10 Days in Hawaii - Day One: Arriving in Kona, Big Island
May 1, 2021
10 Days In Hawaii - Day One
We, Jake and I, stepped out of the stuffy airplane immediately getting hit by warmth and fresh ocean air, a more than welcomed feeling. Taking stairs out of the plane and onto the tarmac, we came to realize that the Kona airport was completely open air. I've traveled to many places in my dance career and training, but this was a first for me! There were no stairs, no crazy maps for getting around, and no crazy crowds because this was a one level, one terminal, 12 gate airport with maybe 2 or 3 baggage claim carousels. After getting checked in for covid precautions, we collected our bags and headed to the car rental. Unknowingly to us, there's currently a national rental car shortage. So if you're planning on going anywhere popular, get your car rentals sooner rather than later! Once settled in our new car, we started our Hawaii adventure!
From the second we stepped off the plane, Jake had a permanent smile on his face. It was priceless. He had never been to Hawaii and for me, I don't think it had hit me quite yet. I had visited Honolulu several years back but I had no idea how much I'd fall in love with Kailua-Kona. Driving towards Kona, we were greeted by a stunning ocean view and it never ended even as we drove through the town of Kona. The strip, as we'll call it, lined with small shops and restaurants, was situated right next to the ocean. It was a dream. We couldn't stop looking at the water and as we did, Jake made a comment in awe.
"I can't believe it. We're stranded on an island... in the middle of the ocean!". Yes. Yes, we were.
Arriving at our Airbnb(2) without issues, we instantly fell in love. It was a shared Airbnb with four separate rooms. Each room was private and the shared areas were the living room, balcony, kitchen, and bathroom. Luckily there were two bathrooms and the other room we shared ours with was vacant the entire time. An added plus were the keypads on the doors of each room, as well as the front door. It lessened the stress of having to carry around a key and made it easy to lock up our belongings.
After an hour of resting after 6 hours of traveling, (which in comparison to other trips, is nothing!), Jake and I planned to visit the Kona Brewery and Pub. Since planning this trip, all Jake wanted was to visit breweries, so I made sure it was one of the first things we did. We got our names on the list expecting a 45-minute wait, so, we decided to walk around. This tiny dead-end road with restaurants placed right next to each other was bustling, Two places had outdoor live music events right next to each other with polar opposite experiences. One had a rock vibe while the other was a gentle ukulele performer. We strolled along and found a (1)sushi place. I suggested we get one roll as a snack and hopefully, we’d have a table at the brewing company by then. We got sat immediately and ordered spicy garlic edamame and two rolls: The Mongoose and The Philly rolls. If you love sushi, try these rolls! I can’t speak highly enough of them. I didn't start liking sushi until I worked at a Japanese restaurant in 2016 and it was the best addition to my diet. Don't worry, we didn't forget about Kona Brewing. We happened to get a table 10 minutes into our meal but we stayed put.
Returning to the Airbnb, we sat on the balcony and played some ukelele enjoying the evening air with a nice drizzle of rain. On the islands, rain is welcomed. The humidity and heat were washed away and once we were tired enough to fall asleep, we did so, unprepared for one of the most amazing rests either of us has had for the past few years.
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