Hi everyone,
I'm going to jump right into my story tonight. Please enjoy!
In spite of the long trip and the late night, we were up bright and early awakened by the sounds of birds and surf. Sis was already on the Lanai with her morning coffee when Mom and I made our appearance. What a beautiful way to start a day!
First thing after breakfast we set out to explore our surroundings. Sea Mountain Resort is on the southeast coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. Each condo is a bungalow style. The pool area had an outdoor hot tub and a small pool and grill area. The resort is located on a a manicured golf course ( in case following a little white ball around is where your interest lies). For us though it was just wide eyed amazement.
We walked about 10 minutes from the resort and reached Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. There is a plaque erected to the sea turtles which sun bath here on the black volcanic sand. Sea turtles are not only protected in Hawaii, they are considered sacred. Since it was early the sand had not warmed up so the sea turtles hadn't come in to shore yet.
In the middle of all this splendore, the little screw on my glasses fell out. Although I caught the lens we didn't find that little screw so it was back in the car and off to Hilo and Walmart again. This time my sister drove since I couldn't wear my glasses. It was nice to see the countryside we'd passed through in the dark the night before. We were pleased to see we were only about 30 minutes from Volcanco National Park and made sure that a visit there was on our "to do" list before we leave the Big Island.
Back in Hilo the Walmart Vision Center soon had my glasses fixed and with true Aloha spirit sent me on my way at no charge with many good wishes for a wonderful time on their island.
Regrouping we decided to take Rt 19 north to see what sights there might be to see. We had planned to try to drive around the whole Island but with the late start we decided that wasn't practical. The Big Island is just a tad smaller than Connecticut so some short trips seemed the best course of action.
About 7 miles out of Hilo we spotted a sign for "Scenic Drive" and immediatly decided that was the route to take. This turned out to be a 4 mile loop that took us through lush surroundings including bubbling brooks and bamboo trees. It's a narrow road so we had to proceed slowly and carefully. Occasionally there were places to pull off and park to see the views of the ocean. At one such pull out we met a Hawaiian who was weaving hats and crafts from palm fronds. Sis modeled a few and then decided to buy one to take home. I'm not sure but I think she told me recently that she still has it and it is still holding up 4 years later!
As we neared the end of the loop road we spotted a sign for the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. After entering the Visitor Center and paying a nominal fee, we headed to the boardwalk which led into the garden. the entrance is about 120 ft above sea level. The trail into the garden is said to be about 500 ft long and quite steep. Going down wasn't a problem but coming back up was quite a different story still any huffing and puffing on return was a small price to pay for the lush tropical experience.
The Tropical Garden is located in a rain forest enviroment and the trails meanders past waterfalls and streams , palm jungles and coconut groves, and amazing flowers finally opening up to spectacular ocean views of a rugged coast. Near the orchid garden there were huge cages with vibrantly colored parrots.
We took our time exploring the gardens even finding a large Tiki under a huge tree. By the time we had finished enjoying the tropical splendor it was time to head back. The afternoon had passed quickly while we explored.
We all agreed that our first real day in "paradise" had more than met our expectations. We headed back to the south to the condo so we could be well rested for the next day. We planned to be up early and take that drive around the whole Island!
Until my next post..Happy traveling!
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