Settling into the Big Island Lifestyle
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2009
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2
12
Trip End
Jun 21, 2009
Waikoloa Village,
Hawaii,
United States
Monday, June 8, 2009
We decided to get in some shopping. We wanted to get some provisions and see if we couldn't get a Hawaiian shirt or two. Just across the street from the Marriott are the King's Shops. This is a very upscale outdoor mall (Louis Vittoun, Coach, Rolex, Macy's, etc). Hawaiian shirts were at least $50 on up to $150. Are you kidding me? $100 for a shirt? So we politely browsed, but did not <strikethrough>waste</strikethrough> spend our money. We instead found some sales at the Honolua Surf shop. We each picked up a rash guard (spandex top) and I got some shorts.
On to the Queen's Shops, just up the road. This was a little less ritzy. There was also a supermarket, that the locals said was overpriced. We found that it wasn't too far from what we would pay back home at Kroger. We had asked the conceirge where to go and she recommeded the Village Market up in Waikoloa Village. So, we held off.
Waikoloa Village is up the mountain, so it was an interesting drive. We went through lots of lava fields. The temperature in the lava fields is maybe 10 degrees F higher than the surrounding country side. My guess is that this is due to the dark color of the lava and the lack of vegetation. We found Village Market with some amount of trouble. We found the prices to be only a little lower than at the market in the Queen's Shops. Not sure it was worth the drive.
Upon getting back, we had a light lunch with the provisions we had bought at the Village Market on the lanai. It was pretty peaceful except for the purr of a weed trimmer that the inconsiderate grounds crew decided to use right under our balcony. Oh well. That's one thing about this place. Every day it is a battle to keep Mother Nature from taking over. The grounds crew is definitely kept busy (and they do it quite noisily).
We spend the rest of the afternoon out in the sun. We laid in the sun for a few hours by the pool. Then we made a quick trip down the path to the ocean. We played in the surf for a bit and then headed back up to the room to catch the sunset. Yes, we have great views of the sun setting over the ocean from our balcony!
For dinner we went to Roy's, which was in the King's Shops. The prices were average for the area ($35/plate), but the service was poor. They sat us as far from the window as possible and the server kept forgetting about us. Also, the A/C was cranked up way too much. I wouldn't recommend them.
