The Big Island - Kona

Determined to try everything on the breakfast menu, we were at the Lazy J bright and early. I tried the French toast; Mom had the Belgian Waffle with Grand Marnier Strawberries. James stopped by to tell us that we would have priority boarding onto the tender. Once again, we were escorted to the head of a long line (with a few disgruntled passengers asking why we got ‘special treatment’ as we passed them by). James simply looked at me and said, “They’ll get over it”.

We took the short tender ride into the town of Kona. The hawkers were in full force with the ever present shuttles to Walmart, Kmart and the local malls. We decided to try one of the mall shuttles—and were surprised when one of the stops was Target! We found a cute store selling unusual Hawaiian jewelry – bought an adorable Hawaiian Christmas ornament shaped like a paw.

Back in the town of Kona, we walked through the town, stopping in the Moku’aikaua Church, the first Christian church on the islands.

Across the street was the Hulihue’e Palace, the home of Hawaii’s second governor.

We tendered back to the boat and decided to get dinner served to our room. George arrived at 6 PM, set out a white tablecloth and our dinner of pork tenderloin, lamb shank, spring rolls, cheesecake and chocolate decadence. It gave us the chance to get ready for the Captain’s VIP Party at 7PM. The “suite” guests were treated to a photo with the Captain and his officers and a party with free flowing champagne. We met a lovely Australian couple in line and chatted with them while we swilled champagne.

Another night in the hot tub before crashing into bed.