Kona, Hawaii Day 1

November 4th - We finally made it to Kona, HI after a flight to Juneau from Gustavus, rental car and hotel (one night), testing (Abbey took 2 SAT Subject Tests), AK Air to Seattle, one night in Seattle, and a flight w/ layover in San Francisco to Kona!  Yes, we have arrived!  Getting anywhere from Gustavus is an adventure in itself!

Our vacation officially began on Monday morning when we awoke to 80 degree temps and a 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean from our bed!  We are staying at a friends house for the month - a little slice of paradise on the Big Island.

This a.m. Tom and I drove into Kona to pick up groceries and supplies (snorkel gear and sunscreen) at Costco.  Abbey and Emily stayed at the house to begin the weeks school assignments. We spent the early afternoon setting up the house and then we were off to the beach.

Tom purchased the "Big Island Bible" - Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed and hasn't put it down all day.  It's a must if you want to get out and off the beaten path.  The author gives you the skinny on all the local hot spots, including the little known snorkeling beaches and 4-wheel drive access roads to cool sights.  This afternoon was spent at the Mauna Kea Beach.  It's a resort, but they allow 40 visitor vehicles to use their parking lot to access the beach each day.  It's a lovely, sandy beach great for swimming and boogie boarding.  We forgot the boards so had to body surf!

The day was full and in the evening I collapsed in bed at 7:45 p.m.  Tom and the girls were not far behind at 8:30 p.m.  Tomorrow we head to Sapphire Cove for some epic snorkeling!