Details of our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii

On Tuesday, April 21st, we flew from Wenatchee to Seattle and then directly to Kona on the Big Island. While waiting for our friends, Paul and Carol, to arrive on a later flight we stocked up on groceries at Costco and Safeway. Once they landed we had a quick dinner and then drove to the east side of the island to Kilauea Military Camp in Volcano National Park.

We stayed for 4 nights in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath unit that had a fireplace, TV, and full kitchen. From this base we explored the park, hiked on Mauna Loa, and drove to Hilo.

One evening we drove east and south to a lava viewing place. It was about an hour drive from our home base and it rained the whole way there. Once we arrived at the parking place it stopped raining (we were very thankful). By then it was dark and we were ready with the recommended flashlights to walk about a mile out to the viewing place. They had yellow paint on the lava that we followed. It was challenging walking over the lava in the dark with lots of people also coming back from having already viewed the lava. But once there we could see the orange reflecting on the steam as it flowed into the ocean.

On Friday morning Bob and Paul decided to take a helicopter ride. They asked for doors off which I guess makes it a little more exciting. They enjoyed their ride and learned a lot about the area from the pilot. The ride left from the Hilo airport. In the meantime, Carol, and I went shopping. After the guys were done with their ride, we wandered around the stores in Hilo, enjoyed lunch out, walked around the park there, and then drove to Rainbow falls. It was a nice sunny afternoon - much different than the rainy and overcast days we had up until then.

After spending 3 full days on the 'wet' side of the island, it was time for some sun and beaches. We drove to Kona where we checked into a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in Kona. The condo had a full kitchen, a nice lanai, pool, hot tub, and great view.

We went snorkeling a couple of times with Paul and Carol. We saw lots of interesting fish and also sea turtles a couple of times. The weather was perfect - sunny and about 80 degrees. On Tuesday, April 28th, Paul and Carol left us and flew to Maui. We had two more days - so we moved to a timeshare condo. Our son, Brian, used some of his points to have us stay there. It was also a very nice unit with a full kitchen, lanai, king bed in the master bedroom, pool, and hot tub.

The day Paul and Carol left we drove to the north end of the island and explored that part of the island. The next day we did a Zodiac boat ride to the Captain Cook monument for snorkeling. Again we saw lots of fish including an eel. We also drove down to the Place of Refuge in the morning. We had been there with Paul and Carol on Sunday, but had left our camera home because of concerns of theft. The Place of Refuge is a beautiful area where the royalty stayed. It features a remarkable stone wall, built in the 1500s. The wall is 1000 feet long, 10 feet high, and 17 feet thick in most places. There is a grove of beautiful coconut trees.

We flew home on April 30th after 9 wonderful days in paradise.