HAWAII - THE BIG ISLAND

HAWAII – Aloha to The Big Island, December 7-11

We arrived in Kona on Friday, December 7 and were met at the airport by PDDGER and DL Vern Ungerecht and Exalted Ruler of the Kona Lodge, Ron Cole.  We were greeted with beautiful orchid leis and hugs all around.  We then made the short drive to our hotel, the Marriott Kamehameha Beach Hotel which is located right on the ocean in downtown Kona.  That evening, we went out to dinner at the Fish Hopper with PGER Jim and Lucia Grillo, Vern and Ron.

Saturday morning, we got up in time to have coffee and watch the sunrise on the lanai (patio) outside our room.  After breakfast at the hotel, we started out around the southern part of the island headed for Hilo.  Along the way we went through Kona coffee country, old lava flows from Mauna Loa, past the most southern point in the United States and then stopped for a mid-morning snack at the southernmost bakery in the United States, Punalu’u at latitude 19 degrees, 4 minutes north of the Equator.

We arrived at Volcano National Park and went to the Jarvis Observation Site where we could look down into the Kilauea caldera.  At that site, the volcano is quiet, although there were quite a few steam vents that reminded you of the power right below your feet.  After paying our proper respects, we moved on to Hilo.

We arrived at the Hilo Lodge #759 and were greeted by Exalted Ruler Bob Shimamoto and his officers.  After a tour of this beautiful old lodge, we were treated to “puupuus” (appetizers) and some wonderful Hawaiian hula dances by a group of local ladies.  Congratulations to the folks who brought all of the puupuus – they were wonderful!  We also found out that it was ER Bob’s birthday, and we all treated him to a group rendition of “Happy Birthday to you” over birthday cake!

We left the Hilo Lodge to return to Kona over the Saddle Road that cuts through Hawaii between its two volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.  This road has been expanded and resurfaced in recent years and made our trip home scenic and enjoyable.  We joined Jim and Lucia for a casual dinner at a local restaurant, Boston Basil’s, before falling into bed after a very full day.

Sunday morning we attended Mass at a local church, St. Michael’s.  Their venue, however, was a little unusual.  Their physical church is located one block from our hotel.  However, this old historic church had been so damaged during the Japan tsunami that they had to tear it down and are rebuilding.  So Mass was held under a massive tent a couple of miles north of town.

In the late morning, we were all picked up and after a stop to pick up some Spam sushi to share with everyone drove north along the Kona coast to Anaehoomalu or as it is known locally, “A” Beach.  “A” Beach is where we were married during Thanksgiving ten years ago.  We took a few minutes to recreate our “wedding” picture while we were there, followed by lunch at a new restaurant right on the beach, the Lava Lava Club.  Late that afternoon, we went to the Kona Elks Lodge #2616 for drinks and appetizers with their officers and members.  The Kona Elks Lodge has expanded their facility and it is now almost twice the size it was when we were there ten years ago.  We had a wonderful time with they and thoroughly enjoyed seeing what they had done in recent years.

Monday morning we toured the northern end of the Big Island.  We made a stop at Pu’ukohola Heiau National Park where King Kamehameha dedicated a temple.  It was at this site that he eliminated a chief rival, the King of Maui by inviting him to visit the temple dedication and then sacrificing him during the ceremony.

We then drove on up to Hawi where one of the two original King Kamehameha statutes stands.  After stopping for some shopping, we continued to the end of the road where we could look out over the beautiful valleys of the north end of the Big Island.  After backtracking a little, we turned east to the town of Wilea and lunch at Merriman’s restaurant.  After an excellent lunch featuring local produce and cuisine, we returned to Kona knowing that we had truly seen the best the Big Island had to offer.

Monday evening, we were able to make contact with two old friends from the Mainland, PER Claude and Joanne Barnett from Monterey.  After drinks at the hotel, we walked across the street to Quinn’s Almost By-The-Sea restaurant where we all had some of the best fish and chips ever.  It was a wonderful conclusion to the first part of our stay in the beautiful state of Hawaii.