Ka Hale Ma Kahakai        (House by the sea)

Ray and Annie (Salem Oregon) Thanks you Chris and Stan!! and what everybody else said! This place feels like home! I am so glad that I happened upon you ad in San Francisco Craigslist! Nearly everyday we went on a sightseeing outing...only to want to rush back and spend time on or near the stone wall to watch the ocean - It was fun watching the turtles. We saw whales (even one breaching), we heard them singing at night and we saw them one evening by the light of the full moon! This place is awesome! There are two reasons we would come to the big island again....to visit the volcano and to spend time in your lovely house-by-the-sea! I enjoyed fourteen beautiful sunrises from the stone wall! We have had an incredible vacation! Thank you for sharing your piece of paradise with us!

Pam and Dan & Ron and Michelle (Columbus Michigan) Thank you both for allowing your vacation rental to be affordable to all. Chris I love your pantry, everything is all together, as well as the whole house. The five of us enjoyed many things, we covered the whole island, this side is the best. Kona is over rated! My favorite was staying here at this house and watching the waves, along with the sound of them pounding the rocks. I could list all the wonderful details of this house but it would take the entire book. The people around this neighborhood are very friendly, always giving you a "Hi"- wish back in Michigan they were that way! No one here trying to keep up with the Jones'!! My sister, niece and nephew were leaving us on Saturday they had to return to the snow!!! We will be doing the same on Wednesday. Thank you again!

Julie and Doug (Newton, IA) Whales jumping, turtles feeding, a beautiful place to rest! Every little detail thought of...No better vacation spot than this one! Blessings

Carolyn and Norm (Wisconsin) Thank you for sharing your beautiful home. Not only is it well furnished, but extremely comfortable. Whale watching was great. We were most appreciative of your hospitality on February 27th. the lunch was yummy and hit the spot. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't say we enjoyed meeting Hana! What a delight. See you next year...Mahalo! P.S. Thank you for the fruit.

Doug and Vickie, (Cape Cod, MA) Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful house with us! The view is magnificent. We took a marvelous helicopter tour and boat excursion during our stay. We saw several whales and some spinner dolphins as well. A wonderful trip indeed!! Mahalo!

 John and Jan (St. Simon's Island, GA and friends from Georgia)    Thanks to the Schierman - Just a note to all who follow: Nice house with too many details to use. Sleeping to the sound of the surf was worth on entire trip. p World class view. In retrospect, well located. It seems a little remote at first, but after visiting much of the island, it is centrally located for touring. Hosts are very nice and helpful.. We saw whales everyday. It was a great week. Mahalo

Bill and Diane (New York City) Perfect place, perfect place. Attention to detail on everything. Very quiet in the evening. Nice breeze and cool all the time. Easy to find and easy to town. Plenty to do and see. Great host with Stan and Chris. Did see whales and various sea life. We'll be back. Loved every minute...

Karen and Michael (Etna, NH) Your home is so beautiful, thank you so much for sharing it with us. We don't live in Paradise, but seeing what you two have done here, we are inspired to go home and make our small corner of New Hampshire a paradise. You both are artists in creating this beautiful place. Our last morning was a whale extravaganza and we love the turtles. Thanks for the avocados. Aloha, Karen and Michael.

The Beecher Family (San Diego) This is our 5th trip to the islands and by far the nicest accommodations. We loved the dramatic view and your beautiful home. We covered about 80% of the island.

The Longs (Chicago, IL)  Thank you for everything! Your house is beautiful. It has helped make the start of our trip perfect. We will miss the sound of the ocean. We did see your turtles but no whales - maybe next time. (Note from Stan and Chris - we saw two mother whales with their babies the morning they left - wish they could have seen that.)

The Cole Family (Elk Grove, CA) Thanks for the use of your lovely home! We enjoyed the turtles outback and the frogs out front. We saw much of our beautiful island but the volcano (s) was the main attraction by far! It is truly amazing how close "they" let you get to such a destructive and violent force of nature. We did not dine out, except for on lunch a Subway, but hit every market between here and Hilo. Thanks for the red bananas, they were different and delicious!

Bob & Debbie, (Sacramento, CA) This home and the location , location, location is more than any of the words that have been said or could be said.....ever. This is a ***** star home, I only wish I could live here forever. You as owners have done a wonderful job of upkeep on this beautiful estate and have supplied it with everything anyone could ever need or want. Thank you - we hope to be back soon, we loved every minute. We could sit here and just watch the ocean, but we did explore other parts of the island. Thanks for sharing your home with us. Aloha.

Alan and Diana Gortsch (Citrus Heights, CA) We have so enjoyed your beautiful home on our too short of a stay here on the big island. Your home is beautiful and we're so glad that you shared it with us. We went to many places but always a joy to return, relax and watch the waves. Mahalo!

Lisa and Pamla and Mom (Poulsbo, WA) Than k you for sharing your beautiful home with us. It is very hard to leave this paradise. On our last day, we started the morning off with seeing Honu and ended the day with a rainbow. Mahalo PS: Thanks for making our dreams come true. PPS: for those who follow: the best way to see the lava entering the ocean is with Capt. Dan and Lava Ocean Adventures. It was the highlight of our trip!

Bill and Kristi (Canton, OH)  Your home is fabulous. We loved the views from the first minute we opened the front door. I will surely miss the waves lulling me to sleep at night. The location was convenient to so many thing we wanted  to explore. Safari Helicopter that flew over the volcano area was great as was the hike to the lava flowing. Love the Hamakua coast, too. Thanks for the use of your lovely home and all its amenities. We'd love to return in the future.

Clifton (Texas)  Your home is definitely a Pu'uhonua o Honaunau' (place of refuge). It was our home away from home. Afton (San Antonio, TX) Thank you so much for all of your hospitality. Your home was very comfortable and you can not beat the view from the living room. I can honestly say that after a few days, I had to remind myself that I was on vacation and I would be leaving soon. The passion fruit jelly was amazing!! I really could go on and on about how great  everything was!  Amy (Texas) Thanks you for the great hospitality. I enjoyed every thing about your house. The view was amazing. Mahalo..

Liz, Steve. Ann and Vicki (Kansas City, Missouri) Stan and Chris, we all just loved your lovely home and the beautiful ocean on "loan from God". We could have just spent every day at home here, but you know, all of our friends would ask, "what did you see, where did you go?" So we had to drag our selves out from your lovely home a couple of times. Thanks, Again!

Ed and Michele (Eagle River, AK) What a wonderful place to end a wonderful vacation! What a joy it must be to say this little slice of paradise is mine. Thank you for sharing it. Wish we could have stayed longer. Well, maybe next time.

Betty and Mike (Carlsbad, CA) and Art and Celeste (Vermont)  What a wonderful house. We enjoyed all the facilities and the lovely accommodations. The view was fantastic. Quite a setting - Many thanks for letting us use it!

Cheryl, Diane, Jeff, Marcia (Oviedo FL and Ashville NC) This is my third visit and was happy to share it with a good friend and my brother and his wife. We had a great time and I am pleased to say I painted the water color in the entry and Chris did a lovely job on the woven matte - teamwork! Be sure to try the Lilikoi jam!! Mahalo and Aloha.

Kelly and  Mary and family (Newport, WA) Today we saw a small pod of dolphins moving right to left from the deck of this beautifully designed home. They (the dolphins) were headed south, moving with some unknown purpose. We find their actions in stark contrast to the sea turtles, who appear to be feeding right on the surfline. they, like us, are area residents  - at least for a little while. The turtles are very good at going down for a bite to eat coming up for air then...before going back down...they look all about and frolic in the surf. In our opinion that's what great vacations are made of , that is, the beauty of a house such as this...Thank you Stan and Chris, for time we spent at your house.

Heidi and Simon (Melbourne, Australia) This is absolute paradise! We enjoyed looking at all of your beautiful beach decor (and sea view). Thank you for leaving the perfect Hawaiian Music for us to listen to. This truly is a place of serenity and tranquility, the view was heavenly.

Ty and Merla (New Albion, IL) Chuck and Karen (Kansas) Mark and Jervaise (Indiana) I was selected to write because this is our honeymoon. Mark and I have officially been married 2 weeks. We have been privileged to vacation with 2 other couples for several years (this is our second time around for marriage). Your home is spectacular, both view and accommodation. We lounged by the pool, watched the turtles, and explored the island. Hawaii is so much more than "book em Dano". We were mesmerized by the falls, volcanoes, and sheer lushness of the island. Hilo gave us a glimpse of real Hawaiian life. God bless both of you and know that you truly contribute to the well being of lots of people by giving them a sanctuary in which to relax.

Tania, Giovdano, Chris, Hayley and Crischaela, (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Aloha Chris and Stan. Amazing place!! We woke up to ocean waves cool breezes and sun. We loved the organization! Everything was available to us. We will miss this place so much. It became a tradition to sit outside and play cards. We shared lots of laughs and memories in this house. Hold on to it!! Mahalo for everything.

Smith Family (Burlington, WI) We thoroughly enjoyed our stay on the Hilo side. What a way to celebrate my 50th! Our days were filled hiking to the waterfalls and in Volcanoes National Park. Snorkeling at the tide pools was great. We really enjoyed watching the sea turtles in your back yard. We couldn't wait to come back "home" to have dinner on the lanai. Waking up to the ocean breeze and sound was heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing your paradise with us.

The Cole Family (Woodinville, WA) It is our last night here after almost 2 weeks and we hate to leave. Your home and the setting are absolutely perfect for total relaxation - which if definitely what we were seeking - a refuge form our hectic lives at home. Thank you for the experience

The Endicott's and Hunt's (Springdale, OR) Ka Hale Ma Kahakai's song:

Frogs in winking harmony -

Dark water on rocks - surging, soughing

Beacon's flair - Punctuating living swells - Flashing, bowing

A blue tile teardrop - above turtle endeavors - reaching, growing

Teasing breezes - in mornings kissed with quiet dew - wafting, blowing

Time forgotten - in a blue house by the sea

drifting, drifting, drifting......rowing. (Our first song)

Rob and Lee (Michigan)  Stan and Chris we really enjoyed our stay in your beautiful house and island. One week is not enough for this island but we did our best:

- Botanical Garden on Onomea Bay which is both beautiful and culturally important "hawaiigarden.com

- World Botanical Garden and Falls at Umauma - not as impressive as Hawaii Tropical Garden above.

-Akaka Falls - must see - we ran into some furry black pigs on the trail that sqeuulled and started us!

- Tsunami Museum in Hilo - Must see

- Vanilla House near mile marker 36 pm 19 North - not so impressive.

- Volcano Park at Kilauea Caldera is a must see

-Lava Hike (808-934-7977) to walk warm lava and see new flows glowing in the dark. this is a 6-mile hike over very rough terrain but worth the work. must have closed-toe shoes- must do adventure.

Also a couple of restaurants to suggest:

- in Pahoa, Kaleo's...fresh seafood and other dishes with live music (Ahi is very good)

- in Hilo, the Pesto Cafe. Both are very good restaurants, but favorite was "Poke" pizza at Pesto Cafe.

Wildlife at this rental:

- saw an Orca about 200 yards offshore - jumped clear out of the water!!

-watch for sea turtles in the afternoon, Just at the edge of the surf foam from the stone wall by the pool. They are difficult to see, so about 3:30 the light from west helps you see into water better for these brown/green gems. Best viewing when they poke head above water to breathe! Mahalo  PS: Must also try the lilikoi jam in pantry - incredibly good!!!

Doug and Shirley (return guests from Danville, CA) Thanks again for sharing your lovely home with us. We had  da best time with our good friend, Rosey and Steve from Pennsylvania. Your beautiful place blew them away!! We knew it would. Great seeing you both again. Daughter Jodine and Hubby Adam send love and aloha.

Brian and Deb (Somers, CT) Thanks for sharing your beautiful home with Brian and I. We truly enjoyed everyday and the view is priceless. Our visit to the Big Island will always be a memorable one, a special time we were able to spend with our family. Mahalo

Greg and Laurie, (Orlando, Florida) Greg and I had a great time on our first, of hopefully many visits to Hawaii. The house is beautiful and we truly enjoyed being your guests. The peaceful and extremely well maintained property made it hard to leave. Thank you for having us and we hope to return! Sea Turtles Rock!!

Gina and Mike Whaley (Fairfield, CA) Stan and Chris, Thank you so much for opening your beautiful home. We enjoyed every minute of our stay. this was the most peaceful place to spend our vacation. We hope to stay again in the future and will tell friends and family about your home.

Karen and Dan (Albuquerque, NM) What a gorgeous spot to spend a vacation at! The house is beautiful and the view spectacular. It was great falling asleep every night to the sound of the surf. Must take walk to Volcano to see lava flowing into the ocean %:30 tour the best. But wear sturdy and comfortable shoes! Thank you for your hospitality.

Barry and Jill (Seattle, WA) Mahalo - beautiful ocean surf, comfortable home; saw sea turtles in surf, great food in Pahoa - Kaleo's and Ning's Thai. Aloha

Darren and friend (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) Thank you very much for everything.

Pepper and Bill (Kailua, Oahu, HI) Thank you for your wonderful hospitality. We have now had It all. Buying fresh opihi from the boys was a big plus. The ocean surf every day lulled us to sleep and woke us up to a beautiful new day. Your home is absolutely beautiful and the grounds are so nicely done. We had a great 10 days.

The Jacobs Family (New York, New York) Thanks for the wonderful stay!

(Pete, Frosty and Donna, Oregon) Thank you so much for letting us share your beautiful home. It was very relaxing and scenic. We look forward to coming back.

The Fergusons’s and Garnett’s (Washington D.C. and Jamestown, Rhode Island) Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous house! It was paradise – both the pool and the ocean view. We learned if you go out to the wall and look in the surf, you will see many turtles! After about a week of searching for whales we saw on breach – which was amazing! The pool is refreshing and nice – especially in the sun. One recommendation – do the Captain Zodiac snorkeling trip in Kona, highlight of our trip. Thanks again for everything!

-