2/10- Got the negative COVID test so I was off to Atlanta after work to catch my flight the next morning. I've done that many times and that went without a hitch.
2/11- Flight to LAX and Kona both went off as planned. In LAX, you are not allowed to eat inside the airport restaurants. Instead, you must take the food and drink to your gate, which creates MORE crowding and makes no sense. In Kona, there was a NEAR DISASTROUS SNAFU. They wanted a hard copy of my negative COVID test and I don't have a printer at home. I was told that I would have to go to quarantine. I protested that I did not have access to a printer and threw in that my results didn't come until I had already left for Atlanta. Add to that, they did not provide a printer for such cases. Fortunately, the boss overruled the employee and let me go free when I provided the e-mail from my phone which proved that I tested negative within 72 hours of my departure. When that was over, I had to get ANOTHER COVID test. This one was a rapid PCR test in which the results came back within 2 hours. I would be informed only if the test was positive. I never heard back. So now, why the hell would they send me to quarantine without a proper test before arrival? Just hold me until the rapid test comes back negative! Fortunately, it did not come to that and I was off to the rental car pickup. I had to provide proof of the negative test to rent a car AND check into my hotel. Those 2 instances were no problem.
2/12- As expected, because my body was still adjusting to the time change, I was up before the sun this morning. First stop was a sunrise hike down to a black sand beach. After that, it was on to Akaka Falls, where I caught some views of snow capped Mauna Kea along with some impressive water falls in a jungle environment. As for the weather, days always dawned crystal clear but clouds increased throughout the day. The farther south and east you go, the rainier it gets. On my last day, it was raining pretty hard just a few miles inland but it remained dry on the beach itself. Temps were about the same every day. Low 70s in the morning and low 80s in the afternoon with a water temp in the mid-upper 70s.
By the afternoon, I made it to the closest beach to Akaka Falls, which was at Hapuna State Park and what was probably the largest stretch of white sand on the island. Conditions were fairly calm but I did manage a decent body surfing session.
2/13- Drive down to Volcanoes National Park, where I saw no lava flows but a large crater and several steam vents. Much of the park roads passed through lava fields From there, it was on to New Black Sand Beach. Unfortunately, there were too many sharp rocks on the ocean floor so I never got too deep in the water. Still, I had never seen such exotic scenery so it was well worth the trip. Dinner was a pineapple and ham pizza at a nice overlook just after sunset.
2/14- Drove up to Mauna Kea Visitor's Center to 9200 feet altitude. Temperatures dropped to the 40s and there was certainly snow at the summit. I really wanted to go sledding just a few times but the road was closed. Rental cars are not allowed past the Visitor's Center so my best bet would have been to hitch a ride up. I was not worried about getting up but back down could have been a problem. Today, the road was closed. It was raining at 9000 feet so that meant snow at 13,000. After some deliberation, I decided not to try again. Being stuck up top and riding back down with a stranger was not real appealing. Afternoon was an epic surf session at Kua Bay with a water color just as blue as Cancun.
2/15- I had planned to stay in Kona at Magic Sands Beach today but because of a freak high tide, the sand near the water had disappeared, leaving a rocky shoreline. This is a fairly common occurrence. The water looked the same beautiful blue as Kua and there were people in the surf but the lifeguard advised me against it. I went with my gut and obeyed. If I fell off my board and landed head first on a rock, I could be seriously hurt. Instead, it was back to Hapuna. I thought about going someplace different but really did not want to risk another beach out of the way that was not suitable for swimming. This time, it was rough at Hapuna and I went down several times but caught plenty of good rides to the shore.
2/16- Pretty much a full day because my flight did not leave until 9:40 PM. My choices were Rainbow Falls in Hilo or Waipio Beach, another steep hike to a 3rd black sand beach. I chose the latter. Actually, it wasn't really black, more like dark grey that turned black when wet but still pretty cool. This one had a beautiful overlook and a STEEP hike down, which later caused blisters on my feet but it was well worth it. As a bonus, this beach was good for swimming and the waves were nearly perfect. Not strong enough to be dangerous but plenty big enough to be exciting. There was no food down there so I left for a food truck on the road then it was back to Kua Bay for another great surf session.
2/17- Sleepless night but no delay. Layover in Seattle and not surprisingly, I was totally whipped back in Atlanta. After 20 minutes on the road, it was clear that it would not be safe to drive the 2.5 hours back to Birmingham. I got off at the next exit and just crashed out. The next morning, I was back in Birmingham.
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