To the Big Island (Day 5)

Our inter-island flights were all operated by Hawaiian Airlines and this one was from Kahului to Kona. Apart from providing the best price (if you reserve online), their planes are jets, not single or twin propeller planes (which Nigel wanted to go on). We'd brought our own car seat for Evan to use on the plane, and it was checked for airline suitability. There was a little confusion because we had the Transport Canada logo on ours rather than the American equivalent, but that was sorted out quickly (we took the manufacturer booklet with us too, just in case there were issues regarding use in the plane).

Hawaiian Airlines at Kahului Airport

We found it funny that after take off they served juice, then we reached peak altitude, and immediately started the descent. Although, there could be more legroom, I'd recommend this airline for the value and reliability - the views of the islands during the flight are nice too.

Once we got our bags we went to get our vehicle - again we rented from Alamo who had the best rates and we took a GMC Terrain SUV (AWD).  The vehicle was relatively new (about 4k on it) and had a few bells and whistles including a back up camera and remote hatch open/close.  The only thing I found about this vehicle is that it is very heavy; it doesn't take much for the door to reach the tipping point where it shuts (and it shuts fully), and it took a bit to get it up to speed.  Also noticed high revs when going up hill, but good to know that it felt like a tank.

The first thing that was very apparent once we got onto the highway was the Vog (or volcanic gas pollution) which was visible against the mountains as a thick fog.  It's recommended to avoid high vog areas and there is also a vog forecast provided by the USGS to assist in evaluating how to proceed.  We just paid attention to the thickness and the smell (a sulfur odour similar to ash) and used the park visitor centres to guide us on what to do.  If you can smell it, they recommend keeping your vehicle's windows up and running the AC on recirculate.  You can refer to local recommendations and the parks for more detailed info on identification of hazards and symptoms, as well as, research the same on line.

Courtyard Marriott King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel

In the hotel lobby- a painting by a local artist

We were staying right in Kona at the Courtyard Marriott  King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel (let's just call it the Courtyard).  The site of the hotel is where King Kamehameha actually lived after he unified all of Hawaii.  The hotel and room was clean, however, it didn't have the same ambiance as the Westin (not a fair comparison anyway).  Parking was an extra fee (US$10 per day).  The Courtyard also offers for an extra fee a luau for guests and non guests which is held nearby the harbour (which we didn't do).  There is also a hotel restaurant (Honu's) and pool, which we didn't use either, since we were out all day, every day.  The room served its purpose as a base for us to explore the island from.  Other options were to stay in Kahaluu-Keahou (just a few minutes south) or in Hilo (on the other side of the island).  We chose to stay in Kona because we wanted to stay in a more recently renovated hotel and with a chain we are familiar with.  Hilo is considerably closer to most of the visitor attractions, for example Hilo is about an hour away from Volcano National Park while Kona is about 2 hours away.  We accepted the longer drive to get to some of the sites.

Overall the room was modern and clean with nuances of local culture.  We had two double beds and a playpen plus, the dresser with the tv and a table with chair (for working type).  With all or our luggage there wasn't much space left for walking.

our room

We actually found the room was laid out a little awkwardly:
The entrance area to the room was just way too tight, to maneuver luggage and have the door open.  There was enough room for the door to open to a 90 degree angle (maybe slightly less) - in this became frustrating for us because we were pushing a stroller through every time we entered or left the room.  It was apparent that we weren't the only ones who have had problems with this, since there was a broken section of baseboard near the door too.

The coffee maker was stored in a cabinet under the TV, so you have to pull out a tray.  Next we had to figure out where to set it and plug it in - we wound up placing it beside/in front of the tv and unplugging the floor lamp for an outlet.  Each room also has a lanai (or balcony), but we didn't request any fancy views at this hotel.

Some cool features at the Courtyard in Kona is that it is connected to a shopping centre (the only air conditioned one in Kona) leading to the harbour area.

 There is an ABC general store in this shopping centre as well as a Whaler's General Store across the street.  The street is lined with restaurants and there is also gas, a Safeway Grocery Store, and Walmart close by.  A small beach (very small) sits at the harbour end of the property and the road follows the shore with a stone wall barrier.

You can walk along this stretch which offers great views of the streetscape as well as the harbour, but be careful; the waves crash against the wall and usually spray quite a bit of water on the path (and whoever is walking there) at certain sections.  You can't see the sunset from this side of the harbour and would have to go further south to get a good view.  I'd recommend actually driving south to a scenic point to catch the sunset instead.

After checking out the general vicinity around the hotel we decided to turn in for the night so we could be up bright and early to head out to our first day at Volcanoes National Park.