Sabins on the Sea - Day 19 - Kona, Hawaii
by Nina Sabin - Travel Blog
We arrived at our last location in Hawaii at around 7 am. We are back on the Big Island.
Kailua-Kona is a town on the west coast of Hawaii Island (the Big Island). Hulihee Palace is a former royal vacation home dating from 1838. Mokuaikaua Church, from the 1800s, is Hawaii’s oldest Christian church. On Kailua Bay, reconstructed thatched houses at Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark mark King Kamehameha I’s residence. Colorful coral lies off Kamakahonu Beach. Kailua Pier has boat moorings.
Kona is famous for its deep-sea fishing, hosting the International Billfish Tournament (August) every year. The upland slopes of town like Hōlualoa, where you can sample the distinctive flavors of 100% Kona coffee, which is what Kona is famous for! Too bad I don’t like coffee.
We had to tender off of the ship as the port is not built to have large ships docked.
People were swimming, paddling boarding, and snorkeling right next to where we got off of the tender. The beach was so close.
Lots of shops and restaurants to the right and left of the dock. We love nature and walking so we found a great place in the shade to view the ship and watch the waves break. It is such a peaceful feeling to listen to the ocean and watch the flow of the waves.
We didn’t see many birds as we have in the other Hawaiian Islands. However, there was one little bird enjoying the waves as well. No matter how close the waves came to him, he did not fly away.
We also like to go off the beaten path as you probably noticed in our blogs. We like checking out thrift stores. You never know what treasures you may find. Didn’t find any today but it was a nice walk and we got our steps in.
The Kona Brewery was along our walk so we looked in. Unfortunately, I am not a beer drinker and John does not like flavored beers and that is all they had.
After three hours, we headed back to the ship. Before we left Kona to get on the tender, we bought a passion fruit boba tea. It was delicious. They added not only the tapioca boba but also the popping boba. What a treat on such a hot day.
It was 84 degrees today but the humidity factor was 92%. No wonder we were so hot on our walk.
I kept the straw from the boba drink. They use nice big plastic straws. Unlike the ship which uses paper straws. Pina Colada’s don’t work well with a paper straw. So now I get to bring my boba straw to enjoy my drinks.
Once onboard the ship (our floating resort), after being tendered back, we changed to our bathing suits and found two open chaise lounges around the pool. We enjoyed lunch on the lido deck, had drinks (used my boba straw on my classic Daiquiri) and John took a nap.
Before retiring back to our room we took a swim in the pool, then the hot tub, and finished in the sauna. Now that my stitches are out I am able to enjoy the facilities.
We enjoy meeting up with the couple we are doing bridge with on sea day. We been meeting with them for a drink in our favorite place on the ship, the Crows Nest.
After the ship departed we relaxed in our room, watched an on-demand movie, and prepared ourselves for dinner.
Today we mixed things up by eating dinner on the third floor instead of the second. As always, the meal was delicious and we have been pairing wine with each of our meals.
The entertainment tonight was an amazing male vocal orchestra and dance group.
Then to finishes this lovely day, we went up to the Crows Nest for our cappuccino and steamed almond milk with Carmel. We are just loving being able to get 15 drinks a day of any kind of drink.
Tomorrow starts day one of four days at sea. This includes going over the dateline, where we lose a day. Then we will be at our next s
destination, the Polynesian Islands.