While on Hickham AFB, we stop by a cafe to meet another friend of mine, Sean. As we park, a large naval submarine passes right in front of us and into Pearl Harbor – way cool! We meet Sean and his new wife, Heather for breakfast...this time it's the local American joint with the standard eggs/bacon/toast breakfast. Sean and I were classmates at the Air Force Logistics Readiness Officer school back in 2003-04...so, it was great to catch up on old times. We then drive over to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to glimpse at the large Navy ships – as an Air Force guy, this was astounding experience! Well, Oahu is known as the "gathering place" and we certainly got a chance to experience the culture and meet up with good friends! It was now time to head over to our next stop: the Big Island.
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HAWAI'I ~ the Big Island
Locals refer to it as the "Big Island" to distinguish it from the rest of the state. In fact, the Big Island is so large that it comprises almost 2/3 of Hawai'i's land mass. Thus, from a vacation standpoint, you have to approach the island as two separate areas: Kailua & the Kona Coast on the leeward side (western half) and Hilo, the Hamakua Coast and the Volcanoes on the windward side (eastern half).
We have accommodations at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay, a resort community a few miles south of Kailua-Kona. Dinner is at a small joint called Drysdale's and as we enjoy our Kona beers as the sun sets. That evening, a luau and show is staged on the resort's back lawn and we just happen to have a balcony and a free pass to the festivities.
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