Blogs from Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii, United States, North America - page 10

Day Three on the Big Island (6/20/09): Day three was awesome! We spent most of the morning driving down state highway 11, stopping several times on our way to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. We found South Point, the southern most location in the United States. South point is referred to as Ka Lae, and a barren land, covered by dried grass lands, cattle, and an old wind farm that is not really in operation any more. The ocean crashes into high cliff walls with a fair amount of wind (felt like walking out of the front door!). South Point has a small light house of sorts to mark the location, and several local fisherman line the cliff walls hoping for a catch near the landmark. Perhaps the most mystical aspect of Ka Lae is that oviline, ... read more

Day 1 (6/18/09): We arrived in Kona at about 1:30 PM (which is about 5:30 PM in Wyoming). We are staying at the Royal Kona Resort, right on the ocean. The room is on the 6th floor with a room facing the ocean! After a nice late lunch, we strolled around the local area, finding a Banyan Tree. Banyan trees have roots that grow from the top down into the ground.... read more

I am blessed to say that this was my THIRD trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. My parents are big lovers of Hawaii and have been there even more times than I have. I use to say they were just obsessed, but I think I may be too! Now that one of the most important and romantic days of my life happened there, it will always hold a very special place in my heart. We stayed at the Kona Coast Resorts just off of Alii drive. It was a great location because it wasnt too far from all the happening on Alii, but it also wasnt in the centre of everything. We were close to the Hawaii, aswell as a grocery/shopping centre and the best snorkeling beach on the island! And thats exactly where we ... read more

The next day I had a 6 am wake up and headed on foot from the hostel to Jacks Diving Locker for my first day of scuba diving. Scuba in California was freezing so I decided to give it another shot in Hawaii. Even before we left the marina I saw a guy pulling out a huge swordfish from his boat to load into the back of his truck, it was crazy. On the way to the dive sites (High Rock and Freeze Face) we saw a bunch of dolphins playing in the water too. There were various skills I had to complete on Dive 1 and 2 for my open water cert. All went well except I ended up with mild barotrauma and had to miss out on day two. But that didn't stop me ... read more

Rob had to return to Hilo to lead another shorter Elderhostel so we sadly say "Aloha" and "Mahalo" ("thank you"). Susan and Rob made a great pair during the past week. Both are incredibly knowledgeable and experienced with everything from every kind of work people can do on the islands to the inner workings of the National Park Service! We were grateful to have had him along. After a buffet breakfast (meals at the hotels so far had been generous buffets which fueled our extensive walks), we rode to the Kona Historical Society site. Marty describes this visit very well at http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Big-Island/Kailua-Kona/blog-372748.html I would add that during the visit, I usually carried the camera, Ann's purse, and my own bag with binoculars and other stuff. I confess that I felt a real affinity to the "Kona ... read more