Big Island Day 1

We got to the Big Island on time around 14:30. My bag came off the baggage claim belt totally open and contents spilling out which was shocking and very annoying. That meant all 3 of my bags had been searched today, what the heck!

We picked up our large truck and decided to drive down to the trail for Captain Cook's Monument. While driving through Kona, the rain was off and on, but when we got to the trailhead, it was pouring. It would lighten up, but never stopped. Allan decided this wasn't going to stop him heading down the trail to the spot where Captain Cook was killed, so he got dressed and headed down. I stayed in the car planning to go a different day when Allan was hiking elsewhere.

From my shelter in the car, I hoped Allan was ok, because it was absolutely pouring for most of the time he was gone. He came back after about an hour and a half totally soaked, but in one piece and not having slipped anywhere despite the rain and rushing water.

We went back through Kona and looked for a good sunset spot along the way, but sadly didn't find one. We continued on and got some groceries and dinner at Safeway. We missed lunch, so we bought some discounted hot food and ate that before going shopping for groceries for the week. After that it was about 40 minutes until we got to the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

We parked and managed to catch the monorail as soon as we walked into the main lobby. This was great because it saved us about a 10 minute walk to our building, Ocean Tower, with all the bags and groceries. Checking in was quick and we were only one floor up from the Ocean Tower lobby. Our room was recently renovated and very nice with one of the fanciest toilets I've ever seen. Our stay at the resort is a wedding gift from my mom and dad and is a nice treat. We came here every Christmas when we lived in Hawaii, so seeing everything again is super nostalgic for me. I'm looking forward to staying here and seeing it all again.

We had showers and headed to bed. Tomorrow we have a pretty full day at Volcanoes National Park!Leggi altro