day 6: Maui and Kona

Our last morning in Maui!! It hazy and humid but still gorgeous! We packed and snacked then decided to head out. We stopped at a lookout point and watched seals playing in the water on the coast. We decided to stop in the Maui Ocean Center to check out the aquarium in Wailuku Maui. It was worth seeing! We walked through a lot of interesting and educational exhibits showcasing the local fish, mammals, corals and other sea life. There was a shark exhibit with several hammerheads, which always amazed me as they look so strange! There was a huge aquarium that you walk through, which was really cool, especially as there was a diver in the tank! There were a bunch of different sharks, fish, manta rays and others. It was well done.

We stopped for a bite to eat on the way to the airport and got the kahlua pork (barbequed pork). The flight was only 30 minutes and we got out with our bags quickly. The airports here have large open-air areas, and this airport landed us on the runway and we walked in on the tarmac.

The hotel is less than 30 minutes from the airport. It's interesting here as there are grassy yellow fields with these clusters of volcanic rock littering the fields in jagged piles. We then drove along the water a bit once we got to Kailua-Kona. It's a very touristy area with lots of shopping, bars and restaurants.

We checked in to the hotel, which is the sister hotel of the one we stayed at in Maui. It's the Royal Kona here, and not as nice a hotel as the Royal Lahaina. Right on the water, but much older and not recently renovated. Our room overlooks the water with a partial water view, which is quite nice! There are few sand beaches in this area, and most of it is the black volcanic rock.

I decided to walk around a bit and Lorrayne went to the pool. I got my bearings a bit, and walked down to a farmer's market where I got a magnet and wandered around. There was a woman with jellies that sounded great-- all grown on her organic farm, she had one that really sounded amazing (and tasted amazing too!) called Tahitian lime ginger. Oh, was it good! I didn't feel like carrying it back so will go back on Wednesday to check it out.

I am craving sushi, so we got a recommendation and the place is a five minute walk from our hotel. It's really nice to be this close to town! The sushi was really good! yum. We walked a bit and explored the galleries before heading back.

Another early night, but we should get an early start as we're driving across the island to Volcanoes National Park! I can't wait to see it!

s