Island of Hawaii

After almost a year of waiting, we're on our way.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out our itinerary in Hawaii.   Non-stop it's a 9 hour flight and it's not clear to me if we'll ever go there again.  With a beach house in Delaware we have plenty of beach and ocean exposure; it's possible this trip will be our only one to Hawaii.  We needed this trip to be a good one because it might be our one and only to this part of the world.

We knew we wanted to go to several islands, but with two weeks we decided it wasn't a good idea to try to see all the islands so we settled on Hawaii, Maui and O'Ahu.  If we ever return we'll go to Kaua'i.

Our first stop in the state of Hawaii was Honolulu.   We had some worry on the flight from Dulles because we'd had a delayed departure.  We left several hours in between our arrival into Honolulu and the flight out to Hawaii, but the delay seemed like it'd chewed that leeway up.  In the end the flight arrival times weren't what we thought they'd be and we had adequate time to catch our connection, no thanks to the airline in estimating our arrival time.  So it was onto Hawaiian Airlines.

Happily waiting at the gate for our trip to the island of Hawaii.

Back to the plan

Once the destinations were set then it was a question of where to stay.  The first thing that I experienced was sticker shock.  Everything was at least $200 a night.  We are no strangers to travel, but our style is not one that includes a lot of $200 a night rooms.

I started looking on Trip Advisor.  Anyone who has spent much time on Trip Advisor knows that when you start reading reviews you'll discover that there is often a lot of variation in what people think of places.  If someone had a great time then it doesn't matter if the resort was a dump, they see it through good-time experiences.  Other people seem to go places with the intent of finding fault and the greatest place in the world is nothing but flaws.

Waipio Valley

While checking out what to do on the Island of Hawaii I came upon the Waipio Valley, and the Waipio Rim Bed and Breakfast.
We made the easy decision that we would go there.   We had decided that we wanted to see the volcano, and fly into Kona and out of Hilo so as to get a look at both sides of the island. All of a sudden we were staying in 3-4 different places.

First Stop: Kailua-Kona - 

From the Tiki Lounge the first night. We really felt like
we were so far from home.

Royal Kona Resort - the tidal pool

We flew to the Island of Hawaii, landing at the Keahole-Kona Airport.  This hot-dry airport with it's outdoor terminals made us feel like we'd landed in the third world.  One of our bags got left in Honolulu and I waited to see if it would appear on the next flight.  I saw a lot of that airport.
Giving up on our bag we went onto Kailua-Kona on the Kaliua Bay where we checked into the Royal Kona Resort.  a 1970s-era resort it wasn't the fanciest resort but it was affordable and close to the airport.







The resort didn't have a beach front but it did have several pools, one heated, and a tidal pool.  It sat very close to the Kailua downtown area, a strip of retail on the Bay with lots of shops, restaurants and bars that were fun to walk through and didn't leave us feeling like we were stranded at an isolated resort.

It also had air conditioning in the rooms, something I didn't appreciate fully at the time.

Kahaluu Beach Park

The location was fortuitous.  A state park with good snorkeling in a sheltered bay was just 2 miles away.  We could take our snorkel sets and get in a swim before check-out time on the day we departed.

One of the the observatories at Maua Kena.

 I read the James Michener book, Hawaii in preparation for the trip and was taken by the idea that Polynesians navigated from other Pacific islands to Hawaii using the stars.
With this in mind I booked a trip to the Maua Kena Summit to see the observatories and to take in a guided star gazing session.
We didn't rent a 4WD car and I was glad we'd taken a tour on a rugged bus; the road was rough and steep and driving in our jet-lagged state wouldn't have been easy.  As we learned later on the trip - even on regular roads Hawaii is hard on rental cars.
We watched the sun set above the clouds at 13,000 feet and then descended to 7,000 feet to look at stars through a telescope.  It was fascinating, and possibly my favorite part of the trip.  The guide knew all about the constellations pointing out all the signs of the zodiac that were visible in the seasonable sky.  We also saw part of the Southern Cross, which isn't visible from the mainland.  Some stars glowed red, and you could see it without a telescope.

Before the sunset. It was 13,000 feet and about 35 degrees.
The observatories have a Star Wars militaristic look to them.

Sunset above the clouds at Mauna Kena.

Second Stop: Waipi'o Valley 

With snorkeling and star gazing under our belts we left Kailua-Kona the next day, headed to the Waipi'o Valley, otherwise known as the Kohala Forest Reserve.

Along the way we made a stop at the Kauna'oa Beach for some blue waters and a cooling dip. With temperatures in the 90s we might as well have been in Maryland.

At the Rim overlook.

After a drive to the rainy side of the island we arrived at the Waipio Rim overlook. Our B&B sat on the rim of this valley, slightly inside the park.  We didn't need a 4WD vehicle to get there, but if we'd gone any further down the road it would have been too steep for our rental.

After a lovely welcome from the inn keepers and a homegrown avocado pupsa we retired to the singing of birds and tree frogs.





The next morning we hiked a steep road down into the valley and spent the day at the black sand beach there.  It wasn't a great swimming beach although the B&B owner surfs there regularly, but it was lovely in that wild rocky Pacific coast way.

 At the bottom of the valley was a black sand beach with the bluest water I've ever seen..

 A freshwater river flows into the ocean, which makes a nice place for wading and cooling off after hiking around.

 these footprints would be covered up when the tide came in.

We walked about halfway up the other side of the valley to look it all over from the other side.  The B&B sat on that rim.

You can see the line of the steep road we came down in the hillside.  You've got to take it easy on your knees walking down.

Hiking back to see some waterfalls we happened up a fellow sitting in the road rolling joints.

We didn't inquire, but likely he'd sell you one if you wanted to have a smoke at the waterfalls.  The road to the waterfalls was spooky in an Apocalypse Now kind of way.

I don't think I'd go wandering around through private property there, I've watched too much television about drug dealers protecting their crops.

This picture is before we hiked down the trail.
I know that because my towel is clean. Black
sand turns into mud once you get it wet.

I'd taken off my sun shirt by this point.  Although the weather was cool
the walk was sweaty.

After hiking back up the steep road (30 minutes down, 45 minutes back up) our B&B hosts had rich mango smoothies for us.

Breakfast came with paper umbrellas and
macadamia nut pancakes.  We bagged some up
and had good snacks the rest of the day.

The included breakfast was fresh and fruity, if not a bit of a portion overload.

Third Stop: Volcano National Park 

Leaving Waipio driving down the Hamakua Coast along highway 19 we stopped at waterfalls and gardens.

What's going on with my hand?

We bought a coconut at a roadside stand, and I quickly decided that coconut milk is not for me.  I tried it mixed with pineapple later on the trip, and think I'll stick with that.

A certain species of fish swims up this waterfall to spawn. Suction cup fins.

We stayed in Volcano Village near the Volcano National Park, at the too-cute Volcano Teapot Cottage.  This tea-themed cottage was a restored plantation worker cottage.

A claw-footed tub was perfect for soaking after the long day we spent walking in the Volcano National Park, which is about as hot and arid as you'll get in Hawaii. The cottage is situated in the rainy part of the area and was a great place to end up after the hot sunny volcano park.

We were close to the Volcano Park, and drove back at night to see the cauldron glow in the dark.

The next day we were hiking in the park, which was hot, dry and windy.
By this point the heat and wind was turning me bright pink, and yes I wore my hat most of the time.

Fourth Stop: Hilo

Our last night on Hawaii was spent in the city of Hilo.  The downtown area is like Baltimore:  shabby and run down with the low rents that attract artists and fledgling restaurants.
 Dan took a helicopter ride over the island and I browsed the shops -- buying a used book and some beads.

Our hotel, the Dolphin Bay Inn was just perfect, not a luxury hotel, a plain 50s style motor inn with big rooms (good WiFi) and  close proximity to the downtown area.  The rainy damp climate meant that everything was green.

This sweet motel was well below $200 a night, and would be a good option for a base to explore this end of the island.

The morning we left the Hilo airport we stopped at the Hilo Farmer's Market.  We got a buddha bowl and the best spring rolls with peanut sauce I've ever had as well as some balsamic vinegars that the TSA inspected on every subsequent flight we took.

Recap - 

Where we stayed: 

Kailua-Kona - Royal Kona Resort 

Waipio Valley - Waipio Rim Bed and Breakfast

Volcano Village - Volcano Teapot Cottage

Hilo - Dolphin Bay Motel 

What we did; 

Kailua-Kona - Snorkel, walk around, Mauna Kea Summit/Stargazing 

Waipio Valley - Hike the Valley, drive highway 19

Volcano Village - Hike the park

Hilo - helicopter ride, explore the harbor area