Last Day for Ellen & Doug- Whale Watching!

All of us relaxed and took our time packing today.  We met the excursion boat for our whale watching adventure midday and spent four hours tracking the hump back whale.  Great sightings for the first half of the trip, but darned hard to capture them on film!   It was a relaxing way to see the coast and enjoy the ocean one last time.  The four of us enjoyed spending time together on vacation. 

We ate one last oceanside meal at LuLu's on the shore- loud music but fantastic food.  One last Longboard beer for the road.  Deanie and Eddie scoped out their new "digs" that they will be moving to tomorrow.  The last week for Deanie and Eddie will be closer to the shore.  Deanie and Eddie will stay one more week on beautiful Hawaii!

Kona Fun and Luau: Thurs, Jan 13th

Our whale watching adventure was postponed due to high surf, so we thought of fun things to do in Kona today.  First stop:  Honokohau Harbor- the marina where the fishing boats bring in their catch and folks can charter a deep sea fishing boat.  After walking around and looking at all of the beautiful yachts and fishing boats we decided to grab a bite at BITE ME--the harbor restaurant. What a fun place to go. Most are local fishermen and a few tourists. We had great fish sandwiches, fish tacos and chicken sandwiches, plus Longboard Kona beer.After lunch, stopped by the big Kona marketplace where Doug and Ellen bought a case of jelly and jams to be shipped home. Next few months of good muffins and toast.Came back to the house and took naps before we left for the luau. It is a warmer than usual day so a siesta was called for.

This is the last evening that Doug and Ellen will be here,so we decided to go all out for the best luau on the Big Island. We had reservations(perferred seating) at the King Kamehameha"s Kona Beach Hotel. We had been told by a local that this is "the luau" to attend. Gosh, was he right!! Started with Mai Tais that had us feeling very relaxed, The weather was perfect, with a cool breeze blowing off of the ocean. The dinner buffet included Lomi salmon and Kona style Poke (smoked fish), five kinds of salads,fresh pinapple,and cinnamon spiced  bananas, fresh banana bread, poi,hawaiian sweet potatoes, roast chicken, Kona broil, and the cooked PIG. We finished it off with 3 different kinds of desserts and Kona coffee.  During the performance, the musicians played the Hawaiian love song and everyone danced.  Extra treats during the dinner show included tattoos of our choosing.  Deanie got a turtle and Ellen asked for a flower!  The entertainment included singers and dancers and every culture was represented:Thaiti,Hawaii, Fiji, and Samoa.The costumes were brilliant with color. It was a spectacular performance!! The fire dancer ended the show with a torch twirling dance. It truly was one of the best events we could have attended.

a Breezy Day relaxing in Kona- Wed. Jan. 12th

Doug and Eddie played their last round of golf at the Makalei Golf Course north of Kona.  Peacocks and pea hens were on every course and took their sweet time getting out of the players' way!   The course was hilly and beautiful- the boys said the wind was quite stiff, but the breeze kept things cool!

Deanie and Ellen visited downtown Kona to shop for souvenirs and grab some lunch at a nearby oceanside restaurant- "Hopper's"  The open air restaurant with the huge gusts of wind played havoc with the napkins, and Deanie's lettuce leaf flew off her sandwich!  Check out the waves crashing over the wall and splashing cars and pedestrians!

The surf was tremendous due to the statewide wind and rain storms.  Kona got little rain but the surf kept all boats harbored for the day. 

Second Day: Leaving Volcano Nat'l Park, on to Hilo and around the Big Island Jan 11th

We left Volcano National Park after a amazing day of discovery.  We headed on to Hilo. On the east side of the Big Island including Hilo, the climate is more tropical with lush vegetation and a greater chance of warm showers thru the day or night.  Deanie reserved rooms at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on the ocean bay.  We had a nice dinner in the dining room and turned in early.

We watched cruise ships enter the harbor from our balcony the next morning.  Deanie and Ellen strolled the grounds on Tuesday morning to enjoy a Japanese garden that was established to honor people of Hawaii.  Cats of all shapes, colors and sizes wandered the area around the hotel. 

Cat Palm

 

Japanese Garden Walk

View from our Hotel balcony

Ken's House of Pancakes

We ate a hearty breakfast at Ken's House of Pancakes.  Crab cake benedict was Ellen's choice!  We drenched our pancake side orders in Guava, Mango or Coconut syrup!  Kona coffee was delicious.
We visited a Farmer's Market and bought more papaya, bananas, sweet Hawaiian onions and Ramboutin- a strange prickly red fruit that holds a grape-like fruit inside. 


The "boys" decided to work on their arthritis symptoms by visiting a local "snake oil" specialist- his oil application seemed to help- somewhat.....although both Doug and Eddie decided that massaging the oil into their hands and fingers was probably the key to soothing their aching hands.  Despite the arthritis, the game of golf must go on! 

Farmer's Market flowers

The Doctor is In!

Gourmet Pizza tops the Day!

We visited a beautiful overlook north of Hilo as we began to round the north side of the island on our return to Kona.  We almost caught a "zip-line" excursion through the tropical areas north of Hilo, but our timing was off.  (You  know- "Medicine Man" rainforest lines you clip onto for a ride of your life!) Maybe another time....  We did get to see a whale flipping around in the ocean at Waipio Overlook.  (January is a good whale watching month!)  We decided to reserve a boat ride in the next few days to get up close and personal to these huge Goliaths!

We stopped in Waimea to repeat the fantastic dining experience that  Deanie and Eddie had on their first trip through this part of the Big Island.  A GREAT gourmet pizza- with enough to take home for snacks!
We also visited the Parker Ranch area- a spread founded early in the 19th century and whose family founded the town of Waimea over the next five generations.  Rodeos are scheduled throughout the year, but it was pretty quiet during our visit.  The country was beautiful here- jutting, green hillsides indicative of early volcanic upheavals centuries ago.  The clouds disappeared and the sun remained with us for our journey home on the west side of the Big Island.

On our last leg of the loop around the Big Island, we wandered into a few of the exclusive north island resorts and golf courses- rooms starting at $395 to over $1200 a nite.  The golf courses were over $200 in green fees!  Needless to say, the boys did not make a tee time for these courses!

Tired of driving and looking foward to our Kona rental home, we returned to Kona in the late afternoon on Tuesday.   We did some wash and relaxed on the lanai.  The boys plan on one more day of golf Wednesday and the girls will decide on their activity as the day begins- keeping our options open!

First Day: Overnight Trip to Volcano and Hilo-Jan.10-11th

Deanie, Eddie, Doug & Ellen packed an overnight on Monday and Tuesday and took a two day trip to see the famous Kilauea Volcano National Park and make a complete loop around the Big Island. On the way we stopped at a beautiful black sand beach where we saw a giant green sea turtle floating near the rocky shore. 

We entered Volcano National park and headed to the Visitor's Center.  We saw a great video on the 1959-1960 eruption on Kilauea Iki- a fissure that erupted on the side of Kileuea and blew molten lava into the area for 255 days!  We visited the Iki crater site and marveled at what was once a molten sea.

We discreetly followed along with a tour guide who gave some great background on the history of the volcanoes that created all the Hawaiian islands including the Big Island.  Kilauea is the youngest and most active.  While we were there it was eating several homes in the area and flowing lava into the sea.  The air quality "vog" (volcanic smog) was a visible haze and the sulfur dioxide was too dangerous for some tours to take place.  We drove down to the sea on Chain of Craters Road and Deanie and Ellen walked the 10 minutes to the ocean on a sea bed of petrified volcanic ash.  It looked like a moon scape- very cool. The other part of the road was closed as the sulfur dioxide gases were too dangerous and the lava was busy burning up houses in that area! 

One of the coolest places we experienced were the giant steam vents in the ground approaching the volcano crater.  As we approached the giant fissures along the walkway, huge steam clouds fogged out glasses with a huge blast of moisture!

Kilauea Visitor Center

We also traveled through the National Park to the Thurston Lava Tube- a giant lava tunnel that reminded me of the science fiction movie "Tremors" about giant underground worms.   The lava tube was like a small Mammouth cave- hard to believe that molten lava flowed horizontally underground thousands of years ago and left the hollow tunnel in its wake. 

We left Volcano National Park after a full day and headed to Hilo on the East Coast of the Big Island. 



Kilauea Caldera 




Kilauea Iki  Crater



Thurston Lava Tube

Chain of Craters Road area

Petrified Lava Bed near Ocean

Steam Vent

Steam Vents near Crater

Lava Tube Entrance

More Photos of Ellen & Doug's First Week with Deanie and Eddie in Kona



There were so many things to see and places to go the first week!   We hit the ground running, but enjoyed great food and taste treats along the way!  Lunch at the Kona Royal Hotel, seaside eats, and great cookouts at home on the grill.   Breakfasts included fresh papaya, tangerines and guava jelly with fresh Kona coffee.   We sat on the lanai and listened to the birds from early morning to sunset.  The gekkos were so green and cute.  Hibiscus blossoms share space on the palm trees among the coconuts just feet from our balcony.   Huge cane spiders visited us along with an island mongoose or two!  (looks like a squirrel with red eyes)   Banana trees decorated our pool side area.  Ellen climbed the tree with a ladder only to find that the bananas were rock hard and no chance of ripening in our lifetime!   The weather is perfect- around 75-80 degrees with little humidity on the Kona side of the Big Island.  Doug and Eddie played the upper side of the Royal Kona Country Club course.  Prices in the afternoon cheaper than morning!

We discovered all the wonders of the Big Island- old painted churches on the hillside, coffee plantations high up in the hills, fun markets on the main drag, and wonderful sun and surf just down the street from our rental home!  Hawaiian shaved ice was a great way to cool down!   We have great plans for the last week coming up!



Royal Kona Hotel lunch






Pet gekko




Poolside Banana trees




Great fruit including prickly "Ramboutin"




Mongoose buddy



Kona Coffee Company



Lava tube tunnel




Historic Painted Church





Deanie's shopping fun!



Waiting for their valet driven golf cart!

 





Huggo's on the Rocks!