Waterfalls and Jungles.

This is the Hawaii we had in our minds.

8 mile hike

Circle Tour

Our big splurge for this trip was to take a circle island tour. We looked at the helicopter tours of the volcano but for the same money we could see the whole island in a cessna. Being the frugal New Englanders that we are we opted for the latter. We went with another couple from Singapore, and our pilot was a young guy from Arizona. We had a blast! It was a pretty nice day, vog was low, and it wasn't even raining in Hilo (love that song "...it's raining it's pouring in Hilo again, but I don't mind..."). The volcano from the air was the cherry on top. The volcano has been very dormant for about a month now, except for the vog and the plumes of sulfur and nitrous oxide, so we were thrilled when a vent opened up while we were flying around Kilauea Caldera- the big crater venting big time. It was very brief but an area probably forty feet in diamter started to spew red hot lava into the air. Within a minute it had calmed to a swirling pool of orange and tan liquid lava swirling as in a boiling pot of water. Then off to see the lava flow into the sea. Over 26 square miles have been added to this island here since 1983. Then continuing around to the windward side (aka rainy side or tropical side) to see beautiful waterfalls and dramatic valleys. Up over the high cattle country, then back down to land behind a 767 at Kona Airport. What a day!

Volcanoes National Park

One of our favorite days was the day we drove down to Volcanoes National Park and drove Chain of Craters Road. The vog was pretty thick, and some of the road was closed due to noxious fumes from Madame Pele but we were still able to see Caldera Crater venting away. A few steps away was a thick rain forested area where we saw a lava tube. The lava creates it's own plumbing in the earth and some of them empty so you can see/walk through them. Then we drove along the Chain of Craters road, with many lookouts, craters, and lava fields, finally dropping around 2500 square feet down to a lava flow by the ocean. Too cool!

Honokohau

The next day we found our snorkel spot. We wanted to stay close and take a bit of a down day, so we went about fifteen minutes North to Honokohau Bay. When we arrived all the tour boats were just outside the bay putting their customers in the water to snorkel so we knew it had to be pretty good. You climb over lava rocks to get to the beach which is many grades of crushed lava rock, tiny shells, and crushed shells. I have a snorkel set that I had gotten at Bean's outlet store a few years back. Art did not have any today as we had not rented (like we did for Two Step). He thought he could do it without as he is a very good swimmer. Nope. He can swim like a fish, but could not see in the salty water. So he swam around with me as I snorkeled (I'm a sissy in the water and I am not afraid to admit it!), then he would take a turn and snorkel around. Great day. When we headed back we put on our walking shoes and checked out the little shopping area within walking distance of the resort. We stopped at Sushi en Fuego for a little happy hour and some pupu's (aka-appetizers or tapas). We found a (can't remember the name of it) little snorkel shop that had snorkel sets for short money so we bought Art a set. He was most excited about his flippers. Mine are one big paddle and his are split. Apparently it makes a big difference (like I could tell??) He was very happy. After that we had margarita night, went down to the beach to watch the surfer's, boogie boarders, and the sunset. Growing up in Colorado I was treated to some spectacular sunsets. Even where my parents are in Mazatlan you get some nice twilights. We noticed that there wasn't really so much of a sunset as it was watching the big round glowing ball drop into the ocean. It was explained to us that because Hawaii is so close to the equator you don't have a twilight so to speak. The angle of the sun relative to the horizon is too steep. It was still a nice sight and a great way to end the day.

Hawaii Day Two

On the second day we decided to head South. We started off with a tour of coffee country in, you guessed it, Kona. We stopped off at Greenwell Farms for a tour. While we waited we sampled several varieties of their coffee blends, including their signature blend, peaberry, and chocolate macadamia nut. They also had chocolate covered mac nuts and coffee beans, as well as mac nuts. There are something like 700 coffee growers in this ~twenty mile strip of Kona. Most of them are about three acres. Very hard work! The trees flower constantly, and the beans do too. This means that on the same branch you could have many different levels of bean. So they all have to be picked by hand! Each tree only produces enough for about a pound and a half of coffee. They dry the beans in the sun (which comes out each morning- although it has been very voggy for the last couple of months according to the locals. Yes- voggy- new word- volcanic smog- their word not mine...) Anyway to keep the beans from getting wet in the afternoon (when it rains at about four o'clock) they have a retractable roof on slides that can be pulled by one guy. Very cool. We got coffee and a bag of macadamia nuts and set off in search of a snorkeling spot. We ended up next to the Place of Refuge. The story goes that in Hawaiin days of old there was one penalty for kapu (crime-wrongdoing-lawbreaking). That penalty was death. A little harsh but, if you could run (literally) and safely make it into the Place of Refuge they would give you a reprieve and you would spend the next couple/few years paying your debt to society by hard labor and then you'd be released back in to society.
Next to this place is one of the hottest snorkel spots- Two Step. Honaunau Bay. I did not have my camera (as it does not get along with water) so I borrowed the pics of that place. This place was tough to get into and out of with the waves and sharp lava (I ended up with many cuts), but it had the widest variety of fish and tons of them. Smelled great there, too :)
Oops. Extra pic in the mix. Those little dots in the water are the boogie boarders by our hotel waiting to catch a wave!

Hawaii Day One

Our first full day in Hawaii started with us having coffee on our lanai watching the early boogie boarders, then out to have a closer look at the beach and dip our toes in the water. Then we headed North to the Kohala District. Breathtaking views at the Polulu overlooking cliffs by the ocean. The valleys are so deep that they cannot build a road through this area. We saw the statue of King Kamehameha causing Art to trip down Brady Bunch memory lane. We saw one of many wind farms, a great asset, that the island hosts. After driving through the high plains area where the cattle ranches are we stopped at beautiful white sand Hapuna Beach to end the day.

Timeshare

Hello. My name is Shannon. I am a time-share-aholic. I just love being able to stay in a mini-apartment with a kitchen, a living room, and sometimes a patio when we are on vacation. My parents bought into timeshare in the seventies when it was a new concept. We stayed up at Snowbird in Utah for three weeks each summer. As we got older, and when we moved to Colorado, we branched out and took vacations to different places like Idaho, the mountains, or visiting family in Wisconsin.
A few years back DH and I purchased timeshare (used of course!) for short money and a low maintenance fee. The intention was to use it for our business. We have taken the guys on ski trips, and training trips using time shares each year. Using a week for our trip to Hawaii was wonderful! The reviews on the site lead me to believe that it was a so-so resort in a great spot. When we checked in the guy said that the best views were taken and he put us in a side building. I wasn't surprised and really expected a dark, dank place but figured we wouldn't spend much time there anyway.

Wrong, wrong, and uuhh, wrong!
We had a great unit, about 450 square feet and a lanai overlooking the ocean. It had a full kitchen, and a king sized bed in the bedroom. The view was great. Overlooking a small beach away from the road and pool noise.


We went shopping our first full day. The lady behind us in line balked at how much we spent at Safeway, but we bought some great meals like ribs, salmon, steak, shrimp. Of course beverage makings added a bit to the tab ;) Prices are a bit higher in Hawaii but not like I expected. The beef was actually lower than we pay in NH. Did you know that the largest beef ranch is on the Big Island?? I sure didn't, but loved the two huge racks of beef ribs that we got for $14! The outdoor bbq area at the resort was great, too! We talked with people from Washington, and California while preparing our feast(s) :)


The veggies were the killer. I think we spent over $70 on veggies! Yikes! Even more shocking was the fact that they don't grow them on the island!! Even the avacadoes were from California! Hello? Warm, sunny, temperate... Easy to grow your own fruits, and veggies!! We of course got some Kona coffee too YUM :)> Even spending what we did we saved a bundle over eating out!

Kona

We just got back from our "once in a lifetime" trip. We had two international frequent flier tickets on United that had to be used this year or be lost so we began planning our anywhere in the world trip last fall. We initially thought New Zealand or Australia then United changed their frequent flier requirements and it wasn't quite anywhere so we looked a little closer to home. We settled on Hawaii. Not a place that was on our roster, but all we know who have been have had rave reviews. So off to the Big Island we went. It is a LONG flight! Or should I say flights... We headed down to Boston on Friday since it costs less to stay at a hotel with extended parking than to park at the airport, or any nearby lots. We got up at the crack of dawn to catch our 6am flight. We stopped in Denver for a three hour layover. Very weird stopping in CO and not seeing any friends or family but we had a great Mexican lunch before hopping the flight to Kona. We arrived at 4:00 in the afternoon (and a six time zone change) exhausted but excited. We picked up our Chevy HHR, checked in to our timeshare unit, hit the beach then an outside restaurant looking over the ocean for some dinner.
The smell was the first thing we noticed about Hawaii. Kona smells wonderful! The flowers? The ocean? Surely a combination of things but it smelled delicious! We went to bed fairly early since we felt jet lagged and otherwise floopy!