The Big Island Review

Getting to T.B.I. - Feb 27

We were lucky to be able to get 2 earlier flights, which put us at the airport about an hour early. Unfortunately, we spent that hour waiting for luggage. We were able to get the car earlier and attempt (unsuccessfully) to find some food while we waited, however.

We finally got our luggage and made our way to the hotel - Kona Coast Resort - Keahou Gardens.

It was a long drive - longer than we thought (and it seemed even longer, since every restaurant we went by was closed and we were famished!). I believe it was around 30 minutes, and then when we got to our hotel, we got slightly lost finding the check in desk, and were greeted by an entire lobby full of guests who were waiting for their rooms. Apparently with the tsunami evacuation, the cleaning staff was sent home and weren't able to return until 2pm to begin the job they normally started at 6am, so they weren't finished cleaning rooms that were already occupied. Thankfully, our room was next slated to be cleaned, so we went to find some supper and when we came back, our room was ready for us.

But about that supper...YUCK! We ate at L&L Barbecue, and quite frankly, it was really bad. I would never eat there again! It was like...the worst-case scenario of bad chinese from the mall. As in...like...glazed over and rubbery and just...just not good at all. It was odd, because it was HIGHLY recommended by people in the lobby. If they thought that stuff was good, I don't want to know what they subject themselves to normally. I'm not a picky eater at all, but even I would hardly touch it. It was a good idea...in theory...but just very poorly executed. I would've been more satisfied with a hot dog and potato chips. We may have just ordered the wrong thing, though, but WOW...

Our room was great - and the bed was nice and firm (great for us, because our backs weren't loving us at this point lol) Nice kitchenette, laundry in the condo, and 2 bathrooms. Oh, and a nice living room with a larger TV. Strangest thing was the DINKY (as in like maybe 19") tv in the bedroom, that was encased in this HUGE cabinet. Odd, but we didn't exactly spend most of our time there anyway, so it was no big deal. Here are some pics of the property:

But parking kinda was a big deal. There was only one handicap spot anywhere near where we were, which was eternally taken. So there was the constant "drop Mark off, find a spot, walk forever to get to the room" thing going on. Annoying, but not the end of the world. We didn't explore the grounds much, as we were on the road pretty much all day every day.

Day 1 - February 28 - Kealakekua Bay, Punalu'u Black Sand Beach & Volcanoes National Park

We woke up a little later, had breakfast, then started off towards Volcanoes National Park for the day. We stopped along the way at Kealakekua Bay, which was nice, but we didn't really do much there.

On our way back up the mountain to the highway, we stopped at this little shack for lunch.

Worst experience ever! The food wasn't so bad, but it took me 20 minutes in line behind 2 PEOPLE (who knew what they wanted already) to get 2 hot dogs. Oh, and then they overcharged me. When I tried getting my money back, I got yelled at by the owner saying that this "wasn't McDonald's", that they "grill all their food fresh", and he was "tired of people complaining about the service".  Umm....then maybe it would be a good idea to treat your customers better and not yell at them when they were overcharged, hmmmmm? If you know me, you know I don't take well to being yelled at (especially when I'm not being mean at ALL), so of course, I was a bit shaken up for the rest of the drive to Volcanoes National ark. 

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

After that experience, we made our way back up the mountain to the highway, then kept on going toward Punalu'u Black Sand Beach.

It was SO neat! The black sand is from washed over lava rock, so it's not probably the best on your feet or to lay out on, but I wouldn't know for sure, since I wore water shoes. Mark stayed in the car, but I explored for a bit, bought a couple postcards, and saw a couple nesting sea turtles. So cool!

Punalu'u is a beautiful beach, and we hope to be able to visit for longer next time we are in Hawaii.

Volcanoes National Park

After an incredible scenic drive, we made it to Volcanoes National Park just in time for it to start raining. We were pretty bummed, but turns out it does this often. We made the rest of our way through the park to the crater overlook, past a few stops for vents and such.

The view was absolutely incredible, and the rain sort of let up once we got there, making way for a beautiful rainbow. However, the road was all blocked off to go any further (due to heavy volcanic sulfuric ash), so we had to turn around and drive back up around the other side of the park. The rain started letting up after a few stops at different craters from previous eruptions, and we finally found ourselves at a little trail that led to the lava tube.

I hiked the short trail, only to find myself at the parking lot for the lava tube, so I turned around and hiked back to the car and we drove over to the entrance.

Thurston Lava Tube

Mark even hobbled down and through the cave-like tube, and it sure was impressive!

Hilina Pali Road

After the lava tube, we stumbled across Hilina Pali Road, a 9-mile stretch of 1-way, windy road that ends up at an incredible overlook of the ocean. At first, we weren't too sure about this, seeing not a single soul for the entire 9 mile stretch, but when we got there, there were a couple folks, and then when we started back, we passed a couple others, and saw some campers as well.

We started back just before sunset, and then decided to try to to see where the lava was flowing.  However, we ended up driving aimlessly through a torrential downpour and it was getting late, so we turned around and headed back to our condo for the night.  We stopped along the way to pick up some supplies for a spaghetti supper at a newly-opened grocery store in Ocean View. We had a little sticker shock (prices in Hawaii are significantly more than in the continental US), but after such a big day, spaghetti just hit the spot!

We had an absolutely wonderful day! Wish we could have spent more time there and seen more! I guess we'll just have to come back!

Day 2 - Pololu Lookout / Waipio Lookout / Glass Bottom Dinner Cruise

We continued our trend of relaxing in the morning (a.k.a. icing Mark's leg and getting ready), and were on the road around 10am again, headed this time for the Pololu Lookout.  It was the oddest drive you would imagine.  It was a definite change of scenery from the day before - today being all desolate old lava flows with minimal dry bushes growing around the area.  Eventually, we got into the mountains a little more, and stopped for lunch in Hawi at J&R Restaurant for some burgers and fries.  Pretty good food for a little shack!

After lunch, we continued on to Pololu Valley Lookout, which was just incredible!  Mark especially enjoyed how the pastureland just cut off into these incredible views!  I hiked down the trail to get a closer look (breathtaking!) while Mark waited.  It was a short hike, but worth it!

We hopped back in the car and headed back down along hwy 250 through Waimea to hit up the Waipio Valley Lookout next, with more incredible views.  I hiked down the road a little ways (could have really enjoyed this walk, I'm sure, but time was of the essence...a trend in this trip), and then headed back up so we could get on our way back to Kailua for our dinner cruise!

The description of this day certainly does not do it justice.  We just spent so much of it driving that it's tough to put it all into words.  We went from desolate wasteland to rainforrest to beaches to mountains to farmland all within the same 6 hour stretch, so the drive was so much of what made this day so incredible!

We made it back to our hotel just in time to make a quick change and get back down to the Kailua Pier for our dinner cruise! 

The cruise was pretty decent, but we didn't really see much.  I have to admit that the food was some of the best we'd had on the trip thus far, but with the excitement of distant whale sightings, it was hard to eat it all before it got cold.  We had live music and a hula dancer along with a buffet supper, and it all started with a beautiful Kona sunset!  Once the lights went down, they turned on the lights down underneath the boat, and we could see what was beneath the boat, which turned out to be some coral, a few small fish, some old tires and a couple starfish.  No manta rays, which was disappointing (since that was what they touted, which was part of the reason we booked the cruise), but we still had a great time anyway

Summation of Day 2:  Lots of driving, but all worth it!  Dead tired at the end of the day, but looking forward to our last day in Hawaii the next day :)

Day 3 - Hilo / Akaka Falls / Apple Bananas / Umauma Falls / Home

We checked out of our condo at 10am and were on the road to Hilo a few minutes after.  We had been up in the air about what we wanted to do this day.  We partly wanted to just hang around Kona (since we really hadn't spent much time there), but we also wanted to see some of the sights near Hilo. I had initially considered sticking around and doing some snorkeling, but considering I wouldn't have anywhere to shower, all our things were packed up, and we were looking at approximately 15 more hours of traveling, we decided that staying out of the ocean was probably the best bet.  So...we went to Hilo for lunch, then made our way back slowly towards the Kona Airport for the day.

In Hilo, we had lunch at a little shop (rather, I had lunch - Mark had eaten this huge breakfast and wasn't hungry), and although it was slightly awkward, the food was really delicious!  (Awkward because we walked in on the owner having lunch with her girlfriend, and they made it pretty clear that we had interrupted)

We weren't in Hilo for long, since our flight was only 3 hours away, and the drive back to Hilo would take up 2 of those, leaving just 1 hour for any detours.  And so we took a few detours...to a scenic point overlooking Hilo Bay, on a scenic drive along the coast through the Hawaii Botanical Gardens, to Akaka Falls (after which we found the most wonderful bananas at a roadside stand), and on another scenic drive past Umauma Falls...all on our way back to the airport.  Each and every detour was equally as incredible (if not moreso) as most of the other stops we had made. 

I felt awful thinking on this day that while it was all just absolutely breathtaking, we were past the shock factor and ready to go home.  So as beautiful as it all was, I have to admit that I am more taken aback by it all while looking back through pictures than I was while we were there. 

The Big Island Recap

The Big Island was by far most beautiful place I have been in my life. I loved Kaua'i for its tropical grandeur, but The Big Island's vast difference in terrain just took me in. If we return to Hawaii, we will likely spend all our time here - renting a B&B in the mountains near Waimea, near the beauty of it all, but tucked away in the countryside.

Accommodations:

We stayed at the Kona Coast Resort - Keahou Gardens.  Was wonderful!  We really enjoyed having a place of our own that felt like home while we stayed there.  It was so nice to have a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, dishes, etc. so that when we came home after a long day, it felt like home.  Would definitely stay here again.  However, if you're looking for a "view", this probably isn't the place for you, because there really isn't one from your room like there would be in a hotel.  Great location for your roadtripping, and close to a mall and most anything else you would want to do.

Activities:

RECOMMEND:  Glass Bottom Dinner Cruise - I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it if we had seen more on the bottom of the boat.  They say they have sightings 80% of the time, but unfortunately, we fell into that 20% category.


HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Pololu Valley

HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Waipio Valley

HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Akaka Falls

HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Volcanoes National Park

HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

WISH WE WOULD HAVE:  Snorkeled, Helicopter Tour, Spent more time in Hilo, seen the lava flow, HAD MORE TIME!

Restaurants:

RECOMMEND:  J&R Restaurant (Hawi)



HIGHLY-RECOMMEND:  Meal on Glass Bottom Dinner Cruise
Yeah, we didn't eat out much on The Big Island

Kaua'i Review

We arrived to the Lihu'e Airport around 6pm, and by 7:30 we finally had our rental car and were on our way about 20 miles north to our hotel - the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapa'a. After checking in and resting a bit, we decided to head back south a mile or two to Brickhouse Pizza for supper while we watched the Winter Olympics on their big screen TV. The pizza was good enough, but nothing spectacular. Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel and attempted to locate some ice for Mark's leg. Unfortunately, they didn't have any (argh!), so I went across the street to buy an ice pack for him, and a few odds and ends for breakfasts. Then, it was off to bed!

Day 4 - Feb 23: Wailua River Cruise / Opaeka'a Falls

We spent much of our morning down by the pool, making some friends (farmers from down south) and thoroughly enjoyed just relaxing for a while. Around 11, we headed up to get ready for the day (since Mark's painkillers had finally kicked in), and then headed down the street to the Olympic Cafe, where I enjoyed some delicious fish tacos, and Mark enjoyed a burger.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to rest for a bit, then a few miles south of the hotel to the Smith's Fern Grotto Wailua River Cruise. Verdict: The cruise isn't that fantastic, but Fern Grotto sure is! The cruise consists of a small little hawaiian "band" and a couple hawaiian dancers while cruising down an alright river (coming from Minnesota, I've seen better rivers), then docking a ways down for a short walk to see Fern Grotto. At Fern Grotto, the dancer does a little interpretive dance to the Hawaiian Wedding Song, and you hear some facts about the history of Fern Grotto. Unfortunately, Mark wasn't able to join me, as he wouldn't be able to walk that far, so he stayed back on the barge.

After the river cruise, we stuck to the car (considering walking was so strenuous for the poor hubs) :( We drove up the mountain into the hawaiian countryside and saw a few farms and small little towns all over. On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at the Opaeka'a Falls and the Wailua River lookout, which were both really neat!

We decided to try to make it up to the Kilauea Lighthouse before dark, but failed to make it in time and vowed to try again on our trek north. We stopped for supper at the Ligthhouse Bistro, though, and are SO GLAD we did! The food was incredible, and the atmosphere just wonderful :) We even had live music!

We had such a wonderful first day in Kaua'i and were looking forward to the days to come!

Day 5 - Feb 24: Helicopter Tour, Poipu, Puka Dogs, Waimea Canyon, Kalala'u Lookout, Roy's!

We started our day early, wanting to make sure we could find the Blue Hawaiian office for our helicopter tour that day. We got there plenty early, and watched the safety video a few times while waiting. Before we knew it, we were off!



Waimea Canyon



The Na'Pali Coast




Hanalei Bay



Unfortunately, Mark got motion sickness about 1/3 of the way into the ride, so it was a pretty uncomfortable ride for him, but the views were just breathtaking!



After we spent a couple hours back at the hotel (Mark cooling off and trying to get his stomach back in order), we drove down to Poipu and had lunch at Puka Dogs. Verdict: Overrated. A good hot dog, but not worth $6, and the fillings just weren't our style.

After lunch, we made reservations for supper at Roy's Poipu Bar and Grill, then headed on to the long, winding drive along the rim of Waimea Canyon. Again - breathtaking scenery, and lots of photos and memories :) It seemed like it went on forever, though, by the time we reached the end!









We'd been given a tip from a local the day before that when we reach the Waimea Park entrance, we needed to keep on going an extra 12 miles to the Kalala'u Trail Lookout, and boy are we glad we did! Granted, we thought we might end up with a flat tire or pieces of the car along the way (the road was attrocious), but the view - OH the view!

We made it back down the winding mountain road just in time for our reservations at Roy's and enjoyed a wonderful meal - I had their Salmon (best I've EVER had!), and Mark had meatloaf so good that the ketchup man didn't even need ketchup! (That's beyond amazing, people!) Roy's - recommended. DEFINITELY recommended :)

Day 6 - Feb 25: North Shore!

We decided it made more sense to continue our pool-time trend in the mornings, while Mark's painkillers kicked in, and headed back on down for an hour this morning as well, before heading up for a long day along the north shore!

After Mark's painkillers kicked in, we made our way up along the coast to the Kilauea Lighthouse, stopping along the way at a little farmer's market to pick up some fresh fruit and souvenirs.




One of the things I miss the most about Hawaii: PASSION FRUIT! It is INCREDIBLE - you cut it open, squeeze a little tangerine juice on it, and sip it down. SO GOOD!

After the farmer's market, we continued on our way to the lighthouse. We made it there around 11am and explored for a bit. Great views again (could you expect any less?), and the lighthouse (although you can't go up in there) was neat! They had a little video about the history of the lighthouse, and a little gift shop, but beyond that, the views were the most exciting thing there. You could check out binoculars in the little gift shop for free to see the views, which were really great! I can't recall how much it was to get in, but it wasn't much - maybe $5 or $10 each?

I think the one thing I was most amazed about but you never hear anyone mention is how incredible the scenery is while you're just driving along. The trees are unlike anything around here - the vines and flowers are so different and beautiful, and the winding roads just take you in (if they don't make you sick - haha!)

We stopped for lunch in Hanalei at Tropical Taco and it is the one stop we wish we could have taken back. It wasn't very good, although you get HUGE tacos. I just could have made better at home. Granted, if you are a big HOT salsa person, the salsa will burn your taste buds right off. But the actual tacos - not so great. I think maybe part of it for me was the fact that fish tacos aren't really supposed to taste like...well...tacos. They aren't supposed to have taco seasoning on them. And these, well...they did. And it just was weird.

After lunch, we made a few stops along the way to Kalalau Beach at a few other beaches and scenic points.






How dare I forget to mention: ROOSTERS EVERYWHERE! They must be the state bird or something, because they're EVERYWHERE. It's comical, really, but kinda gave us a bit of a taste of home :)




There were a bunch of these one-lane bridges in Kaua'i, which was interesting! You just wait your turn, and make sure the other side has stopped at their stop sign before proceeding. It's a good thing people weren't too greedy!


We finally made it to the beach and were lucky enough to see a (almost extinct!) monk seal sunbathing on the beach.

The beach wasn't as impressive as others we had been to previously in Oahu, but it was exhilaration knowing that just around the corner was the Na'Pali Coast! This was the entrance to the Kalalau Trail!!

I left Mark with our bags on the beach while I attempted a short little bit of the trail - fully prepared in my sundress and white water shoes. (It was rocky, hilly and muddy lol I looked like a total idiot!)


The Entrance



The first quarter-mile of the trail




I didn't make it too far, considering how minimally-prepared I was (no water, dress and water shoes), but even that first quarter mile was incredible! I wish I had made it at least the first 2 miles, but I didn't want to leave Mark waiting - especially with his painkillers so far away!Here is my proof that I did any of it at all lol

After I got back from the trail, Mark and I enjoyed some shaved ice, then started heading back home, making a pitstop at the wet and dry caves on our way.




Yes, there was an entire mountain above my head: No, this fact was not lost on us - TERRIFYING to stand underneath it! lol

We stopped for a short overlook of a beautiful valley filled with little farms near Hanalei

By the time we got back to our hotel, it was dark, late, and we were exhausted, hungry and ready for bed. We decided to order some Pizza Hut and stay in. Wonderful day: Exhausting day :)

Day 7 - February 27: Tsunami, Wailua Falls, Waiting

Our final day on Kaua'i was nothing less than epic. To sum it up, we spent about 95% of our day waiting, and about 5% packing, eating and wandering around Walmart.

This final day started out with a text message at 4:30am from my friend, Mel, asking if we were alright - that she'd heard there was a tsunami coming our way! This prompted us to wake up, check the news, and make a beeline to the gas station. Even at 5am, the line for the gas station was a half hour long. It was insane! While I was getting fueled up, Mark was getting doped up on his meds, and trying to get his things together so we could beat traffic out of town.

Our plan was wonderful, and we made it out of town by 6:30am, on our way down to the other side of the Wailua river - with just a short detour to watch the sunrise over Wailua Falls.

After our short detour at Wailua Falls, we crossed over the river and decided to try to see if the Kauai Coffee Company happened to be open - one of the things we planned to do that day. Unfortunately, practically nothing was open, and traffic was horrible trying to get anywhere, so we parked ourselves at Walmart and shopped for a bit.

After loading up on some snacks for the long afternoon ahead, we found our way to one of the only "restaurants" still open - Subway - and had some lunch. We drove around for a while afterwards, and found ourselves parked at a school up on top of a hill, where if you walked down a hill a bit, you could see the ocean - and any impending tsunami.

We grew tired of waiting there after a while, and decided to move a little bit closer to the action, so we headed down near the airport, and got down as close to the tsunami evacuation area as we could, and found ourselves with a beautiful view of the shoreline, but still far from harm's way.

Even with the beautiful view, we realized after a while there was going to be no tsunami, but until there was an official "all clear", everything remained closed, and we parked at the nearby Borders under a shady tree and spent most of the rest of the day resting in the car.

When the "all-clear" finally sounded, we barely had enough time to do much of anything, so we decided to try to find our way to the airport to see if there was any possible way we could hop an earlier flight. And we DID! We figured that perhaps getting to the Big Island earlier, we might at least be able to salvage part of our day.



Goodbye, Kaua'i!

Recap:

Accommodations:

We stayed at the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort and it was really great, but they don't have access to any ice, which was a big deal for us! And parking was FREE (which, after Oahu made us overly grateful!) The room was wonderful, view was fantastic, and the toiletries smelled SO GOOD! Our biggest gripe? You only get coffee the first day, and then there is no more :( It's not a typical hotel in that regard. But our view was so great - of the pool, and the facilities were beautiful! The hot tub (with a sand bottom - new to me!) was great too :)

Activities:

HIGHLY RECOMMEND: Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour

HIGHLY RECOMMEND:  Waimea Canyon

HIGHLY RECOMMEND:  Kalala'u Trail

RECOMMEND:  Smith's Fern Grotto Wailua River Cruise (but only if you can walk to Fern Grotto, otherwise, skip it!)

WISH WE'D BEEN ABLE TO:  Go Ziplining, hike more of the Kalala'u trail, and have more time!

Restaurants:

HIGHLY RECOMMEND:Roy's Poipu Bar and Grill

HIGHLY RECOMMEND:  Lighthouse Bistro - Kilauea

RECOMMEND:  Brickhouse Pizza

RECOMMEND:  Olympic Cafe (fish tacos)

IFFY RECOMMENDATION: Puka Dog

DO NOT RECOMMEND: Tropical Taco - SO weird! I've never had a fish taco that tastes like a regular taco. It just wasn't right. And the salsa was so hot that my mouth burned for the next 45 minutes :(

Kaua'i is what you would typically think of when you think of Hawai'i - lush, tropical paradise, with lots to see and do, and enough breathtaking scenery to last a lifetime! I wish to badly we'd been able to take the catamaran cruise near the Na'Pali Coast - it was incredible via helicopter, but the pictures - as incredible as they are - don't even remotely do it justice! INCREDIBLE island - I'd go back in a heartbeat :) Next time, I'd make sure Mark didn't do anything even remotely dangerous for 5 months leading up to the trip so we could have walked around more lol