I visited Hawaii for the third time last October. That's, perhaps, quite a few times for someone from the East Coast, but probably nothing for someone from the West Coast.
For this visit, I wanted to see a "new-to-me" island. I had been to Oahu, Moloka'i, and Maui (twice). This time: The Big Island. I had heard it was different, more natural, undeveloped, and "real." All of that was true. And, really, Hawaii never disappoints. It's undefeated as a destination in the US.
We divided the week between the West/Kona side and the East/Hilo side. The first Airbnb overlooked Kailua-Kona, with a pool and ocean view. We watched the sunset from the pool on most days. As tends to happen, sunset on the first night was the best, but you can't know that until the last day. However, no sunset over the ocean is ever actually disappointing.
Since the Airbnb view was so great, we skipped going to downtown Kona; all of the tourists seemed to be in Kona, so we avoided it. We did grab fish tacos, after landing, at Shaka Tacoz in a weird outdoor, rundown marketplace; that was sort of close to Kona. We also had breakfast up in the hills, at Holualoa Garden and Kitchen, and coffee from White Nene Coffee Roasters. Holualoa Kitchen had a solid Loco Moco.
After breakfast, we went for a short hike at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (we also ended up snorkelling there the following day). The hike was on broken lava, which was a first for me, but nothing for the locals in flip-flops. There was almost no one else out there. After the hike, we stopped for Shave Ice at Hawaiian Ninja Shave Ice.
The next day, we had breakfast at The Coffee Shack and went on a coffee farm tour at Greenwell Farms, stopped for banana bread at the Banana Bread Spot (a table on the side of the road), and visited St. Benedict Catholic Church to see the hand-painted interior. The coffee farm tour seemed like a requisite stop; Kona coffee isn't my thing, but I had never seen how coffee is processed on a farm.
On our drive to the Hilo side, we stopped for breakfast at Menehune Coffee. There are a bunch of breakfast/lunch spots with very similar menus: it's all fresh fruit, benedicts, and waffles. On the loop south, we stopped at a busy bakery for donuts: Punalu'u Bake Shop. Excellent. We also took a break for photos at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park, and were gifted with a sea turtle sighting.
Volcanoes National Park was also on the drive east. Due to the government shutdown, the park was free and very open. Kilauea was set to erupt within days. I had been tracking the possibility for weeks. We did a short hike along the rim, saw the smoke, and decided to drive back if it erupted, and see it at sunset.
After finding some easy Chinese takeout, we checked into our farm stay Airbnb in Hilo. The two sides of the island are very different. Hilo feels the most like "normal” life I've ever seen in Hawaii. There's not much happening. It rained a bit every day, as expected. There were citrus trees on the property: limes, oranges, and pomellos. I picked them to make the freshest margaritas I've ever enjoyed.
The first morning in Hilo, we went to breakfast at a weird yoga retreat center: Hawaiian Sanctuary. I'm not really sure what's going on there, but something is definitely going on there. Then we went to the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden. It's along the coast, privately owned, and quite gorgeous. After, we stopped for a very good burger at Hilo Burger Joint. Seriously. I only eat meat on vacation, and this burger was worth it.
The next day, we drove to a small shack for breakfast in Kalapana. There aren't many options outside of Hilo, so we found a weird place with a scratch-cooked breakfast. We planned to spend the afternoon at Kehena Beach, a nude beach that required a somewhat adventurous hike. At the bottom of a cliff, you wait on a rock for the waves to go out and rush down a ladder onto the black sand beach. We spent a few hours with about a dozen other people, reading and relaxing. Nothing weird about it. Honestly, it was one of the most enjoyable afternoons of my life.
The next day, we had breakfast at a famous spot in Hilo: Ken's House of Pancakes. Indeed, the pancakes were very good. We walked around old Banyan trees in Hilo, at Liliuokalani Park and Gardens. We had another shave ice and then drove to a beach to read and take photos: Richardson Ocean Park. It was a gorgeous spot full of locals enjoying their Thursday. Really, the beach felt like a regular part of their lives. Casual, fun, easy.
Before sunset, we returned to Volcanoes National Park. All indicators suggested there'd be an eruption within hours. The vents were smoking, and after about an hour, lava started to flow. An active volcano is not exactly something I thought I'd ever see. I hadn't brought enough layers, so we left after sunset when the real show began. I was close enough, and it was one of the most memorable sights I've ever seen.
The next morning, we checked out and planned a full day before our red-eye flight. We had breakfast in Hilo at The Booch Bar Hilo and began a slow counterclockwise drive back to Kona. We stopped at the Waipi'o Valley Lookout and then a coffee shop in Waimea to do some work: Surf Camp. Then we grabbed pizza, to-go, from Pau Pizza and drove to the west side for sunset at 'Anaeho'omalu Beach.
Overall, Hawaii was Hawaii. Perfect. Worth the two six-hour flights. I don't have a deeper reflection on the week. After a summer of travel through a few countries, I wanted a relaxing and easier vacation.
And, Hawaii is it. Always.
