Whether it’s a short flight or a long flight, it sure seems like a full day at the airport. On Friday, we arrived at the airport in Maui 2 hours prior to departure, but then had an hour delay… 35 minutes later, we landed in Kona. Aline and Dave arrived a day earlier and said they would pick us up. Upon arrival, we were lei’d by our friends. (Leis are a play on having our luggage with the toilet paper delayed when we first arrived in Maui).
After a quick stop at Costco and getting settled in our condo, we met up at Bongo Ben’s – our Happy Hour spot. …so great seeing our friends again!
We are once again truly enjoying our time on the lanai, right on the ocean front. Lots of surfers and boogie boarders take advantage of the water conditions. Bringing your dog surfing or SUPing is common here !
Parasailers float by, and usually get dipped prior to getting back to the boat.
Numerous paddle boarders and swimmers make their way past following the Iron Man route.
Canoes from solos to tandems like this one out training.
We even get locals fishing out front.
Tuesday was a great day for aquatic action. Lots of Spinner dolphins played in the water.
And there was whale action too. The whales are quiet here compared to Maui, but still exciting to watch.
The days seem to start off sunny, then the vog (volcano fog) sets in, before clearing for sunset.
Last year we enjoyed the company of Naia almost nightly at Bongo’s. She was the bar manager. A few weeks back, she left Bongo’s for another bar manager position at Umeke’s….a lot farther walk for us, but we made the trek Tuesday. It was great seeing her again! She is lovin the new job…
And of course Todd had to try the fish tacos and said they were great !
We have gone snorkeling a couple of times in the lagoon nearby. It is shallow, but we do see quite a few fish in the area.
For St. Patrick’s Day, we met up with Aline and Dave and headed to Quinn’s (the “happening” spot for St. Paddy’s Day). We recognized PonchoMan performing on the stage when we arrived; he’s one of Naia’s friends.
Although we were told it would be about a 35 minute wait to be seated for dinner, it turned out to be only about 10 minutes. Dave and Todd ordered the Irish Stew, Aline ordered the Rueben Potato Skins, and I got one of the last three Shepherd’s Pies. We all enjoyed our meals…and the company.
After eating, we hung around out front where the music was playing for a bit longer. The next group performing we actually met as we were heading to dinner…Lots of fun.
Todd has been spending lots of time at sunset learning to use his new camera !
Hard to believe we have been on the Big Island for a week already, and a total of five weeks in Hawaii…getting used to this Island Life…
What a wonderful life, enjoy every minute