Cruise ships in Kailua Bay

During the 9 days we were in Kona, 6 different cruise ships anchored for the day. We could see the shore boats from the hotel lanai running back and forth taking passengers ashore.

Kailua Bay and Kona

Kona is picturesque seen from across the bay.

Surf's Up!

The surf was up most of the days we were there - the hotel sits right on the water's edge and we could hear the waves pounding in our room even with the doors closed.

Pretty Tree

We stopped one day at a Farmer's Market and this pretty tree was in the parking lot. I don't know what kind it is.

North Kohala Coast

This shot was taken just before the end of the road in North Kohala.

Along the Kohala Coast

We stopped at a small roadside park and sat on a picnic table and watched for whales for about an hour one day. We saw 8 or 10 not too far offshore.

Mo'okini Heiau

This temple was built in the 11th or 12th century. The stones were passed hand to hand from lava fields miles away. Tens of thousands of Hawaiians were sacfificed here to please the gods. The flesh was stripped from their bones and the bones were used to make fishhooks and other objects.

Big Yellow House

Along a remote stretch of beach a gravel path leads past this large estate. It belongs to the man who invented the pacemaker. There were tennis courts, hammocks strung between trees, gazebos....and security cameras all around.

Bali House

This fabulous house belongs to the man who runs Pual Mitchell hair care products. He paid 200 Balinese workers $1.50 a day for 2 years to create the intricate carvings and assemble the house, which was then disassembled and shipped to the same strectch of beach as the previous house, where it was reassembled. Unfortunately, the house was built with green logs which shrank and split in Hawaii, and much effort went into responding to the shrinking structure.

Christmas Eve Dinner view

We sat at an outdoor table for Christmas Eve dinner and watched the surf as the sun set.

Waikoloa Hilton Transportation

The Hilton at Waikoloa has 3 different hotel buildings and has a monorail and boats to transport people between the hotels and resaturants on the property.

Kamuela Provision Company

This restaurants sits above a lovely pool - the picture was taken from a rope suspension bridge that crossed over the pool. We had our Christmas Dinner here. We sat at an outdoor table and saw whales as we ate.

Captain Dan's Whale Watching Boat.

This is the whale watching boat I went on, shown leaving the harbor. We saw 8 or so whales and saw some nice tails going into the water. Captain Dan counted out "1 - 2 - 3 - take it" so people could get the tail shots - a favorite shot.

Last Night Sunset

One final sunset before leaving the next day.