The final day of our trip, we woke up for a relaxing morning. I went paddle boarding with Kaden. It was beautiful to watch the sun crest over Hualalai from the water. After paddle boarding, we went back to the hotel and joined the rest of the group in getting breakfast from the grocery store. We all got this Hawaiian delicacy called malasada. It was like a jelly donut. A lot of people went to the beach, but I chose to pack and then walk around downtown Kona. Despite going to every store and the farmers market, I quickly ran out of things to explore. Eventually, I made my way to the King Kamehameha Hotel’s exhibit. I finished the first half before it was time to go to lunch. We ate lunch at the Big Kahuna. I reminds me a lot of Provision Company in Holden Beach, being a raised, open air restaurant that overlooks to ocean. After lunch, I continued exploring the King Kamehameha and finished the second half of the exhibit. I then joined Jake and Aiden for Foosball and Shuffleboard in a random hotel room we found. Then, it was finally time to go. We all loaded up and jumped in the van. My van picked up snacks from the grocery store which took longer than we expected, so Katie had to put sports mode on to get us to the rental car place in time. They shuttled us to the airport. We got through security, but our plane kept getting delayed. It was cool to watch the sunset over the lava fields surrounding the airport, though.
I was blown away by my experience in Hawaii. I expected the black sand beaches and beautiful cliffs. I did not understand the immensity of 14,000 ft of mountain. I did not imagine how striking the Waipi’o valley is. The green sand beach with its towering waves were something between frightening and beautiful. The most amazing thing is that one island—small enough for my trip to circumnavigate in two days of driving—can have such bountiful geologic diversity. I also have a new appreciation for tropical places, now that I know they can be more than just a bunch of beaches. Honestly, the white sand beaches were by far the least impressive part of the island. It was the inside that makes Hawaii incredible.