Thursday was an early morning for us, we got up at 6 so that we could get on the road for around 6:45 and make our way to the airport on Maui. We ate a quick breakfast and finished packing before saying goodbye to our condo.
The drive to the airport was routine and not much traffic. Getting through security was also a non-issue as our flight was departing at a slow time for the airport - not much airline traffic at 9am. The lady working at the Hawaiian Airlines check-in counter was very chatty, even Lola thought so.
Once through security, we got some happy juice from Starbucks (tea for Lola and coffee for AA) and made our way to the gate.
As we were sitting at the gate, a guy nearby received a phone call, from someone he was meeting in Hilo, saying that the city/town was under a flash flood warning and some streets were already flooded and closed. Well I guess it wouldn't be a Hawaiian vacation for Lola and AA without some sort of natural disaster now would it?
The flight to Hilo was on-time and uneventful. It was cloudy so you couldn't see much of the ocean or the island. Once on the ground in Hilo, we could see what the guy on the phone had been saying - there was lots of standing water on the airfield and runway/taxiways and it kept coming down.
We had a short 5 mins wait for our bags (we were two of maybe 10 who actually checked bags) and then made our way to the rental car. The wait at the rental car was equally short (thanks to AA's preferred membership) so after about 5 mins we were in our car and on our way.
We had our route figured out - travel north on the island to Waimea and then stop for lunch. What to do after lunch, we weren't too sure yet.
The drive out of Hilo was interesting. At one point, we were driving in a parking lot near to the ocean front as the road was about 3 feet under water. The rest of the drive was uneventful (from a weather standpoint, from a view standpoint that is different).
The last time we drove this route, we were going the opposite direction (to Hilo, not from Hilo) and we had stopped at Akaka Falls which is about 15 mins outside of Hilo. We decided to do the same on this trip since it was on the way. Also, with the rain, we were sure that the falls would be energized. And we were not wrong.
The drive from the Falls to Waimea was about an hour and took us from 600 feet elevation to over 2,500 feet into the clouds (interesting thought - when driving in the clouds, do you consider this clouds or fog?).
Lola found a spot for lunch - Big Island Brewhaus. AA was excited. The ambiance was very small town and the food was an interesting take on Mexican and seafood which was very delicious. The beer was also pretty good.
After lunch we made our way towards Kona, enjoying the sites as we drove. We had one stop to make for Lola's sister (who we will call HyDro) to get something for her husband. At the place that I cannot mention due to non-disclosure agreements in place until Big J's birthday, we took in the view overlooking the side of Mauna Loa towards Kona - it was pretty cool.
After our short stop, we then made our way to Kona to do some shopping at (of all places) Costco. Then, to Target before making our way downtown to some of the local gift shops.
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| Things you expect to see in Target - live geckos? |
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| Loaded with snacks and drinks |
Once we were done with shopping, AA found a beach to go to and enjoy their last sunset on Hawaii, and the sunset did not disappoint.
Then, it was time for dinner at Bubba Gump so that Lola could have some crab legs. AA enjoyed the fish and chips.
After dinner and after a short walk around Kona (and checking out a beach volleyball game), we made our way back to the car and decided to drive 30 mins to the shops that were near our first hotel on the Big Island - nothing else to really do other than kill time before we boarded our 12:45am flight back home.
We spent about an hour at the shops and then drove back to fill up the car with gas and return the rental car. And wait at the airport. And wait some more.
Finally, the inbound flight arrived and we boarded our flight back to Vancouver.
AA had a good sleep on the plane, Lola had more of a nap.
Once in Vancouver, we hustled through customs (thanks to our Nexus cards) and then through domestic security. Although our flight had been changed to go through Calgary, we were hoping that perhaps we could catch the Winnipeg direct flight. Unfortunately we could not, even though we did get to the gate before boarding was complete however the checked bags were an issue. We then went to the airline guest services counter to see if we could catch an earlier flight through Calgary but the flight that was delayed to 9:30 (from 9am) wouldn't allow for the Winnipeg connection to work. So, instead we were given a $30 food voucher and went to get something to eat before going to the lounge to enjoy more coffee, tea and comfier chairs.
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| A little tired |
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| New tables and chairs from when we were here last, 10-11 days ago |
Hopefully the remainder of our flights on this 14 hrs travel day (up from what would have been 10 hrs) goes off without a hitch. Time will tell.
AA
