Whenever I told people that I’d never been to Hawaii, they were always annoyingly shocked. I was tired of hearing my girlfriend Emma rant and rave about how wonderful it was, so I decided to make an epic Valentine’s Day decision. I’m not sure what I was more excited about: Joe’s Jeep Wrangler or my Valentine, but both were absolutely beautiful.
I’m a singer/songwriter and had just finished filming for Season 14 of NBC’s The Voice. Emma had just finished her 500 hour yoga training, so we wanted a way to relax and give ourselves a break. Right after we landed in Kailua-Kona, the island was living up to its reputation as a worry free destination, especially due to getting swooped up by Joe at the airport and driving away with the top down — just us two.
The first order of business was to get some food, and Emma had already planned to take me to her favorite post-arrival meal at Ultimate Burger (the best grass fed beef, raised right on the Island). We wanted to walk off the burger and orient ourselves to the city, so we headed into town and stopped at One Aloha for some shave ice (not “shaved” ice). We ended the day down by the water at sunset and making a game plan for our first full day ahead.
We had so much energy to explore the island so we figured that we would take advantage of it and dive right in… literally. We got tickets for the day on the Body Glove Boat to test their slogan: “Your best day in Kona starts here.” They were right. For a Hawaii nube, it basically checked off all of my boxes of things I wanted to do on the whole trip, and all before noon.
We saw dolphins, spotted whales, went snorkeling in a secluded cove, and took a spin on their ocean water slide (ok that wasn’t on my list, but it should have been). In between activities, we ordered Mai Tais and took advantage of their lunch buffet on the boat. The crew was so friendly!
After we got our concentrated dose of downtown Kailua-Kona, we figured we would get out and see a more nature-esque side of the island. We scouted out a small coffee farm to visit with the intention of finding something off the beaten path. In searching, I discovered Kuaiwi Farm and gave them a call. Leon picked up and let me know that they weren’t giving tours but invited me up to check the place out. When he sent me his hand drawn map of how to get there, I knew it was going to be an adventure.
After tackling a ton of activities, we wanted to experience a more luxurious side of the island. With expensive taste and a limited budget, Emma shared her secret resort hack—I think I’m in love. As we headed down the lush and winding road to the first security gate at The Four Seasons, all we had to do was utter two sweet words, “beach access”, before getting the proverbial keys to our most extravagant day on the island.
With an appetite for more nature and desperately wanting to test the road worthiness of our Jeep, we decided to head 60 miles north to Pololu Valley. Jurassic Park was filmed there. That was all we needed to hop in the car and feel the raw freedom of a top down Jeep blasting ukulele tunes. Ok, I’m pretty sure we looked like tourist as we were driving through the tropical landscapes, but we didn’t care AT ALL.
We ended the perfect trip with the perfect valentine’s day. After coming back from our hike, we spotted a whale splashing off shore and we immediately pulled over to get some amazing drone footage of a female humpback whale and her baby. High off of our Nat Geo quality whale footage, and coming dangerously close to losing my drone, we arrived at the Four Seasons Hualalai.
I took a dip in the water and Emma enjoyed the sunset before joining me for a game of corn hole as we waited for our table at 7pm. They treated us like celebrities, seating us right in front of the band at an ocean front table for two. It seemed like there was no way it could be any better, and then we looked up and saw the stars.
When you’re planning your ultimate Hawaii vacation, roll like Brett Hunter and check out Joe’s Jeep Wrangler, or find the perfect vehicle for your adventure.
