“ALOHA” FROM PARADISE. NEARLY TWO YEARS after Covid chased us from New Zealand and canceled our AirBnB we made it back, proving that all things come to him who “hangs loose.” Hawaii still quarantines visitors who haven’t complied with their Safe Travels program John had done his homework and we had our QR codes ready, collected our luggage and picked up our rental car.
Hanging Loose on Hawaii's "Big Island"
The BIG decision on the Big Island is whether to stay near Kailua-Kona on the western (Leeward) side or on the on the Windward side nearer to Hilo. Kona is the glitzier with more resorts while Hilo is neared to Hawaii Volcanos National Park. Feeling strongly both ways we booked two weeks on the southeastern side and will move back to Kailua-Kona at the end of February for another two weeks. We stopped several times on our way for photos along the 50-mile Saddle Road which climbs to 6700 feet between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Hawaiian Moonrise
Clouds rolling in at Sunset, Saddle Road
Sunset, Hawaii-style
Our Hawaiian Paradise AirBnB is the entire second-floor of a palm-studded property. We share the space—kitchen, family room, bedroom and bath—with a family of geckos and their anole lizard friends. A chorus of coqui frogs—escapees from Puerto Rico if you can believe it—lullabies us to sleep. We also have a huge deck, the perfect place to wait out the tropical downpours and to scope out the bird life. The place isn’t fancy, neither is it a little grass shack. There are many personal touches and it comes with Netflix!
It's ten degrees cooler on the deck
The personal touch
Everything but Food
Our first order of business was provisioning our larder. Previous tenants left plenty of coffee, Kona of course, and some condiments but not much else and we were in Old Mother Hubbard territory, facing starvation. Luckily, only 20-minutes away, Hilo has a wonderful Safeway.
