Big Island 2026

Day 13 Friday

Last day in paradise. I checked out of my room and stored my luggage until it was closer to my flight time which isn’t until 7:40pm. I am debating on whether or not to get in the ocean. I don’t know if I want to be soggy before the flight. Like Kauai with Krystal lol.

I wanted to swim in the lagoon but it was closed due to the high surf. I was wondering how that turtle got into the lagoon when I was here last time. Now I know. The lagoon is pretty much protected but in high surf conditions the waves go over the protective barrier of rocks and even over the wall onto the sand. I could sit and watch the waves forever.

I love this beef jerky! Beef Crisps made in Hilo. I got it from Costco on Oahu and here. It’s like potato chip beef. Very crispy. I will definitely be ordering this. I also have eaten probably 100 of these apple bananas lol. I will miss them 💔

I went to Gecko Girlz shave ice. That was the best shave ice I’ve had this whole trip. I got the Lava Flow with mochi. The mochi was hand made and so delicious 😋 it was also the messiest. It started melting and dripping through the metal table I was sitting at and onto my feet. This attracted honey bees that wanted to eat it off of me lol. I moved to a different table and then spilled it down my legs lol.

Headed to the ocean to wash it off. I was going to use the outside shower but there was a line. Went back and chilled by the pool until I had to leave.

I did my math and put 2.75 gallons of fuel into the tank lol. Dropped off my rental. It wasn’t too far from the front of the airport.

This was the first red eye trip I’d ever done. Two layovers. One in Honolulu – 2 hours and the second in Seattle – 3 hours. The long layovers weren’t that bad. I didn’t have to worry about missing my connecting flights, so no need to run to the next gate. The last flight, Seattle to Eugene, was the longest. Pacific time 12:30am to 6:30am. I think I slept four hours which is good but it was not comfortable. I don’t think I would do a red eye again unless I was in first class lol.

Home at last😁

Big Island 2026

Day 12 Thursday

I walked down Ali’i Drive from my hotel. I was headed to check out the Marriott and the lagoon in front. It has a sandy beach and some rocks to snorkel around. I saw a bunch of colorful fish.

I noticed a couple of changes since my 2017 trip. Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant is gone. Scandinavian Shave ice was temporarily closed until further notice. Bummer, that was my favorite place for shave ice. So I waited at Ululani’s for them to open. I needed my shave ice fix lol.

On the way back I stopped at the farmers market and got a butter avocado. It’s so huge! I cut it open but it was still crunchy. Oh well, all I really wanted was to see the seed. It was regular size lol.

I had to wear my hiking/water shoes today because both pairs of sandals gave me blisters. All this walking today has given me new blisters in different places lol. I didn’t think I was going to make it back to the hotel. So I stopped and bought some slippers and said goodbye to the hikers lol. Ahhhh, so much better.

Went back to by the hotel pool and it started to sprinkle. Half the people hogging the good lounge chairs got up and left. Thank you rain gods lol 😁

Last night here. I have to get packed up tonight and decide what to take and what to leave behind lol. That means a very difficult game of Tetris😂

Big Island 2026

Day 11 Wednesday

Checked out of the Outrigger and went to take my rental car back to Enterprise. I decided to rent another car through Turo for the remaining two days. Basically, you’re renting somebodys car from the island. I dropped off the Jeep at Enterprise. With Turo you can choose any car, not just a Jeep and it’s a tiny bit cheaper. I looked at the app to see where I was supposed to pick it up. The car was parked out in long-term parking, which was a ways away from Enterprise. I had to walk a half mile to get there. The sidewalks were covered with little round tree nuts so I opted to walk in the middle of the road rather than slip and knock myself out. I was dragging two suitcases and wearing a backpack so I think I got my workout in lol.

I rented a 2022 Subaru Forester. You would think that would be fine for the year but it was very rough to start and it ended up dying at a stoplight. I’m not talking about the auto shutoff. It completely turned off. I had to put it into park to start it back up all while people were honking for me to go lol. Then, I looked down at the gas gauge and it was missing one bar. Which meant I didn’t start out with a full tank. Annoyed, I sent a message to Turo about the fuel level and the car shutting off and they said they never heard of it dying before and to put what gas I think I used when I filled it back up. Great, now I have to do math😂

I checked in to the Royal Kona Resort. This is where I stayed in 2017. My first solo trip to Hawaii.

They were very nice and stored my luggage until my room was ready. While I was waiting I drove to Waikiloa and checked out the Queen’s Marketplace and surroundings. It was a fancy resort area that we drove by on the way to Mauna Kea. I ate my go to Starbucks lunch. A pink drink, grilled cheese sandwich and a lemon loaf. By the way I have eaten that five times so far lol. I’m not a big fan of trying new restaurants or waiting for my food. Its a huge waste of time plus you never know what you’ll get. I can order on the app and just pick it up lol.

My room was ready. I am on the fifth floor. I have a corner room with a wrap around lanai. There are big windows on both side walls. I have an ocean view and a mountain/parking lot view😁

The hotel is ocean front, not beach front but it does have it’s own little lagoon. I took a dip in it and swam around. The last time I was here there was a turtle in it.