Best Vaction on The” Big Island” of Hawai’i

Aloha!

Sunday July 1, 2012:  It’s 3am and I am still awake too excited to go to sleep because in a couple of hours I would be going to Hawaii with my family. After, falling asleep for 2 hours, it’s now 5am and my grandma’s house is beginning to awaken so we can all be ready by the time the taxi is there at 7am to take us to the airport. When, the taxi arrives we all file into the taxi and get into my Grandmothers neighbors car. When we arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport we scramble out of the cars and unload our luggage. We then proceed to the Hawaiian Airlines Check-in so we can drop off our luggage. Once, we have finished checking our luggage we turn around to see the ridiculous security line, I ask if anyone had talked to my Auntie to see how close they were and warn them about security.  They let me know that they are minutes away. After, spending 10 minutes getting through security we end up walking towards our gate.

Once at our gate we see the behemoth airplane we would be spending the next 10 hours on.  After, waiting for 45 minutes my Aunts family arrived to the gate.  Finally, at 9:30 am we began boarding our plane. Once on the plane and settled in the feelings set in I am on my way to HAWAII.  After, a very long and somewhat boring flight we arrived at Honolulu International Airport.

          The crazy thing about this airport was we had to catch a shuttle over to the Inter-island terminal as the island of O’ahu was not our home but the island of  Hawai’i  was.  The first difference I noticed between the mainland and this extravagant island was the price of food, 9$ for a sub. Around 3 o’clock we boarded our inter-island plane to Kona Int. Airport.  When we arrived in Kona our complimentary concierge service was waiting. The service came with the house we were staying at (Hawaii Dolphin House) on the Kona Bay Estates property.

The first real effect of jetlag came around 7pm because our bodies were use to East Coast time and now we were 6 hours behind and were all ready to go to sleep. On Tuesday we embarked on an all-day adventure on the Big Island. We were going to the Akaka Falls which was on the other side of the island. This crazy trip took us up the face of two volcanoes on an infamous road known as Saddle Road. The twisting, winding, upscale road through two dormant volcanoes and an active military base was insane and cold. Once we reached the falls we witnessed probably one of the greatest sights, a 400ft plus waterfall. On our return trip home we traveled along the beautiful coast.

           That Friday I was able to experience my first Luau and I celebrated the Fourth of July on the island.  The Luau was amazing the culture and food. The purple sweet potatoes were the best.  One of best family adventures was a trip to Volcanoes National Park. I was able to see lava and a Caldera or crater.   It was very cold and wet on top we reached astounding 4500ft. I was also able to take a submarine ride on the Atlantis 7.  I saw 2 ship wrecks, tons of Tropical Fish, and coral reefs.

Sadly as all good things have to end and we began what was a much shorter flight back to New York City, I reflected.

                                                                                                Mahalo