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Published: January 29th 2009
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Saddle Road
A view from a foggy Saddle Road around dusk. Friday January 23, 2009 - Wednesday January, 28 Last island stop for our Hawaii vacation is the Big Island. By far, our most enjoyable stop for our vacation.
Friday: I loved the landing at Kona airport. Very cool feel with the runways surrounded by lava rock desolation. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we were landing in a zone dedicated for evacuations. It was an eerie welcome to the unusual geography of the Big Island.
Picked up our yellow, soft-top, rental Jeep (Short Bus) and headed to Hilton Waikolola Village for check-in. The resort was very large with numerous amenities. As a whole, we both felt a tad disappointed. Between ridiculous service fees, long commutes to our car (10-15 minutes), and uninformed hotel personnel, it just seemed the resort missed on all the little things while putting together a beautiful visual property.
We decided on a trip to the southern most point in the United States. We lowered the soft-top just a tad on Short Bus to get some sun during our long drive. About 75%!o(MISSING)f the way to our destination, the rain started. Pulling over, we struggled for 15 minutes
Green Sands Beach
Near the south point of the U.S. with the soft-top, but never succeeded in closing the roof. Eventually the rain slowed, so we pushed on.
After a long, windy haul we reached South Point. From there, we started a 2 mile hike to the Green Sand Beach. The strong, dusty, coastal wind and the setting sun challenged our hike the entire way. We eventually reached the Green Sand Beach, snapped a few pictures and then headed back to Short Bus racing against the setting sun.
Barely making it back before it was pitch dark, we loaded up and set off for the hotel. Within the first 10 minutes of our 2 hour drive, Short Bus’s top ripped off exposing the entire Jeep to the windy conditions. With no light and limited knowledge with soft tops, we were forced to push on. Cranking up Short Bus’s heat to high, we rode on freezing our lightly dressed asses off. Knowing the top was damaged, we called our car rental company and arranged an exchange for a hard top Jeep while on our way back to our hotel.
Overall, it turned out to be a hectic, memorable introduction to the Big Island.
Saturday: After our
Mauna Kea Beach
Softest sand we set foot on while in Hawaii. Friday adventures, Saturday was purposefully low-key. We spent most of the day around the resort, relaxing. Mid-day, we fit in a short drive to Mauna Kea Beach. Mauna Kea Beach was a pleasant little beach with extremely soft sand and a small quantity of beach-goers. In the evening we headed to Kona for a bit of shopping and people watching.
Sunday: Up early, Tegan had a play date with some dolphins. Over the course of a half an hour, Tegan was petting, dancing, swimming, and even kissing various dolphins at our resort’s Dolphin Quest facility. She definitely enjoyed the entire experience.
From there we moved on to the Big Island’s form of vandalism. With the use of some sort of white coral rock common to the island, we created our own eco-friendly graffiti amongst the black lava rocks. It was definitely a cool way to embrace the current culture by leaving a little imprint of our visit to the island.
Heated and dirty from our graffiti efforts, we stopped by another local beach, Anaehoomalu Beach. Less impressed by this beach, we didn’t stay for very long as our resort’s pool and lounge chairs were calling.
Hilton Waikoloa Village
View from inside our hotel lobby. Monday: Monday was all about the volcanoes. Up at 5:45 a.m. we headed to the east side of the island to Hilo for a 1 hour helicopter tour of the volcanoes. We both really enjoyed the entire helicopter experience. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the past effect of the lava flow from a grander scale floating high above. Unfortunately, it was also the only time we were able to see any flowing lava, as the current day’s flow was mainly underground or inaccessible by foot.
Once back on the ground, we continued our volcano itinerary by visiting Volcanoes National Park. In the park we viewed old calderas, aged lava flows, desolated land, lush rain forests, and even an underground, old lava tube. Sadly, a small part of the park’s road was closed due to high amounts of sulfur dioxide in the air caused by the wind’s direction, so we weren’t able to see everything. The park was a cool experience, but felt a tad lacking without the ability to see flowing lava.
Done with the volcanoes, we charted our course back to the west side of the island. Feeling brave, we opted for the central
Waikoloa Coast
As seen from the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort path through the island on Saddle Road. All of our guides discouraged using the road, but we wanted to see something different. Between the fog, setting sun, and bumpy road conditions, it was easy to see why the route was discouraged. Despite the bad conditions, we were both pleased by the scenery and felt the drive was well worth it.
Tuesday: Tuesday was another wake-up at 5:45 a.m. as we booked an early whale watching boat tour. I’d like to go into all the glowing details, but most of my time on the boat was spent head between knees, face buried into a plastic bag. Before succumbing to the motion sickness, we did observe mother and child humpback whales. In addition to a few whales, we frequently cruised along with spinner dolphins. Tegan will need to fill you in on the whole experience, since I was puking my guts out for the majority of the 3 hour trip. Thankfully, no pictures were taken during my humbling experience.
Ill, the remainder of my day was spent recovering. Tegan made the most of her day by laying out by the resort’s pool.
Wednesday: Knowing a flight was
Pre Dolphin Swim
Tegan eager to play with the dolphins. lingering in the evening, Wednesday was a more controlled itinerary.
We started by visiting Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau. Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau is a preserved representation of a colony of early Polynesian settlers. Among the totems and huts, we were also surprised to find many green turtles feeding in the nearby bay.
From there we spent the remainder of the day relaxing and shopping. Most importantly, I picked up a necessary ukulele. I’m certain Tegan and Remy will love this new addition for years to come.
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