Vivian's RV Vignettes

Wednesday was our travel day from our VRBO rental in Hilo to the one in Kona, which is really only a drive of a couple of hours, but we stretched it out with sightseeing along the way.

Our first stop was the farmer’s market in Hilo for fresh produce and lunch.

We got mangoes, corn, banana bread, and a cute baby watermelon.

Next, upon the recommendation of a friend, we stopped off at the Big Island Candy Company and stocked up on their chocolate macadamia shortbread treats. (Macadamias are a major Hawai’ian crop.)

We made our way around the north Hawai’ian coast, stopping at scenic viewpoints along the way.

This included the overlook for the Waipi’o Valley, which is incredibly beautiful and also important in Hawai’ian history.

When we got over to the Kona side, it was immediately apparent that the climate was very different!

The lava flows here are a couple of centuries old, but vegetation has made limited progress in growing over them in the very dry climate.

We made it to our house in Kona and got settled in. Early this morning (Thursday), we were booked for a four-hour boat tour to Kealakekua Bay and the Captain James Cook Memorial.

Mom and dad stayed on the boat, but Margaret and I opted for swimming and snorkeling in the bay while the boat was parked there for an hour or two. I had really never tried snorkeling before, apart from some unsuccessful experiments as a kid in a swimming pool, so I wasn’t sure I could get the hang of it, but I was able to make it work this time (although I ditched the flippers almost immediately… I couldn’t seem to keep control of them). They issued us pool noodles so that we could float around without worrying about getting tired. We saw the coral reef and a couple of different kinds of fish, including black fish with white pinstripes and yellow-and-blue striped fish. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a waterproof camera, but my mom snapped a picture of us.

H/T Elizabeth Bush

Our boat captains were Californian/ Hawai’ian guys who looked and moved like they were born on a boat. They also very much enjoyed talking smack to the other boat captains.

On the way back, another boat passed on a rumor of pilot whales so we went looking for them, but sadly we never found them. However, as we were coming back into harbor we saw a pod of dolphins!

And once we docked, we were visited by a turtle swimming amongst the moored boats.

After a busy morning, we took the afternoon to rest and shop for supplies (and for me, to catch up this blog!). Our Kona house has a lanai with a distant view of the sea and amazing sunsets, a perfect place for dinner.