September 3 – Lunch down at A-Bay, Subway and Wailua Wheat and the ocean.

September 1 – drove over to the Pololu overlook at the north shore of the island. Beautiful views of the west side start of Waipio Valley. Had lunch at Mi Ranchita in Hawi, it was finally open. Good soft tacos!

Stopped at Mahukona to check out the snorkeling and views. Nice place, easy in-out of the water with a ladder in the harbor. Gotta try this place out in calm winds.

August 31 – Friday sunset sail cruise with Ocean Sports boat Alala out of Kawaihae harbor. Nice cruise, dinner ok, great company for all walks of life.
August 26 – Alii Drive walk in the afternoon. Lots of things to see, mostly tourist stuff.

August 25 – We went to the top of Mauna Kea today. It was a clear day and I wanted to go up there all summer. It is about a 1:15 minute drive to the 9200′ visitor’s center, 6 miles from the Saddle Road turnoff.
From there it is 4.8 miles of dirt, washboard road and about 5 miles of paved road after that. It is not to difficult, but 4×4 going up/down made life easier with less brakes. It is a beautiful place but we both noticed that walking around at almost 14,000 feet makes you feel light-headed. We did hang around the visitor’s center for about 45 minutes before going to the top.

August 24 – We decided to paddle board at Kawaihae harbor. The water was great and calm and there were few people. You drive to the harbor, and pull into the first gate (Fridays only). The security guard checks your license and lets you through. Really simple stuff. On days other than Friday, use the 2nd gate. Fridays are unloading days and the beach road turns into a one-way road.

August 17-18 – Ventured over to Oahu for the “Made in Hawaii” craft fair at the Blaisdell Center. Over 400 vendors and lots to see. We don’t need to do this again, however. We stayed at the Park Shore Waikiki on the end, closest to the Zoo. Another clean place right across from the water with a great view. The place is a little tired and is going renovation. Price for Kamaaini were pretty fair.

Dinner was at TikiGrill just down the boulevard from the Park Shore. Food was actually pretty good. I had the prime rib and Sandy had the coconut shrimp. Kamaaina rates for the dinner were 1/2 off. Gotta go back, nice!

August 16 – Merriman’s in Waimea for anniversary #32 dinner. Sandy had the bone-in New York and I had the Merriman’s Duo of Kurobuta Pork and their Original Wok Charred Ahi. Both meals were amazing, the pork was just ok. Sandy ordered the Seghesio Zinfandel, it was great.

August 3 – Took a paddle board lesson at the Mauna Lani resort. Calm area to practice, ＄55.00 Kamaaina rate. Good fundamentals, we just need practice!

July 26-27 – We went to Maui to hang out with Anna and Katie. We stayed at the Aston Maui Kaanapali Villas, next to the Westin where she was staying. Nice, clean place, a little tired but clean and functional.

Dinner was at the Plantation House up in Kapalua. We mentioned that it was our anniversary and they really dropped the ball. Beautiful place for sunset, food is just so-so with crazy prices. Skip this one and follow Anna’s suggestion to the Lahaina Grill!

The Gazebo in Napili is killer for breakfast, must do it again.

July 24 – Sold the Subaru Legacy today for ＄2,750. We bought it for ＄3,500, so we did OK in the deal. The people who bought it was Michael Scott and his girl friend. They too live in Waikoloa Village.

July 23 – Picked up the Toyota Tacoma from Pasha in Hilo today. We dropped off the truck in Covina on July 2 to be transported on Friday, July 6 to San Diego to sail on Wednesday, July 10 for delivery on July 17. Things slipped, and it arrived on the 23rd. Pasha put a total of 1 mile on the truck in total. Cost was ＄1,072 and I would use them again.

Had lunch at the Casa de Luna in Hilo, right next to the farmer’s market. It was actually pretty good!

We took the Hele-On bus to get to Hilo so that we wouldn’t have to drive 2 cars back. Cost is ＄1.00/person! It picks up in front of the Waikola Marriot.

July 5 – No electricity in the condo we have been told. We had a mixup in the re-switch of the electricity from the long-term renters back to us. While in Honolulu awaiting our plane to Kona, we got it worked out. The HELCO man was here at the condo when we arrived! HELCO is pretty much frustrating!

Traveling first class was pretty nice, it was a last-minute option when we checked in on Hawaiian. We were on the Hawaiian 001 flight.