The Big Island (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rain) Part I
Mar 8th, 2004 | 02:52 PM
#1
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The Big Island (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rain) Part I
I first want to again thank everyone for all of the helpful advice I received here on planning my trip to the BI.
Day 1:
We flew non-stop on AA from Chicago to Oahu on Friday (2/27). There was bad weather over the islands so we circled around Oahu for about an hour before landing. Once we arrived, our inter-island flight was delayed a little over 2 hours. We had planned to spend the first 2 nights near the VNP at Kilauea Lodge. I had made reservations for 7:30 at their restaurant both nights, however, this was not meant to be.
The first night, due to the delay, we knew we would not make it over to the Volcano area by the time the Kilauea Lodge Restaurant closed so we ate in Kona at Oodles of Noodles which was very good. I had the Spicy Chicken Pad Thai which was actually nice and spicy and my husband had the Mongolian Beef Chow Funn which they made spicy for him. They do not serve liquor but you are welcome to BYO and conveniently there is a grocery store in the same shopping center. After dinner, we drove to Volcano.
Upon arriving in Kona, it was extremely windy. We had reserved a Wrangler but decided to upgrade to a Grand Cherokee. I used to have a Wrangler and they do not handle well in high winds if they have a soft top. The upgrade was well worth it. We drove the south route to Volcano and the road is twisting in places. It was very windy and rainy the whole way and they apparently closed portions of the road later that evening due to flooding.
I had called the Kilauea Lodge when we realized that we would not make dinner or their 9:00 check in cutoff. We arrived just before they closed up the office and got our keys. We stayed in The Cottage, a small one room cottage adjacent to the main Lodge. It has a gas fireplace and a queen bed. Shortly after we arrived, the power went off and we only had intermittent power the next 2 days.
Day 2:
We awoke to pouring rain so we decided to skip the Volcano that day and head into Hilo. First, we had breakfast which is included in the room rate at Kilauea Lodge. You have a choice of orange juice or a half papaya and an entrée. Two of the entrée choice are eggs any way you like and pancakes but the third choice is sweetbread french toast which is amazing! They serve it with regular or coconut syrup. The coconut syrup is so good I am getting hungry just thinking about it. You can add sides of eggs, pancakes, french toast, juice, oatmeal, etc for $2.00. Oh, and there was still no power so we had breakfast by candlelight.
On our way to Hilo, we stopped at several waterfalls and also drove around the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus. In Hilo we went to the Lyman Museum which was quite interesting (lots about volcanos, Hawaiian history, etc). We shopped a little, drove Banyan Tree Drive and then headed down to the Puna District since it started to rain harder in Hilo. We really liked the Basically Books store in Hilo.
On the way to Hilo, we stopped off at the Black Rock Café for snacks. Nothing to write home about. The Puna area is really beautiful and we hit all the sites mentioned in the Big Island Revealed like the Lava Tree Park and the Champagne Pond.
Before returning to the Lodge for what we thought would be a fantastic dinner, we stopped off at the Volcano Winery and tried the wines. They must have raised the prices because I had read on here that the wines were about $12-13 but they ranged from $14-16 (not a big difference but just in case you want to know). You should also know that unlike most wineries, they do not offer any discount for case purchases and will charge you $65 to ship your case home. The wines were better than I expected and we bought a bottle of the Volcano Red.
When we returned to the Lodge, we found a sign on the door that said that the restaurant was closed for the night due to power outage. Of course, every other restaurant in the area (all, maybe 3 of them) and all of the other lodgings appeared to have power, or at least a generator. So, I am not really sure why the Lodge does not have a generator. In our room were two sandwiches (egg salad and tuna salad), 2 cans of coke, some celery sticks and 2 pieces of cake. We decided to explore Volcano?s other dining options since there is no refrigerator in the room (and no power) and the sandwiches were warm and mayonnaise based. Oh, also, our toilet was running when we returned and our gas fireplace no longer turned on. My pretty handy husband couldn?t fix either of the problems so we had to call (and there are no phones in the room so we had to use our cell phone).
We went to what used to be Surt?s. My husband had the pasta with shrimp and I had a white pizza. We both had a mixed salad and we also ordered a bottle of red wine. It was good although I am still disappointed that we did not get to eat dinner at the Lodge.
Part 2 to come....
Day 1:
We flew non-stop on AA from Chicago to Oahu on Friday (2/27). There was bad weather over the islands so we circled around Oahu for about an hour before landing. Once we arrived, our inter-island flight was delayed a little over 2 hours. We had planned to spend the first 2 nights near the VNP at Kilauea Lodge. I had made reservations for 7:30 at their restaurant both nights, however, this was not meant to be.
The first night, due to the delay, we knew we would not make it over to the Volcano area by the time the Kilauea Lodge Restaurant closed so we ate in Kona at Oodles of Noodles which was very good. I had the Spicy Chicken Pad Thai which was actually nice and spicy and my husband had the Mongolian Beef Chow Funn which they made spicy for him. They do not serve liquor but you are welcome to BYO and conveniently there is a grocery store in the same shopping center. After dinner, we drove to Volcano.
Upon arriving in Kona, it was extremely windy. We had reserved a Wrangler but decided to upgrade to a Grand Cherokee. I used to have a Wrangler and they do not handle well in high winds if they have a soft top. The upgrade was well worth it. We drove the south route to Volcano and the road is twisting in places. It was very windy and rainy the whole way and they apparently closed portions of the road later that evening due to flooding.
I had called the Kilauea Lodge when we realized that we would not make dinner or their 9:00 check in cutoff. We arrived just before they closed up the office and got our keys. We stayed in The Cottage, a small one room cottage adjacent to the main Lodge. It has a gas fireplace and a queen bed. Shortly after we arrived, the power went off and we only had intermittent power the next 2 days.
Day 2:
We awoke to pouring rain so we decided to skip the Volcano that day and head into Hilo. First, we had breakfast which is included in the room rate at Kilauea Lodge. You have a choice of orange juice or a half papaya and an entrée. Two of the entrée choice are eggs any way you like and pancakes but the third choice is sweetbread french toast which is amazing! They serve it with regular or coconut syrup. The coconut syrup is so good I am getting hungry just thinking about it. You can add sides of eggs, pancakes, french toast, juice, oatmeal, etc for $2.00. Oh, and there was still no power so we had breakfast by candlelight.
On our way to Hilo, we stopped at several waterfalls and also drove around the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus. In Hilo we went to the Lyman Museum which was quite interesting (lots about volcanos, Hawaiian history, etc). We shopped a little, drove Banyan Tree Drive and then headed down to the Puna District since it started to rain harder in Hilo. We really liked the Basically Books store in Hilo.
On the way to Hilo, we stopped off at the Black Rock Café for snacks. Nothing to write home about. The Puna area is really beautiful and we hit all the sites mentioned in the Big Island Revealed like the Lava Tree Park and the Champagne Pond.
Before returning to the Lodge for what we thought would be a fantastic dinner, we stopped off at the Volcano Winery and tried the wines. They must have raised the prices because I had read on here that the wines were about $12-13 but they ranged from $14-16 (not a big difference but just in case you want to know). You should also know that unlike most wineries, they do not offer any discount for case purchases and will charge you $65 to ship your case home. The wines were better than I expected and we bought a bottle of the Volcano Red.
When we returned to the Lodge, we found a sign on the door that said that the restaurant was closed for the night due to power outage. Of course, every other restaurant in the area (all, maybe 3 of them) and all of the other lodgings appeared to have power, or at least a generator. So, I am not really sure why the Lodge does not have a generator. In our room were two sandwiches (egg salad and tuna salad), 2 cans of coke, some celery sticks and 2 pieces of cake. We decided to explore Volcano?s other dining options since there is no refrigerator in the room (and no power) and the sandwiches were warm and mayonnaise based. Oh, also, our toilet was running when we returned and our gas fireplace no longer turned on. My pretty handy husband couldn?t fix either of the problems so we had to call (and there are no phones in the room so we had to use our cell phone).
We went to what used to be Surt?s. My husband had the pasta with shrimp and I had a white pizza. We both had a mixed salad and we also ordered a bottle of red wine. It was good although I am still disappointed that we did not get to eat dinner at the Lodge.
Part 2 to come....
Mar 9th, 2004 | 10:34 AM
#4
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 246
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Part 2:
Day 3:
Power on this morning! Breakfast at the Lodge again. The french toast was still awesome!!!!! And off to the Volcano!
It is really hard to describe how amazing this park is. We did not see lava but Halema uma u was pouring sulpher. Some of the park was closed (like the Jaggar Museum) due to the weather but there was still so much to see and it was just so incredible. I think I took about 100 pictures.
It started raining again in the early afternoon so we decided to make our way over to Kohala. We took the south route (we heard reports of road closures in the north) and stopped at the Black Sand Beach (where we saw a big honu on the beach) and at Ka Lae (where we saw sun for the first time!). When we got to Kona, we stopped at the Kona Brewing Company for some beers and a late lunch. I had the Hula Hefeweizen and the Lilikoi Wheat beer (both really good) and the Pelehu (a turkey sandwich which was also really good). My husband had the Back Sand Porter and Castaway IPA, and the Porterhouse Dip (which he loved).
Then we headed up to the Mauna Lani to check in. Both the hotel and our room were really nice and we enjoyed our stay. I am going to save my comments about the hotel until the end. I will comment on the restaurants, all of which were ono.
The Oscars were that night and, being the award show junkies that we are, we decided to stay in and order room service. We were both still full from our late lunch at the Kona Brewing Company so we ordered two desserts, the warm chocolate pudding cake and the mud pie, which were fabulous ($8 each).
Day 4:
I attended my conference in the morning and then we headed up to Hawi. We drove the Kohala Mountain Road which is very scenic. Along the way, it started to rain again. When we reached Hawi, the streets were running with torrents of water. We waded over to Hula La?s for lunch (Bamboo is closed on Mondays). I had the bean burrito and my husband had the King?s Special which is chicken and pork (I think, I know it was pork and something). The burritos were good - we did get the hot salsa (the ?muy caliente?).
It was still raining buckets so we decided to drive to the Pololu Lookout where the rain cleared up and it was sunny. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw our first mongoose in Puna and saw 2 more near Pololu. We did not hike down to the beach because it was very slippery and wet. As soon as we started heading west again, it started to rain like crazy.
Now these were not the usual Hawaii showers while we were there, They were downpours. One man told us he had been coming to the Big Island for 25 years and this was the first time he had ever been rained off the golf course. Roads were closed everywhere. A woman from my conference got stranded in Waimea one night because every road closed while they were eating dinner. I have stayed at the Princeville on Kauai in February but I have never seen rain like this in Hawaii.
After we left Pololu, it rained most of our way home. We stopped at Lapakahi Historical Park but most of it was closed due to weather. We were able to walk one trail down to the water and we watched for whales for a bit (saw some spouts but no whales) until it started to rain again. When we got close to Hapuna Beach, it stopped raining so we went down to the beach. Hapuna Beach is really beautiful. The sand is very soft and the water was crystal clear. Everybody was boogie boarding and body surfing.
We went back to the hotel and made reservations at Daniel Thiebaut. We started driving to Waimea up 19 but the road was closed. There was a line of cars leading up to the closure point that was miles long and everyone was starting to turn around so we turned around too and went through Waikoloa Village and then up 190.
Daniel Thiebaut was wonderful. We sat out on the covered lanai which is supposed to be haunted (we did not see or feel any ghosts though!). We split the crispy chicken roll appetizer ($9.50). They brought us two kinds of bread ? some regular dinner rolls and this delicious flatbread. I should have asked what they put in it ? it tasted like nutmeg or something. I had the opakapaka special which was fantastic. I love opakapaka! It was actually part of a special three course menu you could order (I think it was $40) which included french onion soup, the opakapaka and a dessert. You could also order any of the items a la carte which is with I did with the fish ($31). My husband had the spicy tiger prawns on Asian risotto ($28). After steak, risotto is his favorite food and he orders it any time it is on the menu regardless of what is in it. Both were ono-licious. We also had a bottle of white wine which I cannot recall the name of but I have it written down at home. I know it was Bin No. 178 ($53). Our waitress had reddish curly hair but I can not remember her name ? service was excellent though. We went back to the hotel, nothing going on in the Honu Bar, so we went to bed.
Part 3 to come.....
Day 3:
Power on this morning! Breakfast at the Lodge again. The french toast was still awesome!!!!! And off to the Volcano!
It is really hard to describe how amazing this park is. We did not see lava but Halema uma u was pouring sulpher. Some of the park was closed (like the Jaggar Museum) due to the weather but there was still so much to see and it was just so incredible. I think I took about 100 pictures.
It started raining again in the early afternoon so we decided to make our way over to Kohala. We took the south route (we heard reports of road closures in the north) and stopped at the Black Sand Beach (where we saw a big honu on the beach) and at Ka Lae (where we saw sun for the first time!). When we got to Kona, we stopped at the Kona Brewing Company for some beers and a late lunch. I had the Hula Hefeweizen and the Lilikoi Wheat beer (both really good) and the Pelehu (a turkey sandwich which was also really good). My husband had the Back Sand Porter and Castaway IPA, and the Porterhouse Dip (which he loved).
Then we headed up to the Mauna Lani to check in. Both the hotel and our room were really nice and we enjoyed our stay. I am going to save my comments about the hotel until the end. I will comment on the restaurants, all of which were ono.
The Oscars were that night and, being the award show junkies that we are, we decided to stay in and order room service. We were both still full from our late lunch at the Kona Brewing Company so we ordered two desserts, the warm chocolate pudding cake and the mud pie, which were fabulous ($8 each).
Day 4:
I attended my conference in the morning and then we headed up to Hawi. We drove the Kohala Mountain Road which is very scenic. Along the way, it started to rain again. When we reached Hawi, the streets were running with torrents of water. We waded over to Hula La?s for lunch (Bamboo is closed on Mondays). I had the bean burrito and my husband had the King?s Special which is chicken and pork (I think, I know it was pork and something). The burritos were good - we did get the hot salsa (the ?muy caliente?).
It was still raining buckets so we decided to drive to the Pololu Lookout where the rain cleared up and it was sunny. Oh, I forgot to mention that we saw our first mongoose in Puna and saw 2 more near Pololu. We did not hike down to the beach because it was very slippery and wet. As soon as we started heading west again, it started to rain like crazy.
Now these were not the usual Hawaii showers while we were there, They were downpours. One man told us he had been coming to the Big Island for 25 years and this was the first time he had ever been rained off the golf course. Roads were closed everywhere. A woman from my conference got stranded in Waimea one night because every road closed while they were eating dinner. I have stayed at the Princeville on Kauai in February but I have never seen rain like this in Hawaii.
After we left Pololu, it rained most of our way home. We stopped at Lapakahi Historical Park but most of it was closed due to weather. We were able to walk one trail down to the water and we watched for whales for a bit (saw some spouts but no whales) until it started to rain again. When we got close to Hapuna Beach, it stopped raining so we went down to the beach. Hapuna Beach is really beautiful. The sand is very soft and the water was crystal clear. Everybody was boogie boarding and body surfing.
We went back to the hotel and made reservations at Daniel Thiebaut. We started driving to Waimea up 19 but the road was closed. There was a line of cars leading up to the closure point that was miles long and everyone was starting to turn around so we turned around too and went through Waikoloa Village and then up 190.
Daniel Thiebaut was wonderful. We sat out on the covered lanai which is supposed to be haunted (we did not see or feel any ghosts though!). We split the crispy chicken roll appetizer ($9.50). They brought us two kinds of bread ? some regular dinner rolls and this delicious flatbread. I should have asked what they put in it ? it tasted like nutmeg or something. I had the opakapaka special which was fantastic. I love opakapaka! It was actually part of a special three course menu you could order (I think it was $40) which included french onion soup, the opakapaka and a dessert. You could also order any of the items a la carte which is with I did with the fish ($31). My husband had the spicy tiger prawns on Asian risotto ($28). After steak, risotto is his favorite food and he orders it any time it is on the menu regardless of what is in it. Both were ono-licious. We also had a bottle of white wine which I cannot recall the name of but I have it written down at home. I know it was Bin No. 178 ($53). Our waitress had reddish curly hair but I can not remember her name ? service was excellent though. We went back to the hotel, nothing going on in the Honu Bar, so we went to bed.
Part 3 to come.....
Mar 9th, 2004 | 10:54 AM
#6
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,360
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Aloha Alex!
Very much enjoying your report...
one of my fav BI memories was the humongous "honus" on black sand beach.
Glad you had a great time despite the crazy weather!
I'm wondering how big the swells are on the no shore, O'ahu
15 to go...
Very much enjoying your report...
one of my fav BI memories was the humongous "honus" on black sand beach.
Glad you had a great time despite the crazy weather!
I'm wondering how big the swells are on the no shore, O'ahu
15 to go...
Mar 9th, 2004 | 11:01 AM
#7
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 246
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Aloha!!!! I am glad you are enjoying it! I am hoping I remember to bring my trip journal to work so I can remember more. The weather improved after Tuesday (Day 5) and I will get that posted just as soon as I can!
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Mar 9th, 2004 | 02:42 PM
#8
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 316
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this is great!
i spent a week on Maui right after Christmas and did not have one day of blue sky/sun. for the first time ever the weather didn't matter at all on my vacation. these islands are about so much more.....a week of rain on a Hawaiian Island is better than a month of blue sky and sunshine just about anywhere else IMO....
i spent a week on Maui right after Christmas and did not have one day of blue sky/sun. for the first time ever the weather didn't matter at all on my vacation. these islands are about so much more.....a week of rain on a Hawaiian Island is better than a month of blue sky and sunshine just about anywhere else IMO....
Mar 9th, 2004 | 03:09 PM
#9
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 48
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Boy does your trip bring back memories.
I was in Hawaii Nov. 1996 when they were having 50 or 100 year floods, I can't remember which. Even the President(clinton at the time) came to visit to veiw the flooding and damage, and provide releif for such things as medical aid. Apparently there was a contaminated water problem that he was looking at providing releif for not damage help. Anyway we made the most of it and still had fun. Literally saw hundreds of waterfalls and dozens of rainbows. I have one picture on Oahu with 8 waterfalls in the frame. Oh yeah and it was a beautiful sunny 80 degrees at home(Texas) while it was in the 60's and low 70's in Hawaii. Hilo was colder we traded our Open jeep for a Neon cause we were freezing. Who would have thought of needing a heater in Hawaii. I'm going back in June. Wish me luck!!!!
I was in Hawaii Nov. 1996 when they were having 50 or 100 year floods, I can't remember which. Even the President(clinton at the time) came to visit to veiw the flooding and damage, and provide releif for such things as medical aid. Apparently there was a contaminated water problem that he was looking at providing releif for not damage help. Anyway we made the most of it and still had fun. Literally saw hundreds of waterfalls and dozens of rainbows. I have one picture on Oahu with 8 waterfalls in the frame. Oh yeah and it was a beautiful sunny 80 degrees at home(Texas) while it was in the 60's and low 70's in Hawaii. Hilo was colder we traded our Open jeep for a Neon cause we were freezing. Who would have thought of needing a heater in Hawaii. I'm going back in June. Wish me luck!!!!
Mar 9th, 2004 | 03:12 PM
#10
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 246
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Stellaluna,
You know, that is generally how I feel - that it doesn't even matter if it is raining - you are in Hawaii! I have to admit though that the beginning of this trip kind of got me down. First, not having power at our hotel and then driving around to things we wanted to see and having them all be closed or just unable to get to them because of road closures. Also, since we had started on the Volcano side, it was pretty darn chilly. Overcast and showers I don't mind a bit but there were times when it was raining so hard you couldn't even see a foot in front of you and it was lightning and thundering like mad.
Once the worst of it passed though, it was a whole different story. We had a really good trip despite the weather. And we probably never would have gone to things like the Lyman Museum if it had been beautiful outside. Plus, it gives me an excuse to go back and see everything we missed!
Aloha!
(And we sure were glad we weren't on that plane from Portland into Kona that was struck by lightning on Friday (2/27) night - too scary)
You know, that is generally how I feel - that it doesn't even matter if it is raining - you are in Hawaii! I have to admit though that the beginning of this trip kind of got me down. First, not having power at our hotel and then driving around to things we wanted to see and having them all be closed or just unable to get to them because of road closures. Also, since we had started on the Volcano side, it was pretty darn chilly. Overcast and showers I don't mind a bit but there were times when it was raining so hard you couldn't even see a foot in front of you and it was lightning and thundering like mad.
Once the worst of it passed though, it was a whole different story. We had a really good trip despite the weather. And we probably never would have gone to things like the Lyman Museum if it had been beautiful outside. Plus, it gives me an excuse to go back and see everything we missed!
Aloha!
(And we sure were glad we weren't on that plane from Portland into Kona that was struck by lightning on Friday (2/27) night - too scary)
Mar 9th, 2004 | 05:06 PM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 316
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hi alex
i didn't hear about that plane!! was everyone okay??!!
yes, i can see how no power and places being closed could be a real bummer.
i also feel as you do that we did so much more because of the less than perfect weather than we would have done if it had been perfect: i imagine we would have been reluctant to leave the beach!! but this time we took the rental car and went all over the place and we even saw some stuff by boat, helicopter and horseback too.
i want to go to the Big Island next. it sounds fantastic. although many question my insistence on traveling all the way from Boston to get there, Hawaii is my first choice of destinations! there is enough to do and see for a lifetimes worth of visits!
i didn't hear about that plane!! was everyone okay??!!
yes, i can see how no power and places being closed could be a real bummer.
i also feel as you do that we did so much more because of the less than perfect weather than we would have done if it had been perfect: i imagine we would have been reluctant to leave the beach!! but this time we took the rental car and went all over the place and we even saw some stuff by boat, helicopter and horseback too.
i want to go to the Big Island next. it sounds fantastic. although many question my insistence on traveling all the way from Boston to get there, Hawaii is my first choice of destinations! there is enough to do and see for a lifetimes worth of visits!
Mar 10th, 2004 | 12:56 PM
#12
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Part 3 (or ?Here Comes the Sun?)
Day 5:
I attended my conference in the morning and then we headed into Kona for a little shopping and lunch. We were going to drive the Saddle Road and see Waipio and Hamakua but the concierge told us it had been closed the night before and he highly advised us against it. So, Kona it was.
We bought most of our souvenirs, including tons of Kona coffee, for the good folks back home and went to Huggos on the Rocks for lunch. We wanted to go to Lulus but it did not seem to be opening any time soon so we figured it was an island time thing and headed over to Huggos. The blue book does not give Huggos or Huggos on the Rocks an ?Ono? but we thought it was good for lunch. My husband had the hot beef dip (reading that I think it sounds vaguely pornographic) which he loved and I had the fresh ono sandwich blackened. They have really good fries. I am not a big fry person but theirs were really yummy. As I mentioned on my other thread, the drinks here are really good and strong. My husband had the mac nut martini and a mojito. I had the Jungle Juice (and they give you a little coconut cup to keep with this one) and one called something like the Hawaiian Rainbow which was fantastic. Very well-blended and strong without tasting alcoholic. Huggos is right on the water with a really pretty view and it was so relaxing to just sit there with our cocktails watching the waves. And it was sunny!!!! All morning! Really sunny!!!!! It started to get very overcast and windy after our meal so we decided to head back to our car.
We left and drove around some more, particularly through neighborhoods which is something we really like to do.
Dinner that night at the Honu Bar. I had the fresh catch sandwich again, only this time it was mahi mahi. The menu says it comes with remoulade sauce but it does not. It comes with tartar sauce. I asked the waitress where the remoulade was and she something to the effect that that was what they called tartar sauce. Tell that to Louisiana. Anyway, the sandwich was very good and my husband had sushi and a sake sampler, both of which he loved. I should digress here and mention that I am allergic to shellfish so all comments regarding shellfish dishes come from my husband, not me. There really was not much going on at the Honu Bar that night either (or really any night we were there despite the hotel being full). We played a little pool and then went to bed.
Day 6:
Back to the seminar until 12:30. By this time we felt pretty defeated in our sightseeing endeavors with the whole weather, things being closed routine so we surrendered and just headed down to the beach to relax. Our good friend Jingle from the pool bar and restaurant kept us in cocktails all afternoon. I was reading Lost In A Good Book, the follow up to The Eyre Affair. Both awesome books! For lunch, I had the chopped tomato and feta salad and my husband had the hot dog (a true Chicago boy, he loves hot dogs). Salad was fantastic.
Dinner at Roy's. We love Roy's from Chicago so we were excited for dinner. We headed over to the King's Shops early to look around. Dinner was great. I had the Thai beef appetizer and the butterfish entrée and of course the amazing, incomparable chocolate souffle. My husband had the (of course) risotto appetizer and the Parker Ranch filet. We each had a glass of the Roy's sparkling before dinner and we had a bottle of the Roy's Oregon Pinot Noir with dinner. Great dinner!
Well, that takes us through Wednesday, only 3 days to go!
Day 5:
I attended my conference in the morning and then we headed into Kona for a little shopping and lunch. We were going to drive the Saddle Road and see Waipio and Hamakua but the concierge told us it had been closed the night before and he highly advised us against it. So, Kona it was.
We bought most of our souvenirs, including tons of Kona coffee, for the good folks back home and went to Huggos on the Rocks for lunch. We wanted to go to Lulus but it did not seem to be opening any time soon so we figured it was an island time thing and headed over to Huggos. The blue book does not give Huggos or Huggos on the Rocks an ?Ono? but we thought it was good for lunch. My husband had the hot beef dip (reading that I think it sounds vaguely pornographic) which he loved and I had the fresh ono sandwich blackened. They have really good fries. I am not a big fry person but theirs were really yummy. As I mentioned on my other thread, the drinks here are really good and strong. My husband had the mac nut martini and a mojito. I had the Jungle Juice (and they give you a little coconut cup to keep with this one) and one called something like the Hawaiian Rainbow which was fantastic. Very well-blended and strong without tasting alcoholic. Huggos is right on the water with a really pretty view and it was so relaxing to just sit there with our cocktails watching the waves. And it was sunny!!!! All morning! Really sunny!!!!! It started to get very overcast and windy after our meal so we decided to head back to our car.
We left and drove around some more, particularly through neighborhoods which is something we really like to do.
Dinner that night at the Honu Bar. I had the fresh catch sandwich again, only this time it was mahi mahi. The menu says it comes with remoulade sauce but it does not. It comes with tartar sauce. I asked the waitress where the remoulade was and she something to the effect that that was what they called tartar sauce. Tell that to Louisiana. Anyway, the sandwich was very good and my husband had sushi and a sake sampler, both of which he loved. I should digress here and mention that I am allergic to shellfish so all comments regarding shellfish dishes come from my husband, not me. There really was not much going on at the Honu Bar that night either (or really any night we were there despite the hotel being full). We played a little pool and then went to bed.
Day 6:
Back to the seminar until 12:30. By this time we felt pretty defeated in our sightseeing endeavors with the whole weather, things being closed routine so we surrendered and just headed down to the beach to relax. Our good friend Jingle from the pool bar and restaurant kept us in cocktails all afternoon. I was reading Lost In A Good Book, the follow up to The Eyre Affair. Both awesome books! For lunch, I had the chopped tomato and feta salad and my husband had the hot dog (a true Chicago boy, he loves hot dogs). Salad was fantastic.
Dinner at Roy's. We love Roy's from Chicago so we were excited for dinner. We headed over to the King's Shops early to look around. Dinner was great. I had the Thai beef appetizer and the butterfish entrée and of course the amazing, incomparable chocolate souffle. My husband had the (of course) risotto appetizer and the Parker Ranch filet. We each had a glass of the Roy's sparkling before dinner and we had a bottle of the Roy's Oregon Pinot Noir with dinner. Great dinner!
Well, that takes us through Wednesday, only 3 days to go!
Mar 10th, 2004 | 01:03 PM
#14
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Stellaluna,
The plane's instrument panel went dead apparently but they were, thankfully, able to land safely. That same week, a man drove his car into the Maui airport and set it on fire. So, it was quite a week.
Hawaii is my first choice of destinations too, despite it not being much closer to Chicago (although I think there might be more/better flights from Chicago). I have been to I think 10 Caribbean islands and I would pick Hawaii in a heartbeat over any of them. My second favorite destination is Key West, although I cannot quite put my finger on what draws me to it.....
The plane's instrument panel went dead apparently but they were, thankfully, able to land safely. That same week, a man drove his car into the Maui airport and set it on fire. So, it was quite a week.
Hawaii is my first choice of destinations too, despite it not being much closer to Chicago (although I think there might be more/better flights from Chicago). I have been to I think 10 Caribbean islands and I would pick Hawaii in a heartbeat over any of them. My second favorite destination is Key West, although I cannot quite put my finger on what draws me to it.....
Mar 10th, 2004 | 02:22 PM
#15
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 316
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we've spent some time in the Keys: it's relatively easy to get to: fly to Miami and rent a car...it's relaxing, laid back, unpretentious...kind of like being in the Caribbean without needing a passport...all that's missing are the gorgeous beaches...
my feelings about the Caribbean change all the time...
but there's nothing like Hawaii! it's a really magical mystical place, despite the trappings of modern civilization...
my feelings about the Caribbean change all the time...
but there's nothing like Hawaii! it's a really magical mystical place, despite the trappings of modern civilization...
Mar 10th, 2004 | 02:30 PM
#16
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,574
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Its refreshing to hear another family that had bad weather in Hawaii. We had a 17 day trip three years ago with started with 3 days of sun on Oahu followed by 9 days of rain on Maui and 5 days of gale force winds on the BI. The winds were strong enough to blow our tee shots back in our faces - and were coupled with clouds and drizzle but no major downpours like we had on Maui. I was beginning to think it was just us that had the bad luck there - it was our 4th and last trip for a while.
Mar 10th, 2004 | 02:34 PM
#17
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Kal, Oh, I am paying for it big time this week!!! I am actually headed to the gym right now. We actually did a fair amount of hiking, swimming, etc... which was good. I love to eat though...
Stellaluna, I have to go to Key West at least once a year. It keeps me sane - maybe it's just being around so many people who are so much less sane : )
Stellaluna, I have to go to Key West at least once a year. It keeps me sane - maybe it's just being around so many people who are so much less sane : )
Mar 10th, 2004 | 05:15 PM
#18
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Joined: Jan 2003
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cmeyer, I am sorry to hear about your bad weather trip! I don't think it is going to stop us from going back - I am ready to go back now but it won't be this year, maybe next although my conference is in the Caribbean next year.
Mar 10th, 2004 | 07:38 PM
#19
Joined: Jul 2003
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Have to agree, this reminds me of our first Hawaiian seminar. Stayed at the Westin Maui in February. Trade winds and 7 days of rain. The pool was not heated and it was too cold to use. Let's just say the hot tub was a bit cozy being the only habitable spot. We vowed had it not been for the meeting we would have kicked ourselves for going, and surely would not return. Since then have made two trips to Kauai and the BI, but only in the summer or fall. Somehow it is not advertised that Hawaii has a wet, windy, and even cool season. This seems to be when many of these seminars/conferences are held. We decided to suck it up and go when the weather is better on our own nickle. We did the same BI itinerary you did last June and it was an entirely different experience. Some things are beyond control (weather and Pele on the BI) so you will just have to go back. I do agree that a little rain can be beautiful, on Kauai for example the waterfalls are innumerable, but even a rainbow requires some sun.
Mar 11th, 2004 | 05:10 AM
#20
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Joined: Jan 2003
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This particular meeting is important to my practice area so I need to go regardless of where it is, and it is always in February. It was on Kauai 3 years ago and the weather was slightly more cooperative. I agree Kauai is actually prettier with a little rain - it makes the waterfalls all that much more dramatic. We did go to Lanai last May on our own and the weather was perfect. Anyway, despite the rough start and the less than ideal weather, we had a fantastic time on the BI. Especially the last few days which I will write about today (Friday, the second to last day, was the BEST!!!). And we definitely plan to go back and see a lot of what we did not get to see! Maybe next summer or fall since we have Europe this fall and the Caribbean for this meeting in February.
