Day 3 – October 3, 2015 Honolulu to Kona
Up at dawn, we walked over to Denny’s. We knew the kids would be able to get whatever they liked before our flight to Kona. And, my hubby got a kick out of seeing me use my AARP card (spousal privileges on his account, I made sure to let the cashier know!!) Sure enough – we stuffed ourselves before the flight. We returned the rental car to Alamo, hopped the shuttle, then got to the airport for the inter-island flight to Kona. We signed up for HA mileage program before the trip – our interisland flight checked baggage was only $15 per bag as a perk. The HA inter-island planes are sparse 727s, to say the least. They all look brand new, but man, are they low-frills! Super-clean, but barely padded seats, trays that are about 6x10 inches. Not an issue for a 40-minute flight. Landing at Kona is very fun for the kids. Walk off the plane onto the tarmac. Baggage claim was right there, the Alamo bus was by quickly, piled into the minivan, and we were on our way to find TJs by the Beach for lunch. Mind you, I had read about this place on TripAdvisor for months. I was so excited to get there to try it. Then … I started getting a migraine. On our vacation. It totally sucked. Our nav AND my iphone (we brought our new Garmin, and I plugged details into my iphone as backup) kept telling us to turn left – away from the ocean to get to this place, when we finally decided to follow it, it took us to this outdoor venue, which at best looks like a small flea market from the parking lot.
Husband was SUPER skeptical. We found the place – it is a tiny little hut, there was a gentleman sitting behind the counter. “Are you TJ,” I asked. He said he was the “T” in TJs, that “J” was his wife. Cool. My migraine wasn’t full-blown, but I had the nausea aspect which was really putting a damper on me eating this food that I had been waiting SO LONG to try!! From TA advice, we ordered a cowboy burger, the ribs, and burgers for the kids. What I could barely try of the cowboy burger, it was divine. Seriously good. My husband said the ribs were probably the 2nd best he had had (can’t remember where the first ones were from). Kids loved their burgers too (theirs were just plain burgers). The food was amazing. I could barely eat – and I didn’t want to eat too much so I wouldn’t get sick, but I tried every single remedy I had to get rid of my migraine. We walked around a bit – I sat – kids looked at souvenirs with husband. They had a Shave ice place at one end, so kids got that. I sat massaging my temples, and slowly, the migraine dissipated. Glad it didn’t turn into a full-blown one, that could’ve put me under for a good 8-9 hours. There was a really cute little hand-painted glass stand that had some great one-of-a-kind souvenirs. The couple was painting as we were there, so we knew they were “really made in Hawaii”. We each picked out a little $5 2-in square painted glass for a souvenir. Super cute.
Tummies full, migraine dissipated to very manageable headache, we decided to head to Hula daddy Coffee Plantation for a tour. My kids LOVE coffee. Hubby and I don’t, but my kids do – go figure! Again, I thought we’d try top TripAdvisor recommendations. This one too did NOT disappoint! Wow, it was fantastic. We got there right as a tour was beginning. The guide, Talexi, was super young (I didn’t want to ask her age, I’d put her at early college at most!). She was VERY knowledgeable about coffee, the growing process, and the industry in general. The kids had a BLAST. The best part was the samples! Talexi was super-sweet to my kids, she offered them coffee candy samples too – sort of malted milk chocolates with coffee centers. After the other 6 people on our tour departed, they asked us if we wanted to go back into their “kitchen” to learn about teas too! Hubby loved the teas & we brought some of those home with us. We learned so much about the coffee selection/designation process, the kids were even asking at restaurants – mind you, they are 6 & 8 – whether the restaurant was serving 100% Kona blend, or Kona coffee. They learned there’s a HUGE difference !! On our honeymoon, we visited the Holualoa Coffee Plantation and loved it too – they are still open for tours. We even still order coffee from them 10 years later!!
From there, we began the 30-minute drive to the Fairmont Orchid. The drive went quickly, there were TONS of runners/bikers out getting ready for the Kona Ironman Triathlon taking place one week later. Kids thought it was funny that we were passing so many people on the side of the highway. The “Donkey Crossing” signs are also fun for the kids to keep an eye out for. The Fairmont is a good mile & a half off the highway. Driving up to it, it isn’t that impressive. We pulled up, were immediately greeted with nut leis, asked our name, and then told we’d be brought upstairs for private concierge check-in as we were staying on the Gold Floor. Our bags were put on the cart by the Valet, and our car checked in for the night. We headed up to the Gold floor – the hotel grounds were gorgeous as we passed by – getting glimpses of our home for the next few days as we walked between buildings.
The Gold Floor is a dedicated concierge-level floor, the room key allows entry to the 6th floor using an elevator keypad. The concierge, Keisha, was lovely. She asked if I was the one who mentioned on their FB page months ago that we would be spending our 10-year wedding anniversary there. Yes, yes I am that person. She gave us a tour of the Gold Lounge – a fridge stocked with waters, sodas, juices that we were welcome to anytime the lounge was open. They offered light breakfast, snacks throughout the day, coffee, tea, cookies in the afternoon, and a light hors d’oeuvres “supper”. We arrived around 4pm, so we decided to check out the room and head straight to the pool. We were room 2627. When we opened the door, we found a bottle of champagne on ice, 2 glasses, with a “Happy 10-year Anniversary” Note. Wonderful. Our view was overlooking the golf course, and wonderful ocean view from the lanai. The beds were just right, lots of pillows for our use, and the bathroom was just wonderful – bath, stand-up separate shower, double sinks, toilet closet. There were too many amenities to even remember – basic toiletries, slippers, robes, hair stuff.
We made our way down to the pool. I only had one and a half minor complaints about the Fairmont. Here’s my first … the elevators are not air conditioned. It was hot out. The elevators were stifling. Not a make-or-break stay point and would absolutely NOT dock a star for it, but just odd, in a first-class hotel. Anyway, the pool was large, well laid out, and was an average of 36-48-inches deep. Just deep enough that my 48” son needed to be watched every second he was in the pool (can’t swim on his own), and not deep enough that my almost 5’ daughter couldn’t go explore on her own (she’s on a competitive swim team at home, so she can swim very well). The water was the PERFECT temperature to lull us into staying in the water longer. And, the pool was open 24 hours. Even better. It was far enough from the rooms that it wouldn’t be a bother to anyone – even if the kids became rowdy. The view was spectacular at sunset. We brought our own innertubes, and it was no issue playing in and around the pool with all our pool toys. We could be near other people if we wanted, or keep that end of the pool to ourselves. It was lovely. We spent about 2 hours at the pool, then went to change to check out the hors d’oevres in the Gold Floor Lounge. This was more like a modest dinner than nibblings! It was lovely – kebabs, fruit, dip, breads, spreads, cheese, crackers, sushi … a total of 3 hot dishes, and about 2 cold ones. Hubby and I had plenty to fill up, kids wanted “real” food, so we headed down to the poolside restaurant. Kids had pizza and chicken tenders. The fries were delicious, so was the pizza. I promised my daughter a non-alcoholic Lava Flow, and she loved it. From there, it was clearly time to get the kids to bed as our 6-year old was beginning to LOSE it. (He gets super cranky when overtired).
While the others crawled into bed, I stayed up to organize our stuff for the day-trip we had planned for the following day.
Wow. First - I would read everyone's post-trip reports and think, why does it take everyone so long to type up their post-trip reports?? Well, we've been back in Chicagoland since October 11, and I am just now even holding a place for my Post-Trip report! Between working F-T, Swim team practices, cub scouts, PTA volunteering, and other activities for the kids, I have no idea where the last 2 months went!! 
We are big fans of the Big Island (only Island we have visited) but keep saying we will try other islands. Yay for a DL trip!
