On our way to see Talladega Nights (pretty funny by the way), we thought about putting some air miles to use. After the movie we made a quick phone call and booked two tickets to Kona, departing the next day! We got online, found a fantastic little 1 bedroom place for rent by a local couple, and packed our bags.
Because we had a transfer and overnight at LAX, we called some friends and spent a fun Saturday evening with them in Santa Monica. By Sunday afternoon we were on the lanai enjoying a refreshing beverage. Great stuff. The first pic shows part of the beautiful view.
By Monday we were here in Kekaha Kai State Park. Bliss.
Monday was a beach day mixed with a little hiking and a dash of snorkeling. 30 minutes of required walking tends to keep out the riff-raf and makes a potentially busy beach relatively secluded. At the tail end of a short snorkel, I looked over to find a sea turtle swimming within arms reach. Very cool.
On Tuesday, Jo and I scouted out Kona and had a lovely sunset dinner on the beach. We found new favorite local food, too. Poke is tuna sashimi with some seaweed, seasame oil, ground chilis, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and some green onion. Ooooo it is tasty. Highly recommended for any sushi lovers out there.
Wednesday we decided to check out Kealakekua Bay, the infamous spot where the famous Brittish explorer Captain James Cook was killed. It is also very close to where we stayed and one of the best snorkeling spots on the island. We rented a kayak for the morning and paddled our way out to the Cook memorial on the coast. It turns out that this trip is popular with just about everyone, but the crowds were confined to the put-in and monument areas. Once your head is underwater, you don't really care about much else anyway, since there are so many gorgeous fish to stare at! I wish we had a waterproof case for our camera, though I think Jo likes a spot where I'm not taking pictures of everything.
Wednesday night we decided to cheese it up and go to a genuine, 70's era resort style Luau. It was amazing! There were various Polynesian themed dances that would start very traditional, then bust into some crazy gig that was likely scored by the lovechild of Don Ho and Tom Jones. It was wildly entertaining and in all honesty the food was fantastic, with a traditional slowly roasted pig, more poke, and all sorts of tasty fresh fruit.
Since Tuesday my right foot had been sore. I blew it off until Thursday morning when I discovered it was unbearable to walk on. Jo finally convinced me it was time to go to the clinic. Here I must digress and explain how that on any travel break it is tradition that I get sick, hurt, or lose an appendage so that I have to go to the clinic at least once. This trip therefore is no exception. I was diagnosed with bursitis and told to stay off of my foot and keep ice on it/off it for 15 minute intervals. Let's see...coolers like to have ice, I can put my foot on it, and they go well with beaches...sounds like bursitis is working out well with the beach vacation theme! By the time we made it out there on Thursday however, I realized I should have considered how well crutches work in the sand. Not very. I managed to scoot at least 20 feet though and that was good enough for me!
1 comment:
what an awesome spur of the moment trip. The pics make me jealous just looking at them. I was thinking of buying a poster at ikea for my office that looked just like your pics.
Joel, sorry about your hoof, but you seem to have made the best of it.
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