We opted to take a “staycation” this year and booked three nights at the quaint clothing-optional retreat called Hangin’ Loose in the rural Puna District of the Island of Hawai‘i. Our hosts, Michael and Jan, maintain this peaceful hide-away just thirty minutes from the General Lyman, Hilo International Airport. Their two dogs — Buck and Cha Cha — greeted us upon our arrival and guided us to the main house. After settling into our accommodations, we enjoyed a walking tour of the property.

There are three modest bungalows from which to choose: the Honeymoon Hale (hah-lay: Hawaiian, “house”), the Garden Cottage (ours) and the Eucalyptus Yurt. The gardens are filled with exotic tropical flowers and fruits, and the fragrant air is filled with the sounds of the area’s birds. It may take a bit to become accustom to the singing of the coquí frogs in the evenings but the chickens are doing their best to keep the population to acceptable levels. Kehena Beach is a half-hour’s drive from Hangin’ Loose where, on Sundays, the weekly drum circle will transport you back to the 1960s. We thoroughly took pleasure in simply relaxing at this wonderful escape and highly recommend it for any visitors to the windward side of our Island.

Another lovely staycation, this time it was to celebrate Bee’s birthday. Michael and Jan were as accommodating as always with their “PUNAtic” hospitality. We reserved the Eucalyptus Yurt for four nights but then opted to extend an additional night. Granted, this is the beginning of the rainy season and the weather kept its promise. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the sound of the showers on the canvass roof and took advantage of the sunny breaks to wonder through the tropical gardens as nature intended. The coquí frogs were off-key as usual and they’ve certainly earned their name!

A pleasant diversion to our get-away was the day-visit from Rich and Deanna of the Back to Eden Nudists web site. They arrived early Monday morning aboard a beautiful cruise ship, their first port-of-call being Hilo. We met them on the dock and enjoyed discovering different places around town before lunching and relaxing for a couple hours on the black sands of the nude beach at Kehena. The four of us celebrated our new-found friendship over ice cream in Kalapana — and also a quick introduction to Hangin’ Loose — prior to reluctantly returning them to the harbour.

All-in-all a wonderfully relaxing experience. Mahalo nui loa to Mike and Jan for everything.