Mjneenan

Thanks, sdtravels ... well, yes, I do tend to have a pretty high motor on trips, but we build in plenty of beach/snorkel time, where we happily lose track of time. Enjoy your next trip to the BI ... there were plenty of spots left unexplored, especially some of the more secluded beaches. I am envious of you getting to go several times!

LindainOhio

I haven't gotten to your Big Island photos yet (the Big Island is on our bucket list) because I saw those Canadian Rockies photos and so enjoyed those--and your wonderful notes with each photo. We have been there 3 times and it is one of the few places I long to go to every year (we don't, but I would love to). We also stayed at Paradise Lodge and Patricia Lake.

Thanks for sharing your albums.

Mjneenan

Linda, I have traveled pretty widely ... and I think the Canadian Rockies are the most beautiful place I have seen yet. Every single spot seems to have jaw dropping views - so I completely understand your desire to return there as often as possible. It's just amazing there ... glad you enjoyed my photos and commentary.

Mike

canaryxl

Dear Mjneenan, I have booked the tickets to KONA, but there is only 1 hour and 35mins left for me to transfer from international to intraisland terminal at Honolulu airport. I doubt if the time is too tight as I booked the two tickets separately and I will have to take my check-in luggages, pass the Customs first and then check in again..
Do you have any suggestion for me? Maybe I should change to a later flight at once with no hesitate (additional $30 will be charged)? Thanks.

5alive

Hi, Mike, I am not getting your second link to load...is it still open for viewing?

I'd love to see it just because my inlaws are proposing taking us somewhere next year and if I get any say I'm thinking of Hawaii. They've only been to Maui but I think they'd like a change. When they mentioned this a while ago, I thought the Big Island would be great so the kids could also see the volcano. I know they'd all love the snorkeling. On the other hand, I have two high schoolers and a 12-year-old. And we probably WOULD want to go to a property with a pool and other teens, and a beach with more people than ourselves. If you are a high school teacher, you know well what I mean. So is the BI going to be too slow a scene?

Mjneenan

Canaryxl, I am not quite sure what you are asking me. That one hour and 25 minutes isn't of course time enough to actually do anything on the island. But I am not quite sure why you booked into Kona, if you are leaving immediately for Honolulu.

5alive, The link is working fine, as far as I can tell. I was loading up some other photos from another recent trip yesterday evening, but it was a pretty narrow period of time. Try it again. I do know what you mean with teenagers. There are plenty of resorts in the Kona and South Kohala area that will have nice pools and plenty of other teen agers ... but there's no doubt that there would be far more people to interact with on either O'ahu or Maui ... more shops, restaurants, etc. ... All that being said, the snorkeling on the BI is superior to what you would find on the other islands ... and the volcano has a lot to offer. ... Always tradeoffs to consider!

louistraveler5

Mjneenan- I LOVE your pictures! I went to your gallery and looked at the Kauai, Ireland, Big Island, Canadian Rockies, and Estes Park pictures. My favorite island is Kauai! My DH & I have been three times and on Sept 22 we are going for our fourth trip. We also go to Estes Park once a year and have been the last five years.
Have you decided on your next destination?

sassy_cat

I think canaryxl is asking about transfer times from international to intraisland terminal at HNL.

I think one hour and 25 minutes might be OK to transfer.
It's a small airport so provided your flight arrives on time you should be able to collect your bags, go through customs and drop your checked luggage off at the recheck bag drop area.

For peace of mind you could either travel with carry on luggage only OR pay the $30 for a later connection to Kona but first call your intraisland flight airline and ask their advice!

5alive

Okay, Mike, the link worked and I am sold on the BI! Those are amazing pictures. Really love them all. You could start a hobby business selling them on greeting cards or matted and sell them on a craft website like etsy. (No, I don't work for etsy...but my Girl Scouts have sold stuff on there.) Then again, that may take some of the joy out of it.

I appreciate the detailed captions. We will be studying this for the future, possibly next summer. Would it matter, June versus July or early August?

Mjneenan

Louistraveler5, thanks for the kind words (same to 5alive) ... I also love Kauai, probably my favorite of the three Hawaii islands I have been to. ... Next destination is right now on hold since my son is starting at University of Chicago this fall and we are paying full costs, so $$ will be tight for a while. Once we figure out how to pay for the first year, we'll see how it goes and start dreaming of travel again.

Thanks, sassy_cat for handling that.

5alive, thanks for the suggestions, but I think you're right - selling my photos would likely take some of the fun out of it for me, unless someone wanted to pay to go to a country and write/take photos, as a free lancer, ha, ha. ... Hope you make it to the BI next summer. My understanding of the seasons is that ocean currents and hence conditions of the surf can alter from season to season somewhat, but I don't think those sorts of noticeable changes would be seen between two contiguous months. So any of those summer months would pretty much be the same, except August might be a tad hotter than June. If anybody knows differently, please correct me.

Mike

5alive

Wow, congrats on University of Chicago. Don't get lost for a few days at the science museum nearby. It's one of the best. And there's so much you can do in that city...

Tomsd

Huge Mahalo for the incredible photos and accompanying/informative/humorous narratives. Again, thanks so much and will come back with a few more comments later but first: Congrads on your son going to U of Chicago.

My dad finished Med School there back in the 40's - and then we moved West to Oregon. However, have been back to Chicago several times - and many of my undergrad classmates still live around the area - and love the Art Museum and also the Science and Industry? museum, where they actually have a full WWII U Boat in the basement. A very sinister looking killer - but almost a work of art in a mechanical sense.

Hey - we tried to hike down to snorkel at Captain Cook's Bay/Monument during our honeymoon back in '86 - but only got part way as the Elephant Grass that year was head high - and razor sharp. Have snorkeled or dove most other places on the Islands but missed that and really appreciated your great photos and tips, and also the one about the Canon D10 underwater camera. Worked great it appears.

And I dove with 22 foot Manna Rays off Flamingo Beach in Costa Rica and loved it. Didn't know you could also snorkel with them off BI. We were going to go for a nighttime dive with them off the old Hilton on Ali Drive - a quarter mile or so south of the pier where the Tri-Athletes start - and they used to turn on the lights to draw them in, but that night - nada big guys - so we dove elsewhere and saw an octopus jet away.

Thanks again for all the photos - as it reminded moil/us so much of our Honeymoon and other trips to the Big Island - a very close second to our favorite isle - Kauai, where we spend the second week of our honeymoon and my wife was scuba certified in Hanalei Bay.

That reminds me - during our BI week - we also hiked down into and across - Ke Iki Hale as they used to call it back then - and when the steam vents hiss - one picks up their step a bit, no? Sure - it hasn't gone off/exploded/erupted since 1959 - but just in case - I am still keeping moving.

Will come back and have a few more comments about specific photos/tips - and we loved our Helicopter trip on the BI (as well as the one on Kauai). You probably know that in addition to the very nice waterfall pic you took, three of the six longest free falling waterfalls in the world are located in the mountains by the fabled Waipio Valley.

Mjneenan

5alive, Well, we already live in the Chicago area, so we are quite familiar with Chicago's sights ... we do love our museums here!

Tomsd, The Canon D10 worked out quite well for me - it was my first time using it and I was impressed with how easy it was to use ... about $240 if you buy online, like via Amazon. I didn't know you could have that sort of experience with mantas off the coast of Costa Rica - I've been to CR twice, so I learned something I would like to do if I return there .. thanks! Yeah no doubt as you are in Hawaii Volcanos NP, you can't help but think the whole time you're there, "what if it became a lot more active while we're here" - adds to the fun of it, I guess! Yeah, those Waipio Valley waterfalls are amazing and only a few are really easily seen without serious hiking. ... Thanks for the detailed thoughts. I look forward to any more you might have ... always fun to compare notes on a special place.

Mike

Ozarksbill

You do love nature and color! Excellent photos. A bit different having less detail as to IDing locations...refering to Ireland e.g. We explored Hawaii first time recently with Road Scholar (Elderhostel), four islands mostly studying volcanoes, lava beds, rain forests, history.

May your teaching year go well. And a good year for son at UC (my birth city).
Bill in Boston

Mjneenan

Bill, thanks. Yeah, when I first began doing these web albums with captions, I tried to cap myself at 60 or 80 photos per trip, no matter how long it was for, thinking I would bore people with many more ... same thinking for how much I wrote, as in keep it short and simple. But as I began to include more - in number of photos and amount of detail in captions (for benefit of detailed planning), I got appreciative feedback, so since then, I have erred on the side of more, rather than less. But now, ha, ha ... it is quite a lot of writing. If you add up all the Big Island captions, it's probably equivalent to at least a 30-40 page paper. In fact, I just came back from a solo photography trip to South Dakota's Badlands and Black Hills. I have all the photos processed and chosen, but I am procrastinating a bit on the writing of the captions. Look for it soon, if you're interested.

judymo

Leaving Sunday - LOVED every bit of your "trip"...I've taken pages of notes of places we must explore..we'll be there two weeks......thank you so much.

Mjneenan

Two weeks is plenty of time to really get around the island and explore at a pretty relaxed pace ... have a blast! I'm glad the captions were helpful to you. Let me know if you have any specific questions about some of the things we did. ... Mike

edjim

I an enjoying the pictures and the captions... it's neat that you have been to many of the same places that we have been--BI, Canadian Rockies, Utah, Kauai (ditto the sentiments on Polihale) ...and Dakotas. Ready to go back.

Mike_Sheren

great pics of BI snorkelling. My wife and I will be in the same area (Mauna Lani Bay) in Jan. for 5 nights. We plan to do a lot of snorkelling and we hope to start scuba diving there as well.
Which beach had the best snorkelling in your opinion.

Mjneenan

Well, the best snorkeling I thought was at Two Step, near the House of Refuge, but that's definitely not at a beach - it's a rocky entry. Captain Cook was just as good, but that's also not a beach. Where we stayed at the Mauna Lani, the Makaiwa Bay, was very good for snorkeling and that definitely has an easy sandy entrance. I didn't snorkel at Waialea (Beach 69, as it is known by locals), but it is also supposed to be great for snorkeling. It's just right north of the Mauna Lani area by just a few miles. It seems as if almost all the best snorkeling/diving is either 45-60 minutes south (Captain Cook area) or 45-60 minutes north (South Kohala area) of Kona.