Snorkeling Adventures on the Big Island
 ne thing I was really looking forward to during this trip was snorkeling.
I had heard the fish and corals were gorgeous in the Pacific Ocean, so
I couldn't wait to jump in and see for myself. We found a place called
Honaunau Bay,
 which
was about a 30-minute drive from our hotel on the Kona Coast. The
beach, if you could call it that, was mostly black lava which we
stepped out onto to enter the water, using the steps formed by the lava.
I
wish I could describe how beautiful it was under the water. A
disposable camera just doesn't do it justice. We were so impressed with
this bay that we snorkeled there twice.
 Besides, the tropical fish and the corals,
there was also a green sea turtle that cruised by us as we swam. I
tried to keep up with it to get pictures, but only managed to get shots
as it swam away.
At one spot underwater, someone had spelled the word "Aloha" with white rocks. One thing I especially remember was snorkeling along
with the bottom about 20 feet below me, then suddenly, I swam out over
a huge drop-off and the view below me was spectacular. It went on
forever, it seemed, and so colorful, too.
Snorkeling in that particular area was free, just a small parking fee if you
couldn't find a spot along the road. Our other snorkeling adventure
cost a little more, but was also worth it. We booked an afternoon
rafting and snorkeling trip with a company called Sea Quest,
out of Keauhou Bay. We were fitted with masks and fins, then off we
went to the raft to meet the guide and the two other passengers who
went with us. The ride was a little bumpy, but lots of fun and we
arrived at Kealakekua Bay in about 40 minutes. This is the bay where the Captain Cook Monument stands on the shore.
We had about an hour to snorkel among the colorful fish in this bay. The corals were not as
 interesting
as the other spot, but there were so many fish to see we hardly
noticed. We have a yellow tang in our aquarium at home, so those caught
my eye and there were a million of them to see.
At
the end of the hour, we were called back to the raft and our guide had
fruit and taro chips for us to eat, plus juice to drink. Then we headed
back up the coast, a little slower in spots so she could point out the
interesting areas and tell us some of the history of the cliffs along
the way.
 Seems
that ancient Hawaiians were afraid of evil spirits and the color red.
These cliffs had a reddish color in them due to iron deposits and at
one point, a face appears in the side of one cliff. The eyes were
actually old lava tubes, but the ancients thought this was an evil
spirit with a red face so they stayed away from that area.
The guide also showed us caves cut into the cliffs by wave action and areas where the locals go cliff diving. Not sure I'd
want to try it, but there were a few hardy souls diving at one point.
She got us back to the dock safe-and-sound in about an hour and we all
agreed it was a great trip.
Exploring Big Island Resorts
On
the day that Darrell and his father wanted to golf, his step-mother and
I planned to explore the resorts north of Kailua-Kona. On the way we
saw the Hawaiian version of graffiti; names and messages written along
the road with white rocks against the lava-based terrain. It was
interesting to see the messages: some stated who loved who, others said
 Aloha, still others were the graduation year of the writer.
We arrived at the Mauna Lani Resort in time to look around a little before the guys started to golf. It's a
gorgeous place with fountains and fish ponds and a nice beach where we
all posed for pictures.
Simone and I left the fellas at the course and went to the Mauna Kea Resort, wandered around there for awhile and shopped, then we ended up at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort. This place is huge. It has a boat that takes guests all around
the grounds and a train that also transported people from place to
place. There are three separate towers that housed the guests, a
ballroom, a spa, lots of restaurants, a wedding chapel, pools and
beaches and shopping areas galore.
 I
loved it there. They had a nice area with flamingos, so I had to go see
that. I collect flamingo memorabilia and I love to see the real thing
when I can, but I couldn't get too close to these. I was on a bridge
that ran up over their garden area, and they were hiding behind the
trees, beyond the pond and fountain.
We
took both the boat and the train to get around to all the areas we
wanted to see. One of the pools we saw had a waterfall and looked just
like a lagoon and the beaches were gorgeous. We had ice cream in one
shopping area and then shopped our way through that area. It was a
great place, one I'd go back to for sure.
We
had a wonderful day of exploring and shopping and the guys had fun on
the links, enjoying the views and the game. Jay won. He had 97 and
Darrell had a 111. Not too bad for someone who hasn't played very often
lately...now if he could just hit the ball as well as he hit the dirt.
All Good Things
Must Come to an End
Darrell
and I went back to the resorts, on the last day of our vacation, to
spend some time before getting on the plane that would take us home. We
found an interesting souvenir coming back from the
 resorts:
A coconut with a sun-burned drawing on it. The artist was sitting by
the side of the road and was using the sun's rays concentrated through
a magnifying glass to burn his art on the coconut shell. It was the
last thing we bought before boarding the plane.
We took off for Orlando that afternoon (from Kona to Oahu to Texas then home) with lots of great memories of the trip and a
really good tans. We are very grateful to my in-laws for taking us on
this trip that
 we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.
Here is one parting shot from our two weeks in Hawaii: A rainbow glistening over that little bit of paradise in the Pacific called... Hawaii.
 Jane Powell, 49, grew up in PA, but now lives in Florida. Married to a tropical kind of guy, Darrell, hence the Tropical Topics on her website. They enjoy traveling anywhere water is involved: The
Keys, Hawaii and The Bahamas, etc. They have a pond and a swimming pool
behind their home, so they're always surrounded by water. They also
like traveling to places that have lighthouses, "Beacons that watch over the waterways." Janey and Darrell own a jewelry/pawn shop. Darrell runs it and Janey
does the books and other clerical duties, plus some sales. Janey's also
part of a flamingo collecting group and they travel together once a
year to get to know each other better, and to shop for more pink
flamingo items. Janey states: "I guess travel is a big part of my life for a lot of reasons."
Editor's Note: ALL links in this article were placed by the editor and DO NOT
constitute referrals by the author, who DOES NOT assume any
responsibility for same, mahalo.
|
