Vista Waikoloa Condominiums

... revealed that by building it, King Kamehameha would be able to unite the Hawaiian Islands. Apparently it worked!

We met up with our group to head up to Mauna Kea and the observatories at the mall near our hotel. I admittedly felt like a cheater using a tour group to head up to the summit, but honestly after seeing the road and how hard the vehicles work to ...

... up, so I have to literally climb into it. It's hard to be lady-like getting in and out of this thing, but it's really fun to drive so far.

The Big Island is really rural and it was really nice to not have to deal with the traffic of Honolulu. We headed to lunch at the Kona Brewery for some pizza and local brews, stopping at a brand new Kaloko-Honokoau National Historical ...

... There was a nice cove between me and where I was headed making the distance longer. At the oasis there were a couple houses. So I went back the other way to the historical site and then for a while until I became tired. Rest up and return back to the car.
I saw some pretty cool rock formations along the way. Little cut outs here and there that looked like camping sites. I am guessing camping is popular on this ...

... he is super friendly and remembered my name from earlier in the day. First impressions are excellent.
The room itself is quite nice. All sorts of modern and classy touches. There is not as much of a view but it is private. Check out the pictures. They say more than my words.
The one thing hat really surprises me about this part of the property is the quietness. No traffic, no buzz, no ocean, barely the wind, rarely other guests. It is peaceful.

... use to supply the ancient Hawaiians with their starch . It is what makes poi (which is disgusting…my opinion). It is a big purple plant which apparently is completely edible.

At about 2:30 we headed out the Kings shops for a look. Mariefrance looked and shoes and untouchables and found nothing. Nick bought a really great t shirt at crazy shirt with a great design that is stained with coffee and it retains the smell for up to about 7 washes ...

... and souvenirs) and now we had to move it all. But that was for tomorrow. For now, we just gathered it up.

We had made dinner reservations at Donatoni's in the Hilton. We were told that we *had* to see the Hilton, so we figured this would kill two birds with one stone - get something to eat and see the Hilton. The Hilton was something else. It is huge - 3 buildings all connected by both a tram and a boat service. Yes, they have a canal ...

... of Mauna Kea we were able to see Mauna Loa, which is an active volcano. I guess Mauna Kea stands for "white mountain," which makes sense because most winters it snows up there. In fact, it's possible to ski or snowboard when there is enough and conditions are not too windy. On this particular day in November we did actually find a patch of snow!

This was our second time visiting Mauna Kea on the 5-day trip. On an earlier day we went ...

... family and I asked if they minded that I tag along since I'm by myself. I knew I'd feel more relaxed and a little safer with other people around me. I don't think we were out for more than 20 or 30 minutes. I did see some beautiful fish, but the snorkeling I did in the Philippines was definitely way better! The water was clearer over there, more fish and they looked more vibrant! I drove 5 miles back north again and thought I'd at least ...

... point in time, I thought they had.   So we headed back to the airport.  Drew took it in low and slow so I could see how it should be done, and we came to a gentle touch-down on the taxiway.  Drew asked if I wanted to try hovering again (and looking back on it, I probably should have tried then because I did have a better feel for the aircraft after flying it [if I really did] for a half-hour), but I was getting a little strained and felt tense from the ...

... he finally asked me what I did...and then he was like 'me too!'. It sounds weird, but I was really really shocked to meet another journalist. And, unlike myself, Jamie was actually a proper big city journalist. He worked for The Age in Melbourne as the court reporter - and I could see why. He made me feel about the same height as Kylie Minogue. He was 6ft 4ins and could stare down anyone up above who felt aggrieved by his articles! Sadly though he was leaving the next ...