Perennial Travels: California to Hawaii

Dinner at Nanea

Over the past three weeks, I have been enjoying an amazing final summer vacation before beginning the “real world” next Monday with my new career. Mid-June, I left Destin, FL to visit my boyfriend in Los Gatos, CA. While visiting him, we traveled up to Lake Tahoe and to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Lake Tahoe
We spent a long weekend at the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe for a friends wedding weekend. We stayed on the North Shore and it was an amazing experience. We spent our free time primarily relaxing at the Ritz spa, doing some light hiking, and playing lawn games. As for the wedding, we went to Lahontan the night before the wedding for a cocktail party. After being in hot Dallas and Florida, it was nice to feel the cool air while standing by the fire. The following day, we went to West Shore Café and Inn where the wedding and the reception was held. The venue was on the water and was absolutely gorgeous!

Wearing: Lilly Pulitzer dress, Burberry shoes, Kendra Scott necklace

Kukio

Following Lake Tahoe, we had a quick stopover in my boyfriend’s hometown of Los Gatos, CA before we headed to Kukio on the Big Island of Hawaii. Since I had never been to the Big Island before, I was excited to see what it was like. Kevin’s family goes to the island often, so they planned such a fun variety of activities and excursions for me to soak in as much culture of the island as possible! Two of my highlights from the trip were a helicopter tour of the island and snorkeling with the manta rays. The three hour helicopter tour (that picked us up directly from the resort) was a great way to see the volcanoes, valleys, beaches, and waterfalls all before lunch. Snorkling with the manta ray’s was also amazing! We saw about 20 manta rays and rubbed bellies with a couple of them… definitely an experience I will not forget. I also loved all of the activities offered at the resort. While there, I paddle boarded, kayaked, swam with the dolphins, played golf, tennis, and took a spinning class. There was never an excuse to be bored at Kukio!