Saying Goodbye, Day 6

Well day 6 was our last day on Hawaii's Big Island :( We had to be out of the hotel by noon but our flight didn’t leave until 10pm! We had  A LOT of time to waste! We had a booked a submarine tour with Atlantis Submarines at 2pm so while we waited for that we had a few cocktails and just walked the streets in Kona looking at some Historic buildings and popping into stores. We both thought that after snorkeling the submarine ride was pretty lame! I would only recommend doing the sub to someone that is afraid to snorkel or doesn’t have 3-4 hours for snorkeling. Atlantis is really there for the cruise lines that come to shore. But now we can say that we have been in a submarine and not many people can say that. After that it was only 3 o'clock so we still had plenty of time to roam around before our dinner reservation at 5. So we walked around some more and headed in the direction of the restaurant. 

Once 5 hit we were ready for some dinner on the patio of Huggo's to watch the sunset (and to be perfectly honest, with nowhere to go we were ready to go home). The food was wonderful! We finished up there and just decided to head to the airport. Once our luggage went through the agricultural screening we went to check in, first question they asked, "would you like to upgrade to 1^st class?" Our response, "YES!!!" American Airlines was the cheapest airline to fly with but I have to say their seats were very uncomfortable! Glad we were able to bump up to 1^st. They didn’t seem to have their $h*t together at the airport (mostly to people bringing on too much or too big carry on items) and we ended up taking off almost an hour late! But we made it to LA in time and caught our flight to Houston without a hitch. We were so happy to be home but we missed the island life already. Can't wait to visit the other islands!

on the sub

crazy trees

Sunset at Huggo's

Hawaii, the Big Island, Day 1

The Whole Island Drive, Day 2

A View from the Top, Day 3

Waipio Valley, Day 4

Under the Sea, Day 5

Under the Sea, Day 5

The morning of our 5^th day in Hawaii was one of the best, at least I think! We started our morning with a drive down Alii Road and ended up at our meeting point for our snorkel adventure with Sea Quest. I was really scared to go because I have silly fear of the water (and not knowing what is in the deep blue) and sharks! When we got to our first snorkel spot at Honaunau Bay or Place of Refuge I told my husband to hold my hand and don’t let go! The tour director said, "you say that now but in 5 minutes you'll be off doing your own thing!" She was right! It was so awesome to see all these crazy cool colorful fish! Including the humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Hawaii's state fish! After only about 30 minutes in the water our waterproof camera broke!!! Thank goodness we had some waterproof disposable cameras with us! We spent about an hour here before we headed for Kealakekua Bay and Capitan Cook memorial. This area was very unique; the reef comes out about 50 feet from the shore (about 6-10 feet deep) before dropping off to 100 feet deep!!! Man I was kind of nervous! I felt like Bruce from Finding Nemo was going to just pop out and say, "hello!" All along the coast they showed us the old lava tubes and lava flows from over the years which was really neat. Apparently some you can even dive into! We got back to the dock but not before seeing a pod of dolphins that seemed to be sleeping (based on what our Capitan said).

"Hello, names Bruce!"

After this we drove into Kona and parked and went to the little farmers market and bought some homemade and home grown jelly and some local art. There were tons of tropical flowers there for sale too! Some I had never seen before! Check out our video on youtube you'll see the humuhumunukunukuapua'a!

colors not altered 

Hawaii, the Big Island, Day 1

The Whole Island Drive, Day 2

A View from the Top, Day 3

Waipio Valley, Day 4

Saying Goodbye, Day 6

Waipio Valley, Day 4

Today was our day to wake up and head to our ATV tour of Waipio Valley. I decided to play it safe, warm, and dry and ride in the mule with one of the tour guides while my husband took part in the muddy crazyness the trails had to offer. The views of the valley were beautiful and one of our guides was one of only 75 farmers that live and farm in the valley and had some great stories to tell. This valley is where a lot of movies have been filmed; movies such as Waterworld (where they find land) and most recently Predator. I do have to say I think we would have seen more of the valley if we had taken the horseback riding tour (I think we'll have to do that next time). After getting back into signal we got a call saying our sunset sail was canceled due to the high winds…boo. So we watched the sunset at the hotel and then headed all the way into Kona for dinner and beers at Kona Brewing Company. 

where the Kings children use to play

one of the largest waterfalls in the state

Hawaii, the Big Island, Day 1

The Whole Island Drive, Day 2

A View from the Top, Day 3

Under the Sea, Day 5

Saying Goodbye, Day 6