We woke up bright and early Saturday morning. We were showered and ready to go when my mom got there with Larry and Rita to pick us up. We had a hard time sleeping Friday night…Ryan had stayed up until two in the morning trying to adjust himself to Hawaii time…and to make himself sleepy for the plane ride…it didn’t work though. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and grabbed a below average breakfast taco from the Uno Express in Terminal E. I took my Dramamine. For those of you who don’t know, I get pretty serious vertigo when I fly or get on a boat…not so bad when I am on the plane/boat, but afterward. Usually takes me a day or two to adjust. We loaded onto the plane to Phoenix and had the perfect seat mate. She was asleep when we got on the plane and slept the whole way to Phoenix. We deboarded at terminal A, grabbed some lunch at Quizno’s (they had to re-make my sandwich w/o olives…who puts black olives on a sandwich…yuck!), then got to our next gate in terminal B. We had just enough time to inhale our sandwiches before boarding. This time Larry and Rita were on the row right in front of us. All of us were very excited to get to Hawaii. The plane ride there wasn’t too bad at all. We were all very close to the emergency exits so we had some space to move around a bit. I watched the first couple hours of Lonesome Dove until the battery on the DVD player was exhausted, did several word finds, snacked on a granola bar, and before we knew it, we were landing in Kona! I could even see Maui out my window on the way in. We’d noticed some grayish colored clouds on our way in…later we would realize those were sulfur dioxide clouds from the volcano, not gray clouds at all! We exited our plane via staircase down to the open air airport below. It was gorgeous outside. As we walked to the baggage claim, a woman holding a sign saying “Smith” greeted the four of us with GORGEOUS purple and white orchid leis.
Larry and Rita had arranged it special. They smelled fantastic! But goodness, the whole island smells of plumeria and orchid so regardless of where you go or what you do it smells fantastic. We got our bags, then took the shuttle to the car rental place. We got our two matching white Chevy Impalas, then headed toward Kona town. Rita called and we all were hungry so we stopped at a place called Splasher’s for an early dinner on the way to the hotel (it was only 3:00 Hawaii time). We had read it was a nice place to eat near the water. And it was! It was right along the seawall. We got to see people splashed by the giant south swell waves and canoe races (it was King Kamehameha Day) all from our seats at the grill. All of us ordered the fish and chips (made with the Ono or Wahoo fish). It was very meaty…tasted like tuna, but thick like chicken. While we were eating we noticed people walking by carrying these gigantic snow cones. We immediately decided we needed one. So after eating, Larry and Rita walked across the street, I walked into a shop to get a few postcards and Ryan stood in line for our first (but definitely not last) Scandanavian Shaved Ice. 
We started out with a medium to split. It was as big as Ryan’s head! As Ryan was about to walk out, the young girl serving him stopped him and said ”don’t forget the straw, it’s the most important part.” All four of us ate as much as we could…and then some, but only could finish half of it. And the girl was right…the straw was important…for as the shaved ice melted, the bottom cup would fill up and begin to drip all over you. A young child’s dream, you were supposed to drink all the juice and melted ice out of the bottom of the cup with said straw. Ryan and I both tried it, decided it was completely disgusting so then just poured the juice on the grass. Finally throwing away the last bit, we headed off to check in to our hotel. It was about four and a half miles down the seawall to the resort. The most beautiful trees, flowers, waves, and water you have ever seen. Little houses and vacation properties scattered all about. I noticed several hurricane evacuation route signs which perplexed me. Uh, you are on an island…in the middle of the ocean…on a volcano…I think hurricane head for high ground route would be more appropriate. Also interesting were the Tsunami evacuation area signs…just something us mainlanders take for granted I guess. We pulled into the hotel under the tallest, most beautiful mimosa trees I have ever seen. Not to mention the huge plumerias on the property which gave the open air lobby a constant floral scent. A girl about my size…that is my size when I was in the seventh grade, unloaded our bags onto a baggage cart and whisked them upstairs while Larry and Ryan parked the cars. We all were on the third floor. L&R on one corner and rps and I on the other. The corners of each of our rooms both opened to balconies on either side. We looked down below to see we were actually staying over the water. In that water were sea turtles! The water there was shallow. About knee high at low tide and chest high at high tide, protected by a rock reef that had been built out many many years ago. The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is protected by many state laws and apparently right there at our resort was one of their favorite places to nest. We unpacked, got settled, then went out discovering. That’s when my vertigo started to kick in pretty serious. Ugh…Dramamine dose two. Right next to our resort, connected by an iron gate was the best snorkeling spot on the island. We walked over to scope out what we would get to go play in. It was breathtaking. 
Then we walked back through the gardens on the grounds and saw all sorts of cool plants. 
A couple of outrigger canoes were on display in the lobby. We moseyed around, just taking it all in, still feeling a bit like we were in a dream, then settled into a hammock to rest. 
We swayed back and forth for a bit, then decided it was way past our bedtime. We all headed upstairs, put on our pajamas, wrote a few postcards and I updated my journal then settled in for a much needed night’s rest at about 9:00. After all, it was really 2:00 CST.
We started out with a medium to split. It was as big as Ryan’s head! As Ryan was about to walk out, the young girl serving him stopped him and said ”don’t forget the straw, it’s the most important part.” All four of us ate as much as we could…and then some, but only could finish half of it. And the girl was right…the straw was important…for as the shaved ice melted, the bottom cup would fill up and begin to drip all over you. A young child’s dream, you were supposed to drink all the juice and melted ice out of the bottom of the cup with said straw. Ryan and I both tried it, decided it was completely disgusting so then just poured the juice on the grass. Finally throwing away the last bit, we headed off to check in to our hotel. It was about four and a half miles down the seawall to the resort. The most beautiful trees, flowers, waves, and water you have ever seen. Little houses and vacation properties scattered all about. I noticed several hurricane evacuation route signs which perplexed me. Uh, you are on an island…in the middle of the ocean…on a volcano…I think hurricane head for high ground route would be more appropriate. Also interesting were the Tsunami evacuation area signs…just something us mainlanders take for granted I guess. We pulled into the hotel under the tallest, most beautiful mimosa trees I have ever seen. Not to mention the huge plumerias on the property which gave the open air lobby a constant floral scent. A girl about my size…that is my size when I was in the seventh grade, unloaded our bags onto a baggage cart and whisked them upstairs while Larry and Ryan parked the cars. We all were on the third floor. L&R on one corner and rps and I on the other. The corners of each of our rooms both opened to balconies on either side. We looked down below to see we were actually staying over the water. In that water were sea turtles! The water there was shallow. About knee high at low tide and chest high at high tide, protected by a rock reef that had been built out many many years ago. The Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is protected by many state laws and apparently right there at our resort was one of their favorite places to nest. We unpacked, got settled, then went out discovering. That’s when my vertigo started to kick in pretty serious. Ugh…Dramamine dose two. Right next to our resort, connected by an iron gate was the best snorkeling spot on the island. We walked over to scope out what we would get to go play in. It was breathtaking. 
Then we walked back through the gardens on the grounds and saw all sorts of cool plants. 
A couple of outrigger canoes were on display in the lobby. We moseyed around, just taking it all in, still feeling a bit like we were in a dream, then settled into a hammock to rest. 
We swayed back and forth for a bit, then decided it was way past our bedtime. We all headed upstairs, put on our pajamas, wrote a few postcards and I updated my journal then settled in for a much needed night’s rest at about 9:00. After all, it was really 2:00 CST.
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