Our day started out around 7:00am when we got up and finished packing. I had already made previous arrangements with Aaron & Reina Hite to have them stay with my kids while we go. So we're ALL BY OURSELVES!!! It's like a 2nd honeymoon!! A BETTER one!! We're not camping, and I'm not 7 months pregnant! LOL! But anyway, the Hites came over around 9:00am, and we left for the airport around 9:15am. I found our airfare online for only $9 (yes, NINE DOLLARS) one way on iflygo.com through go! Airlines. So our airfare was super cheap!! We got to the Honolulu International Airport around 9:45am, and our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 11:35. But you know what they say... "always arrive 2 hours prior to your departure time." And it took us a whole 5 minutes to check in, get through security, and walk to our gate. So we waited for a while. Our plane was supposed to start boarding at 11:05am, but didn't actually start until 11:30. But once we got out and onto the plane, we were outta there quick! Our flight was a whole 30 minutes long!! LOL! It was fun to see all of the other Hawaiian Islands from the air. We flew over Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. Then we came to the Big Island. And, boy they're not kidding! It's a BIG island!! HUGE! It's not flat at all either! It's just giant! I was amazed!!
www.iflygo.com
We landed at Hilo International Airport at about 12:30pm, and our check-in time for our room wasn't until 4:00pm!! So we went and got our rental car, which I had already made an online reservation for, and went out to lunch. We're driving a blue-ish/green-ish colored Pontiac Grand Prix!! It's a fun little hot rod compared to my usual Chevy Venture!! First, we stopped off at Quiznos for lunch. Then we drove up into the mountains to get into Hawai'i Volcanos National Park. We are staying at KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) which is inside the Park.
We had some time to kill before check-in time, so we stopped off at the Visitor Center first. Then we drove a little ways up the road to some Steam Vents which are just hot steam coming out of the earth. That was pretty cool. And there were a couple small hiking trails, so we took a couple. First we went to the rim of the crater, and that was AWESOME! It's just HUGE!! It was just indescribable. I have a few pics that I'll post later. After the crater, we walked across the street to the Sulfur Banks. Matt really liked those. They were stinky, yellow, crystals formed on the rocks. It was cool. After all that, we just drove around Crater Rim Drive which just goes all the way around the crater. It was a neat drive, with a few little scenic stops on the way.
A Crater
After our little adventure and drive it was time to check into KMC. And HERE WE ARE!! They're like little cottages!! It's so COOL! We have our own little cottage with a couch, fireplace, tv, microwave, mini fridge, and a giant JACUZZI TUB in the middle of the room!!! It's awesome!! The outside isn't that impressive, but the inside definitely makes up for it!!
Our Bedroom and Jacuzzi tub
So we are having an amazing time, and we've only been here for a few hours!! We went to the little Cafe here and had a buffet dinner. I had my favorite, kalua pig (YUM!), and Matt had his Iraq Sunday dinner which was a baked potato and salad. Good food. We're getting ready for our day of hiking tomorrow! It should be fun!
KMC is a little 'Military Camp' here with a General Store, Post Office, Bowling Alley, Theater, and a bunch of other fun stuff!! I'm sure we'll do more of that later. I miss my little kiddies :'o( but we'll be home soon. Until tomorrow! Goodnight, and ALOOOOOOOOOHA!!!
Comments