We started today with the resort’s Cultural Tour; as I expected, it was a walk around the restored royal fishpond at the edge of the beach. Pua was our guide again and gave us lots of information about the fishpond, the royals, and the lives of the people who lived here; we walked up to a recovered shrine and looked at pictographs that the locals had carved into the stone centuries ago.
It was a clear day – you could see some of the telescopes atop Mauna Kea with the naked eye (which did a better job of focusing than my camera did!).
After the tour, we drove into Kona to see Hulihe’e Palace, which was built for Kamehameha I and used by the Hawaiian royal family until the early 20th Century (well after Hawaii had been annexed by the United States).
We also saw where the Ironman swim starts (and the run finishes), just across the street from the Fish Hopper restaurant where we had a great lunch.
After lunch, we walked over to the Courtyard Hotel to see where King Kamehameha lived for the last few years of his life; there is a two-thirds model of ‘Ahu’ena Heiau, which was his personal chapel (more-or-less). The site is still considered sacred, so you can’t actually visit the replica.
Parking in Kona is hellishly expensive (we paid $15/hour plus random service charges), and residents are not happy about it. The docent at the palace said that locals have almost stopped patronizing the shops and restaurants because of the cost of parking; there’s still one free lot in downtown, but the parking companies have their eyes on it, too.
After touring Kona, we drove back south to Kealakekua to look at some of the stores there, especially the thrift shops. I resisted the urge to buy yet another aloha shirt!
We were supposed to see Kona Kozy‘s magic show tonight, but he had to cancel because we would have been the only audience and he really needs a few more people to have a good show. He invited us to come back and see the show as his guests next time we’re in the area…and we intend to!