We Are in Hawaii! - Monday, Nov. 28, 2016

Thanksgiving with family in Oregon was wonderful. I will be doing a blog on that in the next day or two, but we are in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on the Big Island and I wanted to share the beauty with you.

Sunday, November 27, 2016: On Sunday morning, we were up at 4:30 am to get ready for our 6 am departure from Portland International Airport. My sister, Jan, came over to Mom's house and we all went to the airport together. On the way to the airport, we dropped off our Enterprise Rental Car in Tigard. 

There wasn't much traffic on the freeway at that hour on Sunday so we made it to the airport quickly. There was not a long line at Hawaiian Airlines so we made excellent time checking our bags. Our tickets indicated we had TSA pre-check, so we sailed through security as well. 

Our flight was supposed to be on time and all was going well until we sat at the gate for a few minutes while maintenance tried to find and repair a light or a switch in the cockpit that wasn't working. We left Portland just a few minutes late and made up the time in the air, arriving in Honolulu a few minutes early. 

Honolulu International Airport, Oahu

Hey, Mom, this one's for you!!*

*My mom makes origami shirts out of dollar bills and hands them out as part of her tip at restaurants. The Honolulu International Airport terminal had these big dollar bill origami shirts as part of an advertising campaign. Pretty cool. As soon as we saw them Bob said, "You have to take a picture for your mom!"

We had time to eat lunch at Stinger Ray's restaurant next to our departure gate for Kona, Hawaii. I had fish tacos and Bob had a chicken quesadilla. We enjoyed our meals.

Bob at Stinger Rays, Honolulu Int'l Airport

From Honolulu to Kona, our flight was on time. It takes about 45 minutes to fly between the two airports. We arrived in sunny Kona about 3 pm, picked up our Enterprise rental car, and headed to the Kona Coast Resort where we've owned a timeshare for about 25 years. 

Check-in time at the resort is 4 pm. We arrived at 3:50 pm and were told they hadn't started cleaning our room yet and it would be over an hour before our room was ready. Sigh. That's known as "Hawaii time." The front desk apologized and said the would call us when our room was ready. 

In the meantime, we went up the hill to grocery shop at the local KTA Market. We sat in their parking lot for a while looking at the view of the ocean and enjoying the fresh air. As we finished shopping, Bob's phone rang and our room was ready. Good timing.

Monday, November 28, 2016: Below are photos of our room and the resort...

Eating lunch on the lanai (golf course
and mountain view from our room)

Full kitchen (looking toward front door)

Living room

Bedroom with king-size bed & en-suite bathroom

Kitchen, looking toward dining area

This afternoon, we took a walk around the resort. Lots of birds were out and we saw tropical flowers in bloom, among other things. 

Saffron finch

Walking path around the resort

Unique palm tree

Public grilling areas, some with herbs growing
nearby for public use

Bob on the walking/jogging path

Fragrant jasmine

Saffron finches

Pacific Golden Plover

The plumeria are in full bloom

Me snuggled up to a plumeria tree

View across golf course to the ocean

Red-crested cardinal

Kona Coast Resort Activities Center

African common waxbill

Autograph Tree (Clusia rosea) pod

On the Kona Coast Resort property is a Historic Heiau (ceremonial site)...

A place to be respected

Quiet pool at Kona Coast Resort

Our room is on the top floor in the middle

Nissan Versa, our rental car

When we got to the resort, we traded our hiking boots and walking shoes for these...

This evening at 5 pm the resort had a welcome reception with pupus (appetizers) and entertainment. We had a great time watching the locals put on a performance for us.

Tahitian dance

New Zealand tribal dance

Did I mention the show took place during sunset?

Sunset overlooking the golf course

Hawaiian sunset

Samoa intimidation dance

Samoan fire dance

Samoan fire dance

Grand finale

After the Welcome Reception, we headed back to our room where I cooked a fresh tuna steak and broccoli for dinner, and we also had a mixed greens salad. Today was a very relaxing day.

Tomorrow will be a long day. We're heading out by 8 am to drive around South Point to Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park. We will stop at points of interest along the way, go to the Volcanoes N.P. Visitor Center, check out Halemaumau Crater, go to Hilo for lunch. 

In late afternoon, we will hike out to see the fresh lava flowing into the ocean. That is a 7.8 mile round-trip hike. The idea is to get to the lava flow at dusk and be there as it becomes night to see the glowing red lava flows. 

After hiking back to our car, we will take Saddle Road back across the mountains to Kona. Must get some sleep now.