Such a LONG flight

Leaving PHL at 10:20 am does not mean early arrival in Honolulu. We arrive in HNL at 5:20 and Lora (Patti Luis' sister in law picks us up and we head to Korean place to eat. A very quick meal of ppork and cabbage and then I board another plane heading to Kona to spend a few days with Heidi Winkler, a friend from the New Zealand trip.
Arrive in Kona airport at 8:30 with check in luggage and a driver is there to meet me with a sign to drive me up to Hiwa to Heidi's home. It is difficult to see the landscape at night so I get a description from the driver and he is quite entertaining.
Heidi's home is fabulous located on a hill with a grand breeze into my room. There are large windows and I'm sure there is a great view in the morning We stay up for hours chatting and drinking vodka, cranberry and lime! It was nice to get to know her better.

Heidi is famous!

Up at 8am and off to breakfast in the small town of Hiwa (pronounced Havii). The buildings are quaint and colorful in the form of the old wild west style, boardwalk included. I am sorry I didn't take and good photos here.
We head North to the point, but stop at a small Chinese cemetery along the way. The headstones are carved with Chinese writing and are tall, not rounded like ours. Some of the headstones are shaped like large oval eggs and all are quite old.

The closer we get to the coast, the foggier it gets in the distance and when we arrive at the Pololu Valley lookout, it is extremely foggy on the ocean and cliffs. But we take some photos anyway. This is a one way road, so standing in the middle of the road is permitted!

Next Heidi drives to a ranch that she knows and the view is fantastic over rolling hills down to the sea. There are about 50-100 head of cattle walking across the field and the grass is wet, but some good shots taken here.

On to the town of Waimea, about 30 minutes away. Lunch is at a barbecue place called the Fish and Hog Market Cafe. I had the brisket sandwich with dill coleslaw and Heidi had ribs. Both were delicious and much to much for one person to eat, we shared.

Leave Waimea for the Kona coast and first stop by the Mauna Kea observatory visitor center in town. The docent there gave a nice short tour of what is done up at the actual observatory. The weather report for evening is not good so we make other plans. Heidi takes me to the HGVC for a tour of where she works at Waikoloa Village and it is magnificent. It has several resorts within the site and a monorail along with a short boat to shuttle guests around the village. This is a beautiful location.

Sony or Nikon at 69th street beach Kona, HI

Off we go to Lava Lava Beach Club next door for some happy hour drinks and snacks. The sun is
getting low in the sky and we decide to skip over to 69th Street beach for sunset. There are palm trees and old dead trees to use in the background so we get set up and click away. I think I got some good images. After sunset it gets dark quickly and we head back to Heidi's home. After a drink or two I am tired and off to bed.

At 3:00am I am awakened by a phone call and decide to get up and take some star photos. I just hope that Heidi does not have a weapon and think I am a burglar. There are thousands of stars and it is so clear I hake photos for about an hour. I hope there are a few good ones.

Heidi has arranged a helicopter tour and we need to be at the airport by 6:45, so I just get up, shower and dressed and ready to go. The tour company is Paradise Helicopter Tours and it is complimentary!! Off we go up through the valley away from the ocean towards the volcano craters. You can tell you ar getting near because of the amount of steam rising from the black ground below.

Our pilot, York is from Belgium and keeps our copter steady and smooth. I am trying to take photos with the Nikon, Sony and iPhone and it is crazy how awesome it is in the air over the active volcano. There is no lava flowing, but lots of steam and looking into the center we can see some bubbling lava that looks like tiny specks of red/orange. It appears as if there are some researchers on the edge of the crater with scientific instruments. I'm not sure because we are not getting very close because of the temperatures.

York points out a lava lake and some other points of interest along the way to our landing at Hilo airport. While there, we rent a car and head out for breakfast at Ken's Pancake House. This is a local favorite and a great plate of cocoanut pancakes with strawberries was delicious.

Down the road from here is a small farm market and we check it out buying a few gifts and trinkets to take home. One of the vendors had his photographs printed on metal and they showed all the details in the photo. They were quite beautiful.

From here, we headed North to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. It is quite hilly and I

Taken with iPhone

recommend you walk down and take the golf cart ($5 for two) to the top. This is quite beautiful and full of native plants, flowers and waterfalls. We are having fun snapping photos all over the place! At the bottom of the trail we arrive at the coast and the incoming waves are crashing all over the rocks close by and more photos are taken. We opt for the golf cart ride to the top and head back to the airport for the return to Kona.

Our flight takes us along the coastline over the top of the island back to Kona. It was a fantastic experience and the cost was right. Heidi was able to snag two complimentary seats on that copter. The return to Kona airport was just in time for me to relax for about an hour before my flight over to Honolulu. It was a grand two days and I hope to return and return the favor and host Heidi someday here in PA.

Hilo valley from the helicopter ride.