Mid-Winter Break Adventure-Part 4

After spending five days at the Aulani resort on Oahu with some of our kids and grand kids Hubby Tony and I decided it would be nice to add extra days to the trip. We opted to fly into Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and spend four days exploring the cities of Kona and Hilo.

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The flight from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport was only 50 minutes. There was no time for drink service, but the crew offered cups of water. When we arrived, there were two options for disembarking from the plane-a set of steps at the front and a ramp at the back. Both emptied out onto the tarmac. Passengers walked directly to the terminal, which was an exotic-looking open-air pavilion. 

After we picked up our ride for the next four days (this time a standard SUV) our first stop was for lunch and a cup of Kona coffee. Full and caffeinated, we drove towards Hilo north on Highway 19, stopping when and when we wanted to. The terrain on the west side of the island was rugged and the vegetation sparse. At the top of the island the road curved south, and the terrain became green, lush, and tropical.

Our Hilo base for two nights was built in the early 1900s. It proudly proclaimed that it offered a true Hawaiian experience (aka there weren't any resort amenities). The place was funky, and definitely wouldn't have been everyone's cup of tea, but it worked for us. It only took five minutes to walk to downtown Hilo, and over the course of our stay we hit a farmer's market and a food truck event (where we found someone selling what they called butter bomb cookies. To me they looked like gooey butter cookies, a bite-sized version of a St. Louis gooey butter cake.) I had to have some! There were several flavors available, but we chose the most Hawaiian one, ‘uala, a type of purple sweet potato.

On Saturday we drove to Hawaii’s Volcanos National Park, home to Kilauea and Mauna Loa. At the higher elevation it was a little chilly, and a light rain fell on and off. Because of Tony's ankle we passed on most of the hiking, but did drive and take short walks to three things so we could experience them

• the caldera of the Kilauea volcano
• some steam vents
• the Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube)

 Sunday morning we said goodbye by Hilo and headed back to the Kona side. This time we took the Saddle Road that cut across the middle of the island. Along the way we stopped at Rainbow Falls

 

Our last lodging was at a timeshare resort that also rented by the night. It had a complete kitchen, so we bought some food and ate breakfast there each morning. We also ordered in one night. The other night we went to a luau, where we  splurged and got fresh flower leis. The event was fun, but some mid-event rain had everyone scrambling for ponchos.

Our last day on the island was jam-packed. We drove south to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, once the home of royal grounds and a place of refuge for ancient Hawaiian lawbreakers and a sanctuary for noncombatants in time of war. On the way back we stopped at a coffee farm, where we were able to get a tour and see some immature beans growing on a plant.

coffee

When we got back to the condo we put on our suits and walked to the ocean. It was overcast, and the small beach was rocky, but we walked out into the water and sat down to let gentle waves wash over our bodies.

Our flight home left Kona airport at 8 am. Thanks to a two-hour layover in Las Vegas between the two legs of the flight we touched down in St. Louis (four time zones ahead of Hawaii) at 10:30 pm. A very long day to end a very good vacation.