We drove north about sixty miles to reach Kona from Hilo. Along the way, we stopped at MacDonald’s in Waimea for coffee. It was 10:00 AM and I tried to convince Kathie to stay until 11 when MacDonald’s was offering their April 15th deal of sixty cent hamburgers. I was voted down.
The temperature in Waimea was “cold,” as described by Kathie. It was 64, just delightful in my terms. This town has really grown since we first visited in 1998. There is no more secret about Waimea.
Besides the cooler weather, the area is known for the famous “Parker Ranch.” Miles of grasslands can be seen, great for cattle. Within thirty minutes you are at one of the best beaches of the Big Island, Hapuna.
We arrived in Kona with the NCL cruise ship, Pride of America, in port. The same ship that left Hilo the night before. Unlike in Hilo where the Pride had its own dock, in Kona the ship tenders were used. I just don’t think you get a true feeling about Hawaii on a cruise ship.
We checked in to our Kona Reef condo. In doing so, we met Alexis Stubbs who works at the “Guest Services.” She was surprised to learn that we are from Jensen Beach, FL. Her hometown of Jupiter is only twenty miles away from us. It is truly a small, small world. Alexis is “personality plus,” and we wish her well in her career.
Kona is known as the “dry side.” The city receives about ten inches of rain a year. We received about an inch that afternoon though. Kathie was able to do three loads of wash in our VRBO condo at Kona Reef.
We enjoy walking downtown. Along the way is the swimming course of the Ironman Triathlon held here in October. The road leading out to the airport has as much width as a car lane for the cyclists. As you may recall, the Ironman has a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bicycle ride and a marathon of a 26.2 run.
We see people training on many of the roads. It is a city filled with athletes. The winning time for the Hawaiian Ironman is for a male is 8 hours 3 minutes 56 seconds and for a woman it is 8 hours 52 minutes and 14 seconds. The Hawaiian Ironman in Kona is the most prestigious event to win and is regarded as the “Super Bowl” of Ironman’s.
By the Queens Palace and very close to the starting point for the Ironman swim, are these huge trees. By law for sacred reasons, they can not be cut down. There is a tree by an Hawaiian ABC store– much like our 7-11 stores– but much better. Even though the roots are coming through the foundation, this tree cannot be touched.
Twenty-five miles outside of Kona is the Waikoloa Resort. Built between previous lava flows, the last one being in 1801, this place is a self-contained haven. We always enjoy walking around “The Hilton Waikoloa.” There is a tram on premises, several man-made waterfalls and even a dolphin facility. It is “free” just to walk around.
We later stopped at the Four Seasons Resort. There is a guard gate, but we told them we were visiting to have lunch. We just happened to change our mind.
It is a beautiful resort. The Four Seasons is a place you may want to escape to.
There is a beautiful coast trail at the Four Seasons. It was once used by the Hawaiians to go up and down the coast. Today, that trail is partially used by golf carts.
Back in Kona, we stopped at the Royal Kona Resort for their Thursday music. It is apparently the place where the original Mai Tai was created.
Sam Wilkinson was playing. What we were told Sam has played with Kenny G. and the legendary Don Ho.
You can see some pretty awesome sunsets from this place as it juts out on a small peninsula.
We met Kevin Doherty. He is from Boston and was extremely happy to get out of Boston this past March. Kevin is an “Environmental Engineer” and lives in the famous Waipio Valley.
Waipio is a beautiful valley on the eastern side between Hilo and Waimea. We have seen this valley at the top of the visitor’s center. You will need a 4-wheeled drive for the 25% grade down the road. It is isolated without cell phone service or even internet. For a long time the valley was composed of hippies and ex-Vietnam veterans. Kevin says it is changing.
We decided to do our mini Ironman trek by taking the roundtrip 3.8 miles hike to Kealakekua Bay. It is the place where Captain Cook was hacked to death on February 14 (my birthday), 1779. Parts of Cook’s body were never found.
Captain Cook discovered not only Hawaii, but Australia too. The first European to touch Hawaii was one of Cooks officers, William Bligh.
From Cook’s ship, the H.M.S. Resolution, the first steps were taken on the island of Kauai 305 miles from the Big Island. Today it would be a $89 flight from Kona on Hawaiian Airlines. William Bligh, as you may recall, was the same guy who mutinied on the Bounty a few years later.
Kealakekua is a beautiful bay. The authorities have restricted those that can go and touch the actual monument: permitted tours and people who hike in.
Captain Cook’s monument is still owned by the British government. Every so often, a British ship comes by and takes care of the monument area.
I did see some Yellow Tank and a Blow Fish, but the bay was loaded with plenty of people. There were not many of us who hiked down.
The last time we did this hike was in 2007. It whipped my butt. History has a way of repeating, and I was whipped again. There is a 1400 foot elevation change. Kathie did a great job hiking, but she admits of suffering from “heat exhaustion” like I was. I had to take far greater rest stops, though, under shaded bushes and trees. Kathie had never seen me collapse in exhaustion onto one knee before. Playing football for eight years came in handy. She made sure to bring water and snacks. Kathie’s thoughts saved me.
Unlike 2007, there is a “Warning Sign,” now at the trails head on the severity of hiking down. Every quarter of a mile is a number posted to alert the authorities where you are just in case 911 is called. I wonder how much money that would cost.
It is quite rocky with plenty of smaller rocks that one could slip upon. I slipped several times, but did not fall.
A Hawaiian man past us going down the trail as we were coming up. This man must have weighed 325 pounds or more. He took a swim, and then caught up and passed us on the trail going up. He said, “I am a bit out of shape” after doing this trail many times in the past. I was sitting down by a tree, whipped, and promised myself to lose twenty more pounds.
On the way down, we met David who works at a local farm in the area. He said “the fish were lacking in the bay, and we should snorkel ‘Two Steps’ down the road. The very next day we made it to Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. This is a 180 acre national park which basically was “a refuge for Hawaiians who broke any law.” When you broke even the simplest of laws, you were punished. Sounds like my old school. Nevertheless, this area holds great meaning for the Hawaiians.
I agree with David, “Two Steps” is far superior in snorkeling Kealakekua Bay. They call it “Two Steps” since you can literally be in the water in two steps. But, there is plenty of lava to cross.
I was fortunate to find a cave of hibernating white tip reef sharks.
After eating lunch, Kathie went back to the room and I continued to explore downtown Kona. I came across three Hawaiians giving a traditional Hawaiian music concert. Most of the listeners were retired and with grey hair like myself. It was a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
There was a kiosk selling “shave ice.” The Hawaiians never put an “d” after shave. For $2.50 I received a superb dessert.
I continued down the road to the oldest church in Hawaii, Mokuaikaua Church. Established in 1820 as a Congregational Church. They just celebrated their 195th birthday.
It was outside the church I met Ren. He was playing some Hawaiian music on his Ukulele. People take their Hawaiian music seriously and I have seen them walking down a street singing and playing away.
I imagine Ren is living on the fringes. You do see plenty of “homeless” and poor. It is just a fact of life. Most people leave you alone. We did have one man in Lahaina who asked us five different times about giving him “fifty cents.” For about a week we would run into him, but he disappeared after that.
As I approached the church, the door just closed. Well, “opportunity cost,” and I would have to come back another day. But, Roxanne was “wonderful” enough to open the door for me.
The church is simple, but beautiful in many ways.
A brig called “Thaddeus” brought a group of parishioners to the Big Island. It took them 164 days of traveling, and luckily survived Cape Horn.
Once a month, Kona closes the main street. We happened to be in Kona on the day they closed it. A beautiful Hawaiian concert was given by the Palace.
We happened to walk behind a man who was wearing this tee-shirt:
Early that day, we walked downtown and came across the 1st Annual Dog-paddling race. It was interesting seeing a dog on the paddle board.
Our last day we went to a Beach Park with ancient petroglyphs written in the lava:
We walked the ancient Hawaiian coastal trial by the Fairmont Orchid Resort and came across Ronald, who was gardening at this beautiful “Woolworth” owned home. Ron is on the right and his friend joined him for a picture.
As we were leaving to go on Highway 19 back to Kona, we noticed that Mauna Kea was clear. It is the tallest mountain in Hawaii at 13,796 feet. There is a protest going on at the summit against building another observatory on “ancient lands.” It seems every community has its issues. Kona is no different.
