Hawaii Day 4

Today was the day we went to Kona. Kona is on the opposite side of the island from Hilo. While Hilo is the more wet tropical, Kona is the dry tropical side. Both sides are muggy and humid.

First stop... Hilo Hattie. If you've ever been to Hawaii, you've most likely gone to a Hilo Hattie. They're kinda the state tourist shop, next to the ABC Store. Kaitlin was the first of the group to pick an oyster to get pearls.
Then we went down the the water front street that is full of shops. Some touristy and cheap. Some nicer. Most expensive. We started getting hungry after walking around for awhile. We still hadn't had a mai tai. And here we were on the island where they originated. So off we went, in search of Don The Beachcomber, home of the original mai tai. It was a little walk, but we found it. We had lunch, and everyone but Kaitlin (poor thing isn't 21 yet) had an adult beverage. I had the Tiki Taster... all of it...
After lunch we walked back towards the car. My tipsy self picked up plumeria flowers that had fallen off the trees on the way back and made Paige smell them. I pretty much forced her. But she obliged. She's such a good sister!
From there we headed up the hill to a Kona coffee grower, Kona Blue Sky Coffee. Fresh samples of their roasted deliciousness. Then we got a tour of part of the plantation. Very interesting!
Last stop of the day, before going to Costco, was down the coast to the Captain Cook Monument. The thing about it is though, we were told that you could hike to the monument when in reality a kayak was needed prior to the hike. Oh well. Still snapped a few photos. Rumor has it that we are related to Captain Cook. I haven't googled it yet to confirm. I'll get back to you on that one.
So, we left the monument. Headed back up the coast to stop at Costco before going back to Waimea. Of course we went to Costco. Dare you even ask why? We're a family addicted to Costco, it's like our crack. Plus we were in charge of dinner. And the rental needed gas.

We had dinner. We made lei's for my cousin's football game the next day. And we packed our bags so we were ready to move to the beach houe the next morning. Oh, and my cousin Jaffray flew in earlier in the day. So we hung out and visited with her.

Hawaii Day 4 Album