Wednesday:
We woke up to more sun, waves and fantastic temperatures. Surprise, surprise. :) Well we had lots to do. Off we went to the Fishhopper resturant for a breakfast of goodness. I had pancakes with mac nuts and syrup. Nom nom nom nom. R started the morning with scrambled eggs, rice, bacon and toast. That has pretty much been his staple for the whole trip. Hey, he likes it, so I'm happy.From there we walked up to Kuakini Rd to Intrigue Salon and I chopped off 8 whole inches of hair. It was time. After driving around for 2 days with the Jeep top off, my hair was getting a bit out of control. So the lovely Noelle cut and styled my hair into my new married bob. I'm pleased. It's taking some getting used to. I keep reaching back to bundle and bun my hair, but there isn't much back there to bundle.
From there we went back to the harbor and bought mom a thank you/trip gift from a lovely little shop that shared the same space with Atlantis, our submarine guides for the morning. At 11:30 am we boarded a ship that took us out to the sub and down we descended. It was only 30 min of sub ride, but it was so cool. There were tons of fish and it was very cool to see them so close. We went down at the deepest 104 ft under the water. R and I were just awed and from there determined to snorkle.After the sub ride we grabbed our snorkels and headed to Two Step next to the Place of Refuge. It was a quick 20 min drive south. We found a quick parking spot and stepped cautiously off into the water. At first I started without my sandals. This wasn't a smart idea. Two Step gets its name from the two levels within the bay. There is the first that gets about 4 feet deep then there is a big cropping of rocks, from there it drops off to about 7 or 8 feet, another out crop and the final drop off into rougher and much deeper water.
The reason swimming without sandals or water socks is because when a big wave comes in and you are trying to swim over the first rock crop, and you lose the depth when the wave passes, you end up scraping your foot along the rock that is rutted with little hidy-holes were sea urchins are minding their business. So I fell victim to two sea urchin barbs in my big toe and immediatly went back to the beach to put my sandals on. From there it was so awe inspiring to see all the fish. Many of them weren't scared of R and I floating around. One even tried to taste R's hemp ankle bracelet. But the fish were so close it was just too cool. On our way back into shore, we spotted three green sea turtles. At one point, I almost stepped on one, they aren't skittish around swimmers, so he just glided past me and I'm not ashamed to say that I squealed. I'm serious. I saw the first turtle and all out squealed.
From there, we ended our evening with dinner at Lulu's and watched part of the Blazers game.
On Thursday R and I drove to 9,000 ft above sea level and visited the Mauna Kea Gemini Observatory Visitors Center. We couldn't drive past there because it would then void our car rental agreement. The way there was a bit bumpy and lots of curves. We passed some great scenery of extinct cindercones and drove in the clouds just before the visitors center.
After that we drove back to Kona and decided it was time for some more snorkeling. However, we didn't want to drive some more so we went to the bay by the King Kahmehameha Hotel. We didn't think this would be too populated with fish because it was a popular spot with swimmers and families. But thankfully, we were greatly mistaken. There were fish everywhere. Some different types that we missed at Two Step. After taking a break with R in the shallows, a local pointed out a Honu to us. For you non-hawaiians out there, Honu is Turtle in Hawaiian. Down I plunged and right there in about 5 feet of water was a huge Green Sea Turtle. It was about the size of one of those sled saucers kids use when sledding. This turtle was just checking out what was going on, so R and I kept our distance but followed it out a ways. I think that was the highlight of our snorkeling experience. Just so cool.
On the way back north we snorkeled at Two Step one last time. We entered from a different angle and it was just another awesome sight. We looked for more turtles, but didn't see any. It was a bummer, but since we were so lucky the day before, cosmic forces even things out.
From there we drove back to the hotel and took it easy. R and I are total old farts, we didn't go to bed any later then 9 or 10 each night, but then of course we were up about 6 or 7 every morning. Our days have been packed full with non-stop going.
On Saturday we had a lovely little wake up call from our hotel fire alarm system. We were told by the hotel staff after someone showed up who knew how to turn it off that it was some kid who decided that pulling the alarm was a good idea... and not a punishable offense. So up we were at 6, whether we wanted to be or not. R and I tried to sleep in a bit more, watched some cable and relaxed.
From there we went and did more shopping, got some lunch and did lots of walking. We went back to the hotel and took a nap. The nap was very needed, especially after the oh so loud fire alarm.
Kona also shut down Ali'i Drive for Halloween and threw a big block party. They had tons of street vendors and three performance stages. It was fun. It looked like most of the nearby people all showed up. It was fun. But again, we left around 8 and headed back to the hotel.
As we were sleeping, we kept being awoken by loud halloween revelers, and around 1 pm we were woken up by another false fire alarm. So we headed down stairs and chatted with the lovely front desk lady who was already working over time to try and evict people from the premises who weren't supposed to be there. So R and I offered her any assitance we could and headed back upstairs. About 45 minutes later we were alerted to another false alarm. So we couldnt really get settled again, about an hour later we had another fire alarm. This time R and I contimplated not getting up, but then the alarm lasted longer then the others. So we again got dressed and headed out to see if we could help. The front desk lady told us one of the residents actually smelled smoke this time, so the fire dept. was on its way and she needed help letting everyone else know that we were going to have to evacuate.
So R and I helped her out and alerted the 7th floor and headed out to the front of the hotel to wait to be allowed to go back in. After a full search the fire marshall let us all go back in. It wasn't anything, the burning smell was from idiots doing dounuts in the parking lot. So back to bed we tried to go. It was just a big stressful hassel. R and I really felt for the front desk lady K. She was so sweet and was the only person there and the back up rent-a-cop was useless. I really comment her ability to keep it cool and take it in stride. She finally got off work about 5 hours after she was supposed to.
Not really the way we wanted to spend the evening at the hotel. Oh well it's a story for the later years. Its pretty crazy.
Sunday was full of packing, checking out, eatting one last meal. We headed back to the Aloha Theater. It was just as good as the first time. It a lovely last breakfast. We turned in the Jeep from there and headed to the airport. We got there early and learned my suitcase was too heavy. So we shifted some gifts and stuff around between the two suitcases and got it under the weight limit.
The flights were fine, but the long flight from Maui to P-Town was awfully long, made longer by the fact that the movie screens didn't work at all and the radio was crappy quality. So we just read and tried to rest as best we can.
T picked us up at 11, our flight was about a half hour early. So we got home and spent the first night in our house without the Buddha boy. It was sad, but it was nice to be home.
