On The Road...Again - Part 1
It's been quite sometime since I was last on the Island of Hawaii, or the Big Island. In fact, the last time I was here was in March of 2001. On that visit, I stayed with friends in Hilo. The last time I was actually in Kona area was back in the late-90s. Long time between visits, huh?
Getting up at 3:30 am to make my way to the airport proved to be no easy task, especially since I went to bed at midnight (I didn't pack ahead of time). I arrived at the airport just as the plane was getting ready to board, so I took my seat and strapped myself in for the 40 minute flight. Upon landing, I picked up my rental car and made my way over to the hotel hoping to check in. Unfortunately, there were no rooms available and I was told to come back at 3:00 pm. Now what?
OK. Deciding not to waste my day, I decided to call a friend who told me to come over and pick her up. After a quick cup of coffee, we set out for the day. Initially I had wanted to make my way over to a few places -- Greenwell Farms, the Kona Historical Society and the Kona Coffee Living History Museum -- too bad they were all CLOSED on the weekends. Instead, I continued the drive down Mamalahoa Highway and made a stop at Saint Benedict's Painted Church.
Why is it called the Painted Church? Well, see for yourself.
After taking a look around the church, we decided to drive down towards Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (The City of Refuge). It was hot and humid, a really nice day to be out at the beach. Too bad I didn't bring a change of clothes (my bag was left at the hotel). Instead, I walked around the park snapping pictures like all the other tourists.
By the time we decided to leave, it was almost noon. We decided to head further down the coast towards South Point. My intention was to actually hike out to the Green Sand Beach (Papakolea), but since I didn't have much rest from the night before I decided to forgo the 5 mile roundtrip hike. Instead, we continued to past South Point in the direction of Na'alehu.
Once in Na'alehu, we stopped at the Wong Yuen Store for some drinks and snacks before continuing on.
(I'll write more notes about this store and the mural later.)
Along the way, we passed the Mark Twain monkey pod tree and found ourselves at the Punalu'u Bake Shop.
There I decided to purchase a loaf of the kalakoa sweet bread to bring home (it never made it). Across the street from the bakery, we came upon Shaka Restaurant and decided to have lunch there.
(see review above)
To be continued...
Hi Reid - Nice pic's, 330am, that's tough - I'd be in a fog the whole day.
Posted by: Kirk | November 01, 2005 at 07:42 PM
I was thinking of taking advantage of the discount airfares as well to take a vacation and fly to Hilo. But 3:30am to make the "bread" flight changed my mind. Great photos Reid!!! Looks like you had really nice weather during your visit. The City of Refuge is a very solemn place. Everytime I visit there, I feel like the spirts are still lingering around.
Posted by: lance | November 02, 2005 at 10:45 AM
Awesome Reid,
I loved the photographs and the review of the hanburger...Yum ;D
Posted by: milgwimper | November 02, 2005 at 12:10 PM
Beautiful, Reid - can't wait to see more!
Posted by: Cathy | November 03, 2005 at 03:54 PM
Hi Kirk,
Thanks. And yeah, 3:30 am was tough especially as it started to get hot. I started to get really sleepy and had to have a quick nap at the beach.
Hi Lance,
This is actually the first time that I've ever taken a lot of photos at the City of Refuge. Normally, I feel like I shouldn't. I tried to get tickets to both Lihue and Hilo, but I couldn't get them in time. *sigh*
Hi Milgwimper,
I glad you enjoyed the photos. The review of the burger is up now!
Hi Cathy,
I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. I don't really have too many more that are worthy of posting. =(
Posted by: Reid | November 03, 2005 at 11:41 PM
Here's a tip... when going to the Punalu'u bakery ask for "fresh" bread. When I lived out there, my friends who work there said that they don't bake fresh on Fridays and you will usually buy flash frozen bread that is thawed.
Posted by: Dean | November 04, 2005 at 10:20 AM
Hi Dean,
I was actually at the bakery on Saturday, around 12:30 pm. I'm not sure if they had fresh bread available as I just took a loaf off the rack near the cash register. When I ate it, it tasted fresh though. I'll remember to ask for fresh bread next time I'm there. Thanks for the information.
Posted by: Reid | November 06, 2005 at 01:59 AM