Hawaii

After 11 days of slogging across the Pacific from Taiwan we arrived in Hawaii for a two day stay. Needless to say we were ready to set foot on dry land again upon arrival. A few weeks ago I got online and found an available night at our Worldmark timeshare in Kona, so our plan was to rent a car, drive to the volcano and other sights, and then check in for a relaxing afternoon and evening at the timeshare.

As we left the ship a shuttle took us to the airport where we quickly rented a Ford Fusion, grabbed a map, and took off. It felt great to drive and listen to music as we headed for the Hawaiin Volcanic National Park. When we arrived at the park we got another map and started exploring the area. The National Park is large and contains lava tubes, the active crater, steam vents, and fresh lava flows. We had a great time driving from one attraction to the other. We did a short hike and generally spent a few hours exploring the area. At about noon we decided to leave and head towards our timeshare.

We arrived at our timeshare in the afternoon and checked in. As we were checking in another lady gave us her two bedroom unit, so we were happy to get upgraded from the 1 bedroom that I booked. We settled in the unit and watched a little NBA basketball. Our big plan was to grocery shop and cook a meal ourselves for the first time in over 3 months. We went to Safeway and found that everything looked really good. The kids got hotdogs and Jen and I got a few steaks. We barbequed the meat and had a great dinner with carrots and potatoes on the side.

We spent the evening at the pool which was nice and warm, as well as the hot tub. The kids had a great time swimming and relaxing in the unit. The next morning I went for my long awated run. It was about 75 degrees and sunny in the morning and I ran over 9 miles along the Hawaiin coast. The area we were staying is right where the Ironman Triathalon is held, so I felt pretty inspired thinking about this while I ran. It was my best run in 3 1/2 months for sure.

After breakfast and lunch we headed back around the island for the ship. We ended up going to a nice beach (Hapuna) on our way back, and returned the car and boarded the ship. Hawaii was a quick stop, but we had a great time on the Big Island.