The Big Island, April and May 2014

So, this was our first visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. Our game plan was that we were spending 2 nights on the dry side of the island, Kona, and 1 night on the wet side of the island, Hilo. Our flight arrived around 11am or so, we picked up or rental car, and off we went to our hotel. When we arrived, the room wasn't ready yet, so we decided to walk around a little and have lunch at the Kona Brewing Company.

Beer flight at Kona Brewing Company

It was a great lunch! Mom and I each got a beer flight so we could sample several beers, and shared a yummy salad & pizza. It was just a nice, chill place with outdoor seating-perfect to enjoy some pizza and beer.

After our lunch, we checked into the room in the late afternoon and decided to do some lounging by the pool. We didn't have a ton of time, because I was scheduled to meet somewhere at 530pm for my night snorkel with the manta rays!

So this snorkel experience was one of my highlights of the trip. This was one of the few "organized" trips I did while on my trip. I scheduled ahead of time with Jack's Diving Locker, who had an awesome reputation (and lived up to it). We all headed out on the boat around sunset, suited up in wet suits, and arrived at the cove where the manta rays are. It's a spot where several companies know about, and do these organized snorkels. Basically there's scuba drivers who go to the bottom and shine light up, and the snorkelers shine light down, which makes it really easy to see the manta rays. Let me say--we had no problem seeing them because they're HUGE!! Most of them in this area had a 12 ft wingspan. They are like much bigger versions of stingrays. It was amazing!! It was scary (to me) being in the water at night--and when these gentle giants come close to you, at first, it's terrifying! But they just swim really gracefully and seem totally comfortable with doing their thing and hearing the screams and delight from the tourists. Some of the manta rays brushed against me--and I was told it means good luck for 7 years! I haven't gotten the pictures back from my underwater camera yet, but this is what they look like on the right. We didn't see this many at once, but we definitely saw maybe 4-5 at once and they looked identical to this. Truly an amazing experience!

Manta Rays--photographs by Thomas P. Peschak

I got back later that evening so Mom and I just got some snacks from the ABC Store (like 7-11) in the hotel and relaxed in our room as I relayed my big adventure to her!

The following day we spent the morning visiting a clinic and getting more some meds because her allergies were really bothering her. Once we did all that, we decided it would be best to just spend the afternoon relaxing rather than trying to do a big beach adventure that day. It was our only full day in Kona, and our pool was so pretty and nice, so we relaxed. That's what vacation is all about sometimes! We had a nice little brunch and then vegged for the afternoon.

 We saw an amazing rainbow this day, as well.

Beautiful rainbow

Later that evening, we went to a place called Huggo's on the Rocks, where we caught an amazing sunset, while having cocktails, dinner, and a man playing Hawaiian music, with a woman dancing. It was a lovely way to spend our last night in Kona.

Sunset at Huggo's on the Rocks

The next morning began our big adventure day to see the volcano and travel to Hilo. We drove to Volcano National Park-it was interesting how barren the landscape became as we drove in that direction! While we saw some cool scenery in the park, I wasn't too impressed...I wanted to see some lava! But really you just saw big holes from the distance with steam coming out and some crazy landscape.

Volcano National Park

We stopped at a black sand beach along the way, which was funky looking. We also walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, which was a tube formed from where volcano used to flow in the past. That was funky looking!

Black sand beach

Thurston Lava Tube

We only spent an hour or two in the park and were on to Hilo!When we arrived in Hilo, we checked into our little guesthouse room, which was really cute. We really only had the afternoon in Hilo, and just wanted to hang out and experience the town. It was raining a lot on and off, (it is the wet side of the island!), so sightseeing in the rain wasn't huge on our list. We ended up just hanging out at a bar for a while, drinking some beers, and chatting with a multitude of people. The bartender was from there and grew up there, a guy who was a transplant from Arizona, another a transplant from a town in Mass 15 mins from where I grew up and Mom lives, and a woman visiting. It was a nice way to enjoy Hilo, just hanging out with some nice people. We finished the night with dinner, and returned to our room to rest for our next flight in the morning.

We really enjoyed seeing the Big Island, and were happy to see Hilo, where our family friend Fred lived for many years and has told us about for many years! As you can see by reading, it was a lot to do in three nights, but Mom and I both agreed we were happy we came to the Big Island.

Next.....to Maui!