Tales of a Technogypsie

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Mar '10

08.08.09: STL Cronicles/Hearth Quest: Chapter 30: ‘Kona & Under the Sea’

Part of Leaf's adventure in Hearth Quest, photography, travelogues | Tags: Big Island, black sand beaches, Captain Cook, Fishhoppers, Hawaii, Huggo's, Kona, lava flows, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Outrigger, roadside monuments, sea turtles, snorkelling, Volcano, Volcano National Park

[ Back to Chapter 29: Big Island ] [ Chapter 30: Kona & Underseas adventure ] [ Chapter 31: Volcano to Honolulu ]

Snorkeling at Captain Cook, Big Island

From the journal of Sir Thomas “Rymour Oisin” Leaf: Saturday, The 8th of Sextilis (Julius Caesar’s “August”) in the good year 2009 of the Common Era

Volcano-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii

Me and David arose very early – around 6 am so that we could hit the road by 7 am. His plan was to drive me completely around the enter Big Island. I have such amazing friends. It was very cold and rainy in Volcano. I shouldn’t of bothered packing my hammock as it was too cold and rainy to sleep outside even though the idea was romantic and bohemian to me. Apparently it rains more in Volcano than it does in Seattle. At an astounding 4,000 ft elevation, it was almost like home in Colorado altitude-wise. We started the morning driving through the park at Volcano National Park to see the steam vents and the crater of the volcano smoking. Then we began our road trip. We wound up getting sidetracked halfway across the island in Kona so never did fully drive around the island – but we managed half of it – and that was o.k. with me as we were having a blast and it’ll give a great adventure next time I come to visit. There were some pretty interesting lava flows, orchards from papaya to macadamia nut, and interesting graveyards as well as roadside memorials along the way to peak my curiousity. We did hit the “southernmost bakery in the United States” and pitstopped for their infamous donuts that I ‘breathed down’ washed thru with an orange creme slushie to accompany it. We went by a department store to grab a couple of disposable underwater cameras for our undersea adventures. We found a really intriguing roadside memorial of a tree that was decorated with all the seasons – Xmas through Halloween – that was pretty neat. Then onwards to the Captain Cook monument where we hit the beach and dove into the crystal clear water with our snorkelling gear and cameras. Beautiful! So many tropical fish. I miss snorkeling. That’s one thing that sucks about living in a land-locked area. I sooo need to finish certification for diving.

We then drove to Kona for more snorkeling adventures. We pitstopped for lunch at Fish Hoppers for a very tasty meal. Then went to the Outrigger hotel and pretended we were guests – crashed a wedding, hung out in the lounge, swam in the pool, and accessed the beach from their property. Lots of sea turtles. There was a warm current – hot spring pumping out onto the beach by the resort. The sea turtles liked hanging out by it. So did we. After snorkelling we went to seek the nightlife in Kona which was dead. Looked for bars and clubs. Only bars we could find were lame and closing up. There was a music venue called “Rockstar” with some band playing from Seattle, but they were trying to charge $40 cover to see the band. Totally not cool, so we skipped it. We tried to find a stripclub but apparently they are illegal on the Big Island. We were told of a dance club called “Lulu’s” but apparently it was a pretty rough joint. We popped our heads in, and it seemed lame as well as tame. Always wonder where such rumors are conceived. We went across the street to the Huggo’s On the Rocks bar there and met some local cute girls named Tara and Jenny. They said there was nothing to do on Big Island at nighttime. That’s totally crazy. So I took the boring-little-town-form-of-entertainment and got drunk. Luckily Dave was the designated driver and stayed sober so-as to drive us back. I passed out in the car. (Sorry Kawika! I so should have forced myself to stay awake to keep you up but I think the travels got to me). Also learned the tip that Hawaiians easily target their tourists by marking them with the flower leis. Silly brilliance. Makes tourists easy to spot and take advantage of. Interesting. Today was a most excellent adventure … thank you sooo much Kawika for your amazing hospitality and tour guide finess …. When we pulled into Volcano it was time for sleep and a packing up for my return home to the states …. :: sigh :: I don’t want to leave.