Hawaii - The Big Island

Our third week of vacation was spent on the big island at Kona.  We haven't been on this volcanic island for many years.  We are staying at Wyndham's Kona Hawaiian Resort.  We are in a two bed/two bath beautiful condo.

Shrimp on the beach patio at
Bubba Gump's

Day trip across the island from Kona to Hilo via the northern passage.

Lava fields

Rainbow Falls

Pe'epepe Falls and Boiling Pots

The beauty in the flowers!

Volcano Day Trip
We booked a day/evening trip to get us to the Volcano National Park to see the "glow" of the recent active crater.  We were picked up at 11:00 and our first stop was at Kona Joe Coffee Farm where we viewed coffee bean plants, toured how they roast and package.  We at a picnic lunch at the Farm.

Our trip to the south end of the island came with a delicious stop at the Punalu'u Bake Shop and then to a black sand beach where we saw a dozen turtles sunning on the black sand.

Back on the road we were off to the Volcano Park where we viewed the crater of Kilauea Iki and hiked a mile to and through the Thurston Lava Tube.  We had a nice dinner at the historic Volcano House and could see the smoke from the eruption.   At sunset we were driven to the Jaggar Museum to view the "glow" of the active crater.

Coffee bean plants

These were delicious!

crater of Kilauea Iki

Smoke from the active volcano

Entrance to Thurston Lava Tube

Snorkeling Trip

We saw many sea caves.

Captain Cook's monument

We snorkeled in three great locations.

Many, many dolphins - spinners that were fun to watch.

Night at the Ranch
The all you can eat steak was enough to get Don to sign up for this trip!

Last Day on the Hawaiian beach

Maui

On October 20 we began our annual trip to Hawaii with a 5:25 am flight to Chicago.  We were upgraded to business class (!!!!) for the eight hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu.  Reclining to full sleep position and the lovely meals made that leg of the trip delightful.  In Honolulu we took Hawaiian Air to Maui.

Our first stop was the Ka'anapali Marriott from Tuesday through Saturday.  We enjoyed our time on the beach and at the pools.  Evening meals of hula hula chicken and prime rib on the Marriott grounds were also highlights.

View from our 8th floor villa

The mountain view from our balcony.

The daily view from our lounging place.

Sunset on Ka'anapali Beach

Evening torch lighting on Black Rock

And then he dives in.

Our last sunset at Ka'anapali Beach

Our second week was spent at Kihei at the Maui Schooner.  Keawakapu Beach was our favorite.

The Road to Hana - this is always one of our favorite days while in Maui.  Winding roads, one lane bridges, rain forest, waterfalls, volcanic beaches, beautiful sights!

On our way to Hana

Big waves

First waterfall of the day

It was a muddy trek in the rain forest to view that waterfall.

Smaller one we hiked to - waded in the cold water.

Lunch time on the Ke'anae Peninsula

Our picnic lunch view.

A waterfall on the road

It was COLD.  

We watched the Iowa Hawkeyes win before heading to the airport to move to the Big Island for the next week.