Sunday, July 3, 2011

Going Back In Time





After touring The City of Refuge, we drove to our hotel to find dinner. If you're ever in Kona, stop at the Royal Kona Resort to be transported to the past. Here are photos from the bar and Don The Beachcomber restaurant. At times, I thought I was in Disneyland. You can feel how the place used to be the IN spot, probably in the 1950's and 1960's.


The next day we drove to Hilo, which reminded us of the city of Petaluma in Northern California. A small town feel, but not much to do there. Well, okay, we did go to Big Island Candies and the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory. The weather driving out there was foggy, cold, and rainy. It was 63 degrees at one point near the town of Waimeia. We passed the Hamakua region, known for growing flowers, vegetables and, um, "other" famous Hawaiian crops. (We figured those crops were growing behind the fences that said, "Keep Out".)

Parker Ranch, a working cattle ranch, owns most of the land around Waimea. (Also known as Kamuela.) I thought the stop signs in the shopping center were a kick. "Whoa".

Our day ended at the Four Seasons Hotel, just to see what it's all about. With Balinese-style decor, it is stunningly gorgeous and the sunset was amazing. We wished we could sit on one of the lounge chairs on the beach, but they were for hotel guests only.

We left the Four Seasons and dined at the Kona Inn Restaurant, with its delicious mahi-mahi and super friendly staff. A walk along the bay, back to our hotel, ended our night.