Day 1: Big Island Style

If you have never flown into Kona before, the planes do not pull up to a gate. They actually Land directly on the Tarmac and they pull a staircase up to the door of the plane.

It was late in the evening when we arrived, so unfortunately we could not see a thing during our drive from the airport to the hotel. It was about a 25-30 min drive from the airport. We were both exhausted and ready to get checked in.

The hotel actually had an upgrade available for us, so we ended up getting a suite! Absolutely love our room. I honestly think it might be bigger than our condo. When you walk in the foyer, there is a wet bar and a nice dining room table which extends into the living room area. One of the lanai’s happen to be Off the living room. The bedroom is very spacious and features a sitting area, a desk, and a 2nd lanai balcony. My favorite part to the bathroom is the bathtub!

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The first thing I wanted to do when I woke up was open the curtains and check out the view from our room.

Breathtaking.
Today we just wanted to stay near the resort and hang out near the pool. But first, breakfast! But wait, hold up, there’s one thing we have to do before we head out. “Let me take a selfie!” We have done this tradition ever since our first vacation together.

Now it’s time for breakfast.

They have trams inside the resort to take you to different areas or you can even take a boat to your room! Instead of taking the tram or boat, we decided to walk and check out the area. Lots of Tribal and Buddhist statues.

Breakfast: Big Island Breakfast at Water’s Edge

Our table had a nice view of the lagoon area. People paddle boarding and snorkeling.

I just got the breakfast buffet, but Bob got the Loco Moco, which is a popular dish in Hawaii. It consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. I snuck a bite and it definitely tasted great.

Within my buffet, my favorite items were: Hawaiian Monkey Bread (typical monkey bread with a coconut topping), Hawaiian fried rice with fresh pineapple, and fresh papaya (which was the best papaya I have ever tried). Delish!

After eating a large breakfast, we walked back to our room to go get our bathing suits on and enjoy the pool!

It was actually nice and not even crowded at all. We even tried out our new waterproof iPhone case (Lifeproof). I was a little nervous trying it out at first, but I think Bob deep down was thinking, “If this fails, I can get the new iPhone 6!” Haha.

We had so much fun snapping pics underwater and in the pool.

The downside: Unfortunately, Bob got a little cooked in the sun!

After relaxing a bit in the room, we decided to venture down to Kailua-Kona area to grab some dinner.

Dinner: Kona Brewing Company

They do offer tours with tastings, but we decided just to grab dinner and get the beer sampler to share, which features 4 different types of beer. We both aren’t too fond of beer, but I did like this new kind they were featuring which wasn’t on the menu. I can’t
Remember the name of it, but it had Mango Ale in the title. It was good, very similar to a Blue Moon.

Appetizer: Wailua Dipped Soft pretzels
Jumbo soft pretzels dipped in Wailua Wheat Ale, sprinkled with Alaea Hawaiian Red Salt and served with a horseradish mustard sauce and a white cheddar beer cheese sauce.

Verdict: awesome. The cheese sauce I just wanted to spoon and eat. Two thumbs up.

Dinner: Mung Chung Fish Sandwich
The fish was amazing and might have been one of the best fish dishes I had in my life. I didn’t even need to have it sandwich form, I just grabbed a fork and ate the fish by itself.

I rarely decline a dessert, as I have a sweet tooth. However, I was so stuffed, I thought I would pass and potentially grab something back at the hotel later on this evening.