Another beautiful morning in Hawaii. We woke up to this gorgeous view:
[[image:hi126.jpg:View from the Marriott lanai:center:0]]
But it was our final morning on the sunny side of the Big Island. We were driving back to Hilo via the Volcano this afternoon.
Before we left, we decided to enjoy the pool:
[[image:hi127.jpg:Swim in the Infinity Pool:center:0]]
[[image:hi133.jpg:Pool with slide and waterfall:center:0]]
And go back to Anaehoomalu Beach:
[[image:hi128.jpg:Vin by the signboard:center:0]]
[[image:hi129.jpg:The beach:center:0]]
[[image:hi130.jpg:Catamaran:center:0]]
[[image:hi131.jpg:Vin reading under the coconut trees:center:0]]
[[image:hi132.jpg:Memories of home, lambaian pokok nyiur:center:0]]
After a morning spent swimming in the pool and in the sea (for me) and reading and enjoying the sun (for Vin), we packed up and said goodbye to the Kona side. For the first time ever, we were going to drive 360 degrees around the Big Island, and go back to Hilo. We passed through a lot of lava vistas:
[[image:hi134.jpg:Lava rocks and coconut trees:center:0]]
[[image:hi135.jpg:At a scenic overlook:center:0]]
[[image:hi136.jpg:A bit hazy:center:0]]
[[image:hi137.jpg:More lava, anyone?:center:0]]
[[image:hi138.jpg:Road flanked by lava plains:center:0]]
Bye bye desert, hello tropics. There were also a lot of mango trees around the southwest portion of the island – the fruit wasn’t mature yet. Lots of very young little fruit making me want to stop and see if I can steal some young mango shoots to munch on. Nice and tart! But once we made the turn and headed up north on the east coast of the island, here’s what we see:
[[image:hi139.jpg:Blue ocean, and dump truck?:center:0]]
[[image:hi140.jpg:Very inviting scenery:center:0]]
[[image:hi141.jpg:Blue sky blends with blue ocean:center:0]]
Boy, it was a really pretty drive. This southwest tip is fairly quiet – it’s a shorter drive to go through Waimea to get to and from Hilo-Kona so perhaps the majority of travelers would opt to take the shorter route to get from one city to another. However, on the east coast of the island, if you owned property here, don’t forget that Kilauea is not far away and lava might come your way if you’re not careful! Perhaps that’s why this side is a bit quieter. 😉
We checked into our final hotel of our stay here in Hawaii. A little bed & breakfast called Volcano Inn. It is in Volcano Village, and a hop, skip and a jump away from the Volcano National park (which we had already visited on Day 5). Hilo’s hotels were fully booked for this night, so we decided to stay at Volcano Village, 26 miles away from Hilo. Here’s the interior of our room:
[[image:hi145.jpg:Stained glass window!:center:0]]
[[image:hi146.jpg:Comfy bed:center:0]]
We headed out to have dinner with Vin’s brother and his wife for one last night of family fun. We ate at an Irish pub and got in before they started the cover charge for the awesome live music that was performed that night! Some pretty good performers singing classics. Nice ambience, although the one waiter was a little overworked and rushing around trying to serve everybody.
After a good conversation and a good time, we said goodbye to them and head back to the Volcano Inn. Final night in Hawaii. In the morning we would not have too much time before we had to go to the airport and go home. But we had one more surprise when we got back. Look who greeted us at the door of our room!
[[image:hi143.jpg:Big Orange Guard Cat:center:0]]
[[image:hi144.jpg:And now there are two Guard Cats!:center:0]]
Look what amazingly huge and muscled cats these are!!! They begged to be let in, but heartlessly, we had to lock them out because there were signs posted telling us not to “let curious cat in” (more on this in the next and final Hawaii entry). Anyway, it was another wonderful day, and topped off by another good night out with family. I hope we get to come back and see them again soon! 🙂
Some photostitching to end this entry:
[[image:hi_st23.jpg:View from Marriott Lanai in the morning:center:0]]
[[image:hi_st24.jpg:Photostitching the ocean is HARD:center:0]]
[[image:hi_st25.jpg:Anaehoomalu Beach:center:0]]
[[image:hi_st26.jpg:Lava Plains and road:center:0]]
