2021 Big Island

Inside Kilauea Iki Crater

“Stay outside. Do not be seen with me.” I know it sounds mean, but I said this to the Lady Adventurer for a good reason: Alamo Rent-a-Car was about to check our State of Hawaii ‘Safe Travels’ vaccination status, and we were not able to access her information. That was because I forgot the password, and could not use the ‘forgot password' link because we had no WIFI, and data access wasn’t working well for us. It’s not like I didn’t spend a great deal of time and effort to complete our Safe Travels information. It had been necessary to enter at the airport, but there we’d needed a QR code, and here at the car rental, they unexpectedly didn’t want our stinking QR codes; they wanted to see two green checkmarks at the website. Since I had mine, I thought it best to just not let them know that Lady A. even existed. It worked.

Getting into the state earlier via the Kona Airport, not so much. Yes, we had our QR codes to prove our vaccination status and speed us through the process. Since we didn’t notice that someone at the San Francisco airport was checking QR codes and providing wrist bands, we had arrived without the bands and had to wait in a very long line anyway. So much for saving time and hassle. So future travelers to Hawaii: Don't even think about getting off that plane without your wristband. By the time we had gotten into our Jeep and began driving to Kailua-Kona, we’d spent over two hassle-enhanced-hours.


Kailua-Kona

The western side of the Big Island is called the Kona area. The main city here is called Kailua-Kona, and it’s referred to as either Kailua or Kona, or both. I’ll just call it Kona. Of all the little beach towns and gin-joints in Hawaii and elsewhere, I think Kona might just be the coolest, and certainly the most quintessential. 

A beach in Kona

 Bougainvillea in Kona

At the Fish Hopper in Kona

Hawaii under blizzard warning as 12 inches of snow and winds up to 100 mph expected, read the USA Today Headline. The problem? A Kona Low, also known as a Kona Storm or a Kona Cyclone. And guess who would be there, in Kona, right in the middle of it? At least the precipitation down there on the coast was in the form of rain (a lot of rain). We’d thought about getting up to Mauna Kea, but not, at least, for a few days until the blizzard subsided.

A rainy night in Kona

What to do between raindrops? Visit the beach and walking trail at ‘Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area,’ of course. The gardens along the trail were surprisingly beautiful for such a stark area as the old, abandoned airport. We also visited the famous Kona Brewing Company and then drove south along the Kona Coast (keeping the ocean on our right!)

Old Kona Airport Beach Park

Kona Brewing Company

"Damn the Kona Storm, we're headed South," was the mantra. We'd put off sightseeing long enough. It doesn't rain on us until we nearly arrive at South Point, the southernmost point in the United States. We also parked at the nearby Green Sand Beach parking area and began the 2.5-mile hike down to it. That's when the next band of heavy rain started, so we turned back.

South Point

Next, we stopped at a Macadamia Nut and other farm stuff place called Hawaii's Local Buzz. It was fun to watch the gaggle of guinea fowl run around with their pet-friend pig. Heading back to Kona, we stopped at the Greenwell Coffee Plantation for a taste and tour, and finally to the historic seaside village of Nāpō’opo’o to watch the waves crash. Don't ask me to pronounce that, by the way.

We had done all these things in the past (except that we did make it to the Green Sand Beach), but it was fun to relive those memories, especially after being cooped up.

Nāpō’opo’o

As much as we love Kona, it was time to move on. After five days there, we would spend the next five in the Kohola Resort area. It's also known as Waikoloa, and we've spent many a vacation here. Those other trips were to the Waikoloa Marriott, but this time we booked the Ocean Tower at Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Goodbye, Kona

The size, scale, and scope of HWV can only be classified as 'too much.' It's just too much for our little brains to fathom. If you combine Walt Disney World, a Carnival Cruise, and Vegas, you begin to get the picture. After fumbling with our Hawaii Safe Travels Green checkmarks on our phones once again, we managed to check-in, unload part of the car (what we could possibly carry), park the car a half-mile away, walk back to the main lobby, catch the tram (a monorail) to the Ocean Tower, get settled, realize that our room's thermostat doesn't work, show this to an engineer, wait for an employee to let us into a new room with a working thermostat (but one that stunk of mildew), and then have to reverse all our steps back to the car to get the rest of our stuff. This is not to mention walking a mile and a half each way the next morning to buy water and beer for our room. Life's a hassle in paradise. I should add that HWV does have beautiful grounds, and our lanai had wonderful views. We enjoyed sunrises and sunsets and everything in between.

On the way to Waikoloa, we drove up to the North point of the Island (a town called Hawi) and then worked our way back down. We stopped at Lapakahi State Historical Park, where we did a short hike to and around the seashore. There were Heiaus and rock walls galore. We also ate at the famous Merriman's Restaurant in Waimea.

A break during our hike in Lapakahi State Historical Park

When the Kona Cyclone finally abated, we managed to drive across and around the North Side of the island. The Big Island is truly big, and it's awesome. Our first hike of the day, the Pu'u O'o Trail, was amazingly awesome. It was short and steep, up to the top of a cinder cone, right in the middle of the 1984 lava flow from Mauna Loa, right in the middle of the Saddle Road across the middle of the island. Midway between the behemoth mountains of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, we had superb views of each. This 500-year-old cinder cone had survived the lava flow, and the results were, as I say, awesome. Am I using the A-word too much? Too bad.

Pu'u O'o Trail with Mauna Kea in the background

Later... we hiked Mauna Kea! In the distant past, we'd driven up to the top of the 13,679-foot volcano. You can still drive it, or you can hike to the top. We did not attempt such an ascent this time, but we did go to the visitor center which is located at around 9,200 feet. And from there, we took an awesome hike. Was it awesome-er than the last one? Yes, it was awesome-est! This was the Sunset Hill Trail, and it was amazing. There were 360-degree views of nearby Mauna Kea, as well as Hualalai and now distant Mauna Loa. It was so high and steep and windy, that it was a little bit scary.

At the summit of Sunset Hill

The Hamakua Coast on the Northeast side of the island is as pretty as ever. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I could live here. Easily.

Just when we thought things could not possibly get any more awesome (there I go with the A-word again), we drove over and spent the day at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As they enter the park, the first question out of everyone's mouth is, "How can I see hot lava flowing?" So this is what the Ranger talks about to everyone who will listen at the visitor center. On this day, red hot lava was available to be viewed at Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the eruption viewing area near Keanakākoʻi Overlook. We had to walk a mile to get there and said crater was another mile away, but when we saw it, it was all pretty cool! I mean, hot. There was a small cone in the middle of a hot lava lake. The cone itself had hot lava spilling from its top.

Hot lava in Halemaʻumaʻu crater

Our second hike of the day, the Kilauea Iki Trail, was the most awesome of all. In fact, it's been said that if you have only one hike to do on the Big Island, this should be the one. And I can understand why. You start on a trail along the upper rim of the Kilauea Iki Caldera. Along the way, you can look down to the crater floor 400 feet below, watch hikers that look like ants slowly trekking across. Then you scramble down the side of the cliff, over lots of uneven rocks, and eventually make the scene to the crater floor. It's other-worldly, and I still can't believe we hiked all the way through a volcano! Climbing back out was a little difficult, but we made it. Lady Adventurer demanded satisfaction after this trying but satisfying day, so we found our way to a good restaurant (Jackie Rey's) for dinner. It was not an easy three and a half miles, but boy was it epic!

Inside Kilauea Iki Crater

Speaking of epic, I was relating the story of my awesome run up Waikoloa Road. where I could see five volcanoes in the early morning light when Lady A. makes her Lady SA (Lady SmartAss) remark: "Wouldn't it have been even more awesome if they were all erupting?" For more on this and other running on the Big Island, see my running blog post.

Sunset from our lanai