Hawaii 2009 - Day Five

This morning started off a bit leisurely, but we got on the road about 9:00 to head to the hot side of the island. By "we" I mean, Jeanne, Ellen and me. We decided to take the scenic route in the opposite direction on our way to Honoka'a. This time we were able to pull off by the side of the road to take some pictures.

Scenic View - not me

We stopped at Tex's for lunch and continued our drive through Waimea and Paniolo Country to Kona. After getting checked into our room, we went out to the balcony to see this to the left.

Dolphin Compound

And this to the right:

Lagoon

I know - paradise. And as we were happy to be there, we went for a swim. Not in the lagoon, but in a beautiful pool with waterfalls and waterslides. It was lovely. We swam for about an hour and then went back to our room to get ready to go whale watching. I could have stayed in that pool for days.

Ellen on the boat

We launched from the beach and were soon on our way headed out to open water to see some humpback whales. Humpbacks are in Hawaii this time of year and then slowly head back up to Alaska for the summer. They are big.

Jeanne wore her little girl's lei so she could feel like an island girl
We do not look like we are in our (ahem) late 30's. I'm just sayin'.

Whale

After our excursion, where not only did we see several whales, but almost ran over one, we headed back to shore and back to our hotel for a lua'u. We didn't realize that knowing Kristine had quite so many perks. Not only did we get a fabulous room with a view and the kamaina discount (for locals), but we also got Ali'i status at the lua'u, which mean that instead of eating at the buffet we had stage front seats and were served by a waiter. This turned out to be a blessing and a curse.

Saying hi to the kahlua pig
The Lava Flow

We ordered tropical drinks - virgin, of course, and then proceeded to sample the appetizers - taco (marinated squid), Lomi salmon (marinated raw salmon mixed with pico de gallo basically), poki (marinated raw fish), and poi.

Ellen trying everything. Because we made her.

Kristine arrived shortly after we got our first round of lava flows and I was working on my second one when I started feeling....funny. I took another sip and realized that the second one that came did, in fact, have alcohol. We called the waiter over and asked him to make completely sure that he didn't bring us the wrong ones! I'm grateful that Ellen didn't end up with it!

Ellen, Jeanne, Heidi and Kristine
The Fire Dancer
Ellen being kissed by the dancers
We pale in comparison...

After the lua'u we were pretty exhausted so we went back to the hotel room and watched two reruns of "House". How's that for an end to the party? It was a wonderful day!