Kona, Hawaii - View from Our Condo

We just returned from a wonderful week in Kona, Hawaii (pictured in the header of our blog). Our friends, Lynn and Rick invited us to share a beautiful condo, right on the water's edge (about 10 feet from the rocky shore--here's two views)!

While there we went deep sea fishing--the guys caught sharks and the girls even caught mackerels. Nick caught a 7 ft., 400 lb Tiger Shark (below on the left);

Rick caught a Sandbar Shark that was
about 4-5 ft., 60-70 lbs (to the right).
What excitement!






We also drove completely around the island of Hawaii in one day. We headed north through Waimea
and onto the Akaka Falls State
Park, just outside of Hilo ( me in front of the Akaka Falls).We continued south through the Volcanoes National Park, but didn't enter the Park as it was too late in the day. We returned to the Park a few days later and drove as far as you can in the Park, driving by the many lava flows of the Kilauea Volcano which have occurred since the mid 70's. We didn't actually get to see the lava flow or its glow as it is only visible from the ocean at night. We saw steam vents from the current flow (pictured below left),the huge crater formed by the erupting volcano,
walked through an actual Lava Flow Tube and
the rain forest in the Park
(pictured right). Incredible sights.





We stopped at the famous Black Sand Beach and saw Hawaiian Sea Turtles, known as Honu swimming in the bay there.
We kayaked and snorkeled one day near the Captain Cook Monument south of Kona. The water is so clear and we saw many Hawaiian fish and lots of coral. I think each of us was cut by the coral--very sharp!

We shopped, relaxed, played cards and eat both out and in the condo! We listened to the loud sounds of the crashing waves and took in the smells of the various foliage all around us. From the condo's lanai we saw schools of dolphins "perform" their tricks for all to see, watched the local surfers and boogie boarders, saw rowers, fishermen, and more Hawaiian Sea Turtles swimming near the water's edge just below us!! They don't seem to mind when people are close to them-Nick was able to get within a few feet to take some pictures.

Thanks again, to Lynn and Rick for inviting us on this great vacation! We had a fantastic time!!

Here's the link to the rest of our pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157607417635692/