Day 1- Thursday February 5th.

I am glad I took quick point form notes of all the activities and sights we packed into 5+ days.

My flight left Edmonton at 6:15 am, which meant being at the airport around 4am. I  can be a bit of an anxious person, content with my safe home life, so I was a little nervous about traveling alone. I remember the first time Brett and I went on a real vacation it was so strange to have to make all the decisions and figure things out. I was always looking for a "grown up" to tell us what to do and where to go next.

Once I was checked in and had some breakfast my nerves subsided and I was on my way. Elesa is living in Calgary so she left from there and we met in Seattle.

The flight over to the Big Island felt very long. It could have been the tight airplane, or the weird person in the 3rd seat but it felt like forever! When we finally arrived we were excited to get our bags and for the adventure to begin. We had rented a car (the Big Island is big, and things are quite spread out so the rental was a must) and we drove off to find out hotel. I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel, the beds were new and comfortable, the bedding was more modern than some other inn style places I had stayed in. They had free parking and free Wifi, as well as breakfast. We had planned to go out for breakfast more than we did, but our activities always started quite early so we were glad they had a little something to eat first thing.

It was after 4 by the time we were settled and so we headed towards the shore and the main strip of shops to see what we could find. The Kona side of the Big Island where we were staying is all black volcanic rock with yellow grass growing in it. Right in town had more trees and grass, but there wasn't a beach as accessible as when we've been to Waikiki. We did find a little sanded area by a hotel and we read for a little while before going to eat.

We picked a mexican restaurant near our hotel, and the food was quite tasty. I think we would have been happy to have endless chips and salsa. It was beautiful to sit in an open balcony and listen to the ocean as we ate our dinner. When we finished we wandered around the little shops before heading back to the hotel for bed.