Day 1 (8/29): With the lava fields surrounding the Kona airport, it almost seemed like we landed on the moon. As soon as we arrived at our condo at the Outrigger Fairway Villas in Waikoloa, we ate at the Queens Marketplace before a quick walk down to the beach.
Waiting at the Phoenix airport
Driving to our condo
Our condo at the Waikoloa Outrigger Fairway Villas
View from our condo balcony
Day 2 (8/30): We went to Kona to get groceries for the week at Wal-Mart. Later, while Allison and I went horseback riding at Parker Ranch, Mike and Holly went to Waipio Lookout. For dinner, we cooked steaks at the condo and then went to the beach for sunset.
Mike and Holly enjoying a quick lunch on the balcony
Horseback riding at Parket Ranch
Cooking steaks for dinner
An "A-Bay" sunset
Day 3 (8/31): We drove to the north side of the island to Pololu Lookout and hiked part of the way down (it was steep and long).
Pololu Lookout
Donkeys with a view at Pololu Lookout
On our way back from Pololu Lookout
We spent a few hours at the beach in the afternoon
Day 4 (9/1): We drove to the visitor center at 9200 feet in elevation on Mauna Kea (mountain is over 13700 feet tall) and had dinner at Roy's that night.
Driving into the clouds at Mauna Kea
Above the clouds at Mauna Kea
Another A-Bay sunset
Dinner at Roy's
Day 5 (9/2): In the morning, we stopped at the Kona Marketplace on our way to the black sand beach and Kilauea volcano.
Steam vent at Kilauea volcano. As rainfall makes its way throught the dirt, the magma below heats it up and it comes back up as steam.
A Kilauea vent from the Jaggar Museum
Thurston lava tube
Trail near the Thurston lava tube
Lava flowing into the ocean off in the distance
Day 6 (9/3): We went north a few miles to the beach at the Mauna Kea resort. It's voted one of the top beaches in the United States.
A lizard near the pool early in the morning
Mauna Kea beach
Day 7 (9/4): We drove to Hilo where Mike and Holly took a helicopter ride over towards Kilaeua volcano. Allison and I hung around downtown Hilo and also ate at Cafe Pesto. We then went to see a couple waterfalls near Hilo.
Akaka Falls State Park
Another beautiful sunset at A-Bay
Day 8 (9/5): We just had a lazy day and hung around the resort area and the beach.
Petroglyphs near our condo
A-Bay
Day 9 (9/6): On our last day, we drove down to South Point (southermost point in the United States) and hiked over to the green sand beach. Later that evening, we headed for the airport at Kona for our overnight flight back to Phoenix.
Last morning at A-Bay
South Point
We all had a blast! The Big Island is highly recommended! And note that these pictures were just a few that I took with my camera. Others from other cameras are sure to follow sometime soon.
