The flight was totally comfortable and relaxing. I am so glad we decided to not fly coach on this long trip.
We were awake and watching the monitor showing where we were when I realized Hawaii was getting close. We flew around O'ahu and saw Diamond Head, Waikiki, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, and big rain clouds over the center of the island. Landing was quick and smooth.
As we deplaned through our own exit, Sharon and I had to make one more flight today. We headed over to the Hawaiian Air terminal while Sharon remarked that there were no walls. Where were the walls? The terminal is open to the elements! OMG!
We took the shuttle over and hopped on our other airplane. The flight from Honolulu to Hilo was about 45 minutes so all we got was a small plastic cup of juice. As we approached the Big Island, we were looking out the window to see what was there. And the island looked great!
The landing was smooth at Hilo. We went to pick up our luggage and then to find the rental car company. We decided to use Avis here and the counter was, yep, outdoor. We got some car that didn't use a key. All we had to do was have the little lock clicky thingy inside, push the button on the dash, and the car starts. Hummmm? We also made sure we got a GPS but I doubt we could get lost. I mean, really, it's an island, right?
We headed over to our first B&B, the Bay House Bed and Breakfast. This B&B is run by Tom and Tina Jimenez and is located at 42 Pukihae Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 (website is Bay House Hawaii). Once there, we found an envelope with Sharon's name on it. Inside was our key and an information sheet.
Once inside (oh, take off your shoes. Mahalo), we looked over a list of restaurants and decided to go to the Seaside Restaurant and Aqua Farm on 1790 Kalanianaole Avenue, Hilo (website is Seaside Restaurant). What's cool about this place is that they have fish farms out back. Not much fresher than that, is there?
Although the meal was really exceptional, we had our first experience with the 'Aloha' culture. No one was in any real hurry to do much of anything. And we didn't mind at all! Very relaxed. Friendly staff. Nice meal. Worth a visit if you are ever there. Calamari consisted of huge strips of squid and perfectly cooked. Sharon's butterfish (black cod) was exceptional!
After the meal, we headed back to our room. It was getting pretty late by now (about 8 pm local time, 1 am our body time) so we went to bed. The bed was beautiful but the noise was not. There are two species of alien frogs that have invaded the area and they are LOUD. One species croak is upwards of 100 decibels. Annoying as hell. Here's some more information about them at the Star-Bulletin archive.
And that really concludes our Happy Anniversary Vacation Day #1.
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