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10/06/04 Wednesday Woke up at 5:00 AM. Left for the Oakland Airport by 5:30 AM. Flight took off on time at 9:30 AM. Aloha Airlines. Started the morning with complimentary Mai Tai's by 10:00 AM. (Yum) Watched Spiderman II in flight. The flight ended with warm cookies and ice cold milk. Kona airport was easy to navigate. Got our cheap car from Budget Rent a Car. We made our way to the Kona Billfisher, but couldn't check in until 3:00 PM. (It was only 12:30 PM at the time) We walked around Kona town to kill some time. Stopped at Huggo's on the Rocks and had a beer and chicken pizza. Checked into the Billfisher at 3:00. We then headed to Costco for provisions. We bought three Hawaiian CDs, beer, wine, coffee and a Hawaiian dress. At Safeway we got the rest of our groceries for the week. Some salads, deli meats, breakfast fixings, etc. For dinner we ate salad in our condo and read all the tour guide/airport magazines. We were in bed asleep by 9:00 PM. 10/07/04 Thursday We headed over to Place of Refuge and Honaunau Bay. We snorkeled and saw lots of beautiful coral. We last snorkeled here in 2000 and it seemed much busier this time. We then decided to drive on the lower, one lane, road to Kealekekua Bay wher you can see Captain Cook's Monument across the bay. There seemed to be a sweet B&B right next to the kayak launch site. On the way back up to the main road we stopped at a coffee co-op. We took a short 15 minute tour and learned the coffee process. We bought some coffee and had a cup. This was a short but nice diversion. (Ueshima Coffee Company) After our salty morning we went back for a good shower. We went to the Keauhou Shopping Center for lunch. Thai food at the Royal Thai Cafe. The Phad Thai was awesome and the Broccoli Beef was also delicious. Service was excellent. We spent about $25 for lunch which included wine and tip. On the way back from lunch we stopped at the Alii Gardens Marketplace. Found a great little wine stopper for $5. We decided to return to our hotel and lounge by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. We had Safeway salads and wine for dinner. Great day! 10/08/04 Friday (Aloha Friday!) Poor Dave actually had to get up and field some calls for a possible job with Elephant Bar Restaurants. Looks like he will be doing lots more work this year. After breakfast we headed up the coast to Puako to do some snorkeling. We stopped at a public access spot next to house #58. When we got down to the water's edge we immediately saw many turtles. (probably about 5 or 6) As we entered the water the turtles were very curious. Dave got some great pictures. We then kicked out to the outer reef. Saw beautiful corals, yellow tangs and a huge golden moray eel. This was a great snorkel spot! We then headed over to Waialea (Beach 69). This was a great beach for relaxing. There was lots of shade. Dave did some snorkeling on the north end of the beach. He said it was a little rough but he saw some humuhumunukunuku, which is a super parrot fish. The oceans kicks up in the afternoon so do your snorkeling early. We munched on deli meats, cheese and crackers for lunch. That night we had dinner at Lulu's. We split chicken wings and ribs. Their frys were to die for. Dinner, drinks, and tip was $50. We even had left overs. After dinner we walked over to the Royal Kona Hotel. The luau hula show was about to begin. We just sort of walked in and watched the show. More Tahitian than Hawaiian though. They had a fire dancer. After the show, we trekked up the hill to our condo at the Kona Billfisher. I feel asleep right away. What another great day! 10/09/04 Saturday After much debate, we decided not to snorkel today. We drove up to Hawi for their Country Fair. On the way we stopped at "A" Beach in Waikaloha. We took a few pictures of the beach and fish pond and then went over to the Kings Shops to browse. We bought a few souvenirs at the Whalers store. Headed up north for more driving. We stopped at Lapakhe State Historical Park. We were originally going to snorkel there. The docent at the visitor center told us only one trail was open due to falling coconuts. We walked the trail down to the ocean. There we saw several people snorkeling. Our next stop was Kapa'a Beach County Park. There was only one other couple there having a scenic lunch. From here you can view Haleakala on Maui. This also appears to be a great snorkel spot if the seas are calm. Our next destination was the King Kamehameha statue. As we drove through Hawi, parking seemed chaotic. The faire really did bring out the crowd. We passed through and stopped and took pics at the statue. We then headed to the Pololu Valley Lookout. The parking lot was quite small and very busy. We took a few pictures and then headed back to Hawi for the faire. We had already decided on where we would park and we then walked to the faire. As soon as we got to the faire we found a place to buy lunch and a soda. Dave and I split a plate lunch. Teri chicken, Rice, and Doritos Salad ($6) We sat and listened to some local music and ate our lunch. After we did the faire thing, we decided to explore Hawi. There is not much, a few trinket shops and a great ice cream store called Tropical Dreams. I had the Kona Coffe and Chocolate Swirl and Dave had the Chocolate Coconut with Macadamia Nuts. Both flavors were very rich and yummy. ($5) We left Hawi and headed for Wamaia. Our goal was to stop at the ITA store for a Goza beach mat that we had seen other people use on the beach. For $6 it was a great buy. We also bought Dave a coffee mug. We returned to our condo at around 2:00 PM and decided to go have a froo-froo drink somewhere. We stopped at Bubba Gumps and had a strong yummy Mai Tai ($12). We then went to the farmer's market and bought another pound of pure Kona cofffee. ($12). We walked up the hill to Hilo Hatties. After looking around we went to the Kona Brewing Company. We had a few beers, salad, and Pele's Pizza. The pizza was very spicy but good. Cajun tomato, andouille sausage, rock shrimp, and roasted red pepper. Exceptional pizza! Once we returned to our condo, we took a quick dip in the pool to cool off and then retired to our room. 10/10/04 Sunday We were supposed to snorkel first thing this morning. We drove over to the old airport and hiked to the spot. It was quite surgy. We abandoned the snorkel and drove to another spot we had previously decided to try . When we got to the drive we found it was extremely unimproved. We actually drove most of the way but bailed out when we thought we might take out the bottom of our rental car. Given two failed attempts we went back to the beach we were at on Friday. Beach 69 was a good place to light for the day. We munched on cheese, deli meats, crackers, and some wine. Yum! We left the beach around 4:00 PM and went to Costco to fill up the car with gas. We also bought some salad and a few more CDs. Once back at The Billfisher we did laundry and had left over ribs and salad. Tomorrow we head to Hilo. 10/11/04 Monday We headed over to Hilo for the day. It was about a two hour drive from Kona. We made the obligatory stop at Rainbow Falls. Hilo was very overcast and the rain soon came. We drove to Fabric Mart at Kuhio Shopping Center. They had an abundance of great Hawaiian fabrics for good prices. Before we decided to purchase we went over to the Fabric Discount Warehouse. They also have a decent selection, but prices are not as good. So we returned to Fabric Mart and $100 later we had yardage for 6 pairs of PJ bottoms and 5 dresses. Such a deal! We drove down to Hilo and had lunch at Cafe Pesto. Dave had Thai Shrimp Salad and I had the Crab Cake Salad. We were both very impressed. After walking around the few shops downtown, we found an Internet place for Dave to check email. Beach Dog Computers not only had a great name, but did the trick for $2.50 for 20 minutes. After Hilo we decided to go to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. This was the most WOW for $30 for 2 people you will find. It took us about 2 hours to see the entire place. They not only have an abundance of flowers and greenery, but also waterfalls, streams, ocean vistas and some great parrots. One of the parrots greeted you with "hello" when you arrived and a "goodbye" when you left. This is a must see if you are on the Hilo side. We didn't stop at Akaka Falls this time as we had that 2 hour drive back to Kona. We ate dinner at Bubba's Burgers. I would not recommend the place. We spent $12 for 2 burgers and onion rings. (The burgers were not that good) Tomorrow is unfortunately our last full day. :( 10/12/04 Tuesday Today was to be a beach day. We went up to "A" beach at Waikaloa. There was plenty of shade and the snorkeling was OK if you swam out a ways. We saw lots of turtles near the shore and were surprised at the amount of coral further out. We stayed until about 2:30 and headed back so we could do our last minute shopping. Stopped at Kona Brewing Co. for a t shirt, beer cozy, and coasters. After cleaning up we walked downtown to watch the Ironman Parade of Countries at 5:00. Hawaii still has the kind of parades where people throw candy and stuff. We ate dinner at Lulu's. Every other place was totally packed. Oh well, so much for that really nice dinner we had planned. 10/13/04 Wednesday So sad.... Today we have to pack up and head for home. "How are we going to get all of this stuff home" Dave asked.... Aloha, Carroll |
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