous cost of summer camp for three kids. With the current flexible job locations, could we repeat our balanced work/life experience in Kauai last year for two weeks on the Big Island? As I write this on the way home, I still don’t feel like I have a clear answer whether or not this was successful.

To begin with, the time difference in June is different than from November to March. To make a 8am Pacific time call, that meant waking up at 430am to be awake and ready to participate. Again, it usually isn’t a big deal as the active days in the sun mean early bedtimes, but it wasn’t easy.

For the first part of our trip, we opted to stay at the Marriott Waikoloa. If you are planning to work while on vacation, you need either a separate living space or a balcony. Thankfully, we had a balcony to work from while there, but we quickly realized that we needed a bigger space to do meaningful work. The ongoing debate of where to stay is a big one for families—hotel vs house/condo.

 We definitely enjoyed our stay at the hotel. The setting on Anaeho'omalu Bay was idyllic. We could easily walk from pool to beach. The pool had a waterslide, and the kids didn’t seem to expect more. One of the fun parts of the grounds was the historic fishponds. We enjoyed looking at the fish and the eels every day. At the far end of the ponds is a feeder where several wild cats and mongoose frolic. Visiting the animals became a daily part of our ritual.

The highlight of this part of the trip was a visit over to the Hilton Waikoloa Village to swim with the dolphins. Originally, we had hoped to stay there, but I found it extremely difficult to work with them on redeeming our vacation voucher. Though, as fascinating as I find a tram at a Hawaiian hotel, it worries me that the resort is that big. If you ask my daughter what her trip highlight was, she will say swimming with the dolphins. With Dolphin Quest you get a hands-on experience with one of the ocean’s most charismatic animals, guided by marine mammal specialists. The groups are small so there is plenty of time to interact with these playful and fun-loving creatures.

 One day we did drive down to historic Kona and walk around. We found an outdoor market where we picked up a couple of souvenirs, ate shaved ice from Scandanavian Ice, and enjoyed viewing the historic church, Moku’aikaua, dating back to 1820.

We ate at many of the standard restaurants, Roy’s and Tommy Bahama, with advanced reservations they could accommodate our group of ten. As all restaurants are understaffed and overcrowded, service wasn’t up to par, and menus were often pared down. Our hidden gems were  A-Bay’s Island Grill (breakfast), Tropics Ale House (dinner), and  Ippy’s Hawai’ian BBQ (takeout). My favorite store is the Olivia Clare Boutique at the Queens’ Marketplace.

 After five nights we were ready to move on to a house up the road and start cooking again.