Category Archives: Hawaii

Touristy Kona

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Kona Hawaii

Royal Kona from the ocean

Royal Kona from the ocean

Kona Hawaii is often referred to as the dry side of the Big Island. Then you hear that the tourists like it because it’s sunny. What I noticed first was that there are resorts, shops and restaurants everywhere along Alii Dr. Parking, if present at all, is at a premium.  Walking or taking a trolley is the preferred method of getting around here. (With my bad back the walking was a problem) It reminded me of South Beach. Florida. If you recall I didn’t care much for South Beach and I was feeling the same way about Kona. My first day in Kona and I was already missing Sea Mountain. The loyal locals told me it was School Break which was why there were so many kids, families and young adults. I hadn’t even noticed that!

The Royal Kona Resort

When I booked this trip I was told I would be in a hotel room, not a condo. I agreed. I was also told that there were two restaurants. They made it sound like I wouldn’t miss a kitchen at all. Maybe if my name were Trump or Rockefeller. I wasn’t about to spend $22.00 for a breakfast buffet. It wasn’t even that special, just the usual eggs, meat (bacon & sausage,) maybe pancakes or waffles depending on the day. I had spotted a MacDonald’s on my drive in from the airport. Their breakfast was just fine with me and a lot less expensive. On the map above my room  was overlooking the Lagoon Terrace.

Lagoon Terrace

 

The Smoky Aroma of the Imu

As I headed out to retrieve my car I recognized the unmistakable smell of a charcoal fire. The Imu for the luau is right near my room. The staff gets the fire stoked up bright and early so the fire can burn down to coals and the Imu pig be readied for roasting for the luau that night. Good thing I like the smell of charcoal!

Firing up the Imu

 

Back to the Big Island

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The Big Island of Hawaii

After 11 years I’m returning to the Big Island of Hawaii. In many ways the Big Island is Hawaii to me. It’s more rural and it has active volcanoes. It was the first Island of the chain that I ever visited. It was time to see what had changed. And if I tell the truth I wanted to see the lava from Kilauea pouring into the sea. When we made the visit 11 years ago we stayed at Sea Mountain Resort on the wet side of the Island. This time I was staying at the Royal Kona resort in Kona, the dry side of the Island. We had a beautiful condo with a lanai at Sea Mountain. At the Royal Kona Resort I was in a standard hotel room. It had a big bed and the slider to the lanai were covered with sliding wooden panels rather than tacky drapes. 

 

my basic hotel room

Basic Hotel Room

View from the Lanai

I didn’t get to see the view the first night since it was pretty dark by the time I located the resort. They also didn’t quite meet Diamond Resorts standards for service either. But after some pushing and prodding I managed to get a bell hop to assist with my bags. Parking was tough. Although they had a huge lot it was all up hill. The best I could do was to park on the grass next to the tennis courts. I had plenty of company parking there. My room was an ocean view  on the second floor. I could hear the waves crashing on the shore. First thing the next morning I threw open the sliders to the lanai to a gorgeous water view. This was one room that was truly an ocean view.  It was going to be hard to leave the deck to go exploring!

Lagoon surf

Technical Difficulties

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Technical  Computer issues delay posts

I’m having some pretty serious technical problems. My computer is slowly giving up the ghost. I’ve known I had a sick desktop for quite awhile. I’ve been limping along using my ancient lap top but that’s also failed. So I’m stealing a minute in my company computer to bring you this update.

My Plan of Action

It looks like the first chance I’ll have to go computer shopping is Saturday. If I can find something in stock that I like I might be able to start posting as soon as Sunday. I’ll have to try to transfer my apps to the new computer. I’m not sure how long that will take to how many have been corrupted. I don’t want to share any viruses that might have found a home in my  old computer. My company also offers discounts on Dell computers but I think that I have to wait for it to ship if I go that route. I’ll look into it tomorrow.

What have we missed?

This was probably a blessing in disguise as I was starting to struggle to come up with topics. The weather has been horrible so I haven’t felt like going out on the weekends.  I did get a short break (1 week) where I took off to the Big Island of Hawaii. Of course I have lots of stories, tips and comments about this adventure but I can’t upload the photos at the moment.

I did see Kilauea

Kilauea was putting on quite a show when I was there. This is the glow from the lava lake. The lava is probably 60-80 feet below the rim. It was “fountaining” between 60 to 120 ft so we’d see glimpses of the tops of the fountains on the big ones. This is one of the pictures I took but it’s small because the computer can’t handle the full size file.

Hopefully I’ll get this all resolved and be back in business next week. Thanks for your patience.

 

I have a Volcano On My Mind

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Old Faithful Erupts

Old Faithful

I want to see a Volcano

After all, I just visited a super volcano! Yellowstone is an amazing place to visit. Surround yourself with geysers, steam vents, boiling mud and steaming rivers. What you won’t see is lava or magma. In Yellowstone that’s still deep underground. We hope it stays there for a long time. An explosion of a super volcano would be devastating!

But I still want to see a volcano

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Back in 2007 I visited the Big Island of Hawaii. As part of my trip I spent a day in Volcano National Park. We drove through lava fields. We even saw the “VOG” in the distance. Vog is volcanic fog and its loaded with sulfuric acid. Needless to say we didn’t get close. We considered hiking over the lava field to see the glowing lava but the solid lava is like glass. Any little fall causes lots of cuts and bleeding. Right at the start one of our party tripped and fell. Lots of band aids later we all helped her limp off the lava and back to the car.

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Let’s Look from the air

After our mishap on the ground we thought we might be able to see the lava from the air. Our group didn’t want to try a helicopter but they were willing to take a small plane ride. We signed up for the tour of the island. As part of the tour the plane circled the vent with the boiling lava. It didn’t look like much from the air. We only had glimpses of the bright red. A cooler skin of black floated over the glowing lava.

Maybe another chance

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During the intervening years I heard about a boat trip along the shore. They go out at dawn and dusk when the lava flow glowed as it poured into the sea. That was way on top of my to do list. Then last week I checked the eruptions for Kilauea. It’s not flowing into the sea anymore! “Lava flow is still active on the pali and coastal plain, however the ocean entry is currently halted”. I may find my plans “foiled” again. Can’t wait to get there and find out!

What Does The Future Hold?

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Hula danceTime to consider Future plans

What trips are in my future? Where should I turn my attention next? Things have been moving fast but I suddenly find myself with no stories or trip updates. That’s quite unusual. Part of the reason was that I spent my last Hawaii vacation doing exactly that, vacationing. I relaxed and unwound. I didn’t seek out adventure and my trip was short.

 

Coming up next

I have another Hawaii vacation on the books but this time to the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island was the first island I visited in Hawaii. That was back in 2007. Since then I’ve been to Oahu and made numerous trips to Maui. I wonder what changes have taken place since my first visit! 11 years is a long time. We stayed at Sea Mountain on our first trip. Sea Mountain is located near Volcano National Park on the wet side of the island. This trip will be at the Royal Kona Resort. Its on the dry touristy side of the island. I won’t have a condo this trip. It’s a standard hotel room.

Some things I can try on the Big Island

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I’ve been looking into some of the activities I might be able to enjoy. Top on my list is an ocean cruise around the edge of the island to see the lava from Kilauea flowing into the ocean. As much as I’ve bee researching this I seem to get different information all the time. I may have to wait until I’m there to see if they are going out.

I’ve also heard that a night snorkel with sting rays is an awesome experience. It was a tour guide on Maui that told me about that. Speaking of Snorkeling, there are quite a few snorkel trips advertised as well as Snuba.

There are also helicopter tours and shark diving. Waipio Valley is listed as a “must see” but requires some hiking. I’m not sure I’ve recovered enough for any lengthy hiking so I’ll just mark that with a question mark. Anyone have any suggestions?