Another beautiful start to the day. Wonderful juices, fruits, and yogurts for breakfast. Our hostess even brought the fruit basket to our room this morning since my hands were full of coffee, cereal, and juices!
As I was sitting on the lanai looking over Hilo Bay, I noticed a turtle head no more than 30 feet from shore. Sharon never did see it. :( But we also noticed a man who appeared to be sweeping the bay! He was apparently on a surfboard and was rowing across the bay. Maybe that's how he commutes to work? We also saw a HUGE cruise ship pull into port. Good thing we're out of Hilo today.
We got out of the B&B early and headed to one of our first stops for the day - Rainbow Falls. Was a pretty little park but even here I noticed signs saying, "Don't leave anything in your car." I didn't really understand that there was so much crime here.
Anyway, after a short stay, we headed out to our next stop, the Hawaiian Botanical Gardens. I've already written a blog post about the gardens so I won't repeat myself here.
The drive to and from the gardens consists of about 4 miles of winding, scenic views. That drive is almost worth the trip just by itself. We headed on to our next stop, 'Akaka Falls State Park.
At 'Akaka Falls, there is a circular walk that takes you up and down the mountain so you can see both of the falls, Kahuna, about 400-feet, and 'Akaka, about 442-feet. Take the advice that's on the sign and go in the direction they recommend. The climb back was bad enough but, should we have reversed the walk, we would have had to tackle a brutal climb. Both of these falls are exceptional even if Kahuna was a little hard to see. 'Akaka is the kind of falls you always imagine would be in Hawai'i or other tropical paradise.
From there, we decided to grab some lunch and stopped in the first place we saw. What a great choice! Sharon had the Mango chicken which was a little spicy but exceptional! I had the turkey wrap - well worth it.
We took the northern route to get to Kailua-Kona going through Honoka'a and then to highway 19 to Waimea before heading south on the Mamalahoa Highway. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the rapid changes from lush tropics, to grasslands, to areas that looked like West Texas, and to areas that resembled giant, tumbled lava. Once we got to Kailua-Kona, though, the peacefulness and calm Aloha style of living seemed to be mostly gone.
Arriving a bit earlier than we had planned, Sharon and I headed downtown to the touristy part of the city. Crowded, teeming with people, the western coast of Hawai'i was completely different from the Hilo side. Here's where we had our first true fresh-brewed Kona coffee. Delightful!
Our B&B, the Honu Kai 74-1529 Hao Kuni St, Kailua Kona, HI, is located a bit up the hill from the bustle of downtown. We arrived and was greeted with a big hug by Wendi, our Australian hostess. At first, I thought we were long lost relatives finally coming back into the fold. Wendi offered us water, local micro-brew beer, or wine. I was just looking at their deck (at least 600 sq feet) that has a bar and dining table set out when I noticed a picture of a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader! I asked Wendi who was in the picture and she said, "Oh, that's me. I was the first non-US citizen to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader back in 1980." Wow!
We got our bags in the room and headed out to supper at a restaurant called Sushi Shiono at 75-5799 Alii Dr Kailua Kona, HI (they have a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SushiShiono). OMG. Great! I had a great time with the Toro but decided that the chef should recommend three more for me. I had, for the first time in my life, hiramasa (a yellow tail cousin) and Moi, a local fish now available again. Sharon also tried Uni for the first time in her life and LOVED it! If you like sushi and you're in the area, you must try this restaurant. Even when 30 Japanese tourists came in, our service was quick and the fish was very fresh.
Finally headed back to the B&B but we stopped to buy a bottle of wine for the evening. Sitting out on the lanai, chatting about the trip, we could see the top of the mountain on one side and the beautiful bay on the other. Eventually, the stars came out and they were brilliant! We finished most of the bottle, watched Mars in the sky for awhile, and hit the sack. Again, we were exhausted from all we'd seen and done today.
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