Mark has lived in Hawaii for about four years, and while I haven’t mentioned him before on the blog many of you may know that he’s Abby father – Abby was one of my former travel buddies and I’ve know Mark for a number of years now as Abby is a long-time friend. Mark invited me out to Kona as soon as he moved out there, and it took me a few years to finally take him up on the offer and visit. This trip is both a mixture of visiting with Mark and catching up as much as it is about tourism and seeing Hawaii – and with that in mind some of these days may seem a bit unconventional to you if you’ve read early years of my blog… but the older I get the more I want to meet friends and people than see a million sight-seeing locations. Yes, I still want to do “some” tourist-y things, but I also want to make friends, find favorite restaurants, and generally take a slow-paced approach where I get to really know the places I’m going versus just knowing about them. I want to be a part of the culture, and enjoy what each location has to offer not just as a tourist but as a local, as a human being.
And to that end… Mark helped a lot with this over my whole trip to Kona, but especially today when we woke up not to head to a coffee plantation (I’ve been to more than my fair share), but instead to get coffee where the locals do – on the side of the road from the random local woman who sells it out of the back of her car. Why? Because it’s 1/4 the price if you get it there versus at the store or airport – and that’s what the locals do. You have to know the right people and the right places – and I walked away with four bags of 100% Kona coffee on discount! If you want in on the secret, write me and let me know, I’ll gladly share the details but I’m keeping them off of social media. We woke up late on Day 2 and after grabbing some coffee of our own headed to the secret location to meet the kona coffee lady, then headed into downtown Kona to walk the town and get a feel for the place.
Kona, known officially as Kailua-Kona, is situated on the “Big Island” of Hawaii on the western coast, and generally runs north-south along a number of small bays where the town built up over the years with visitors and local trade. Mark lives just south of Kona downtown proper, and we drove in to find parking before heading down into the city for a block and hitting the water. There is a road that separates the city of Kona from the water for most of the downtown stretch, as well as some old buildings, hotels, etc., that have been built over the years on the waterfront.
Looking South into downtown Kona
Mark and I walked South through town while he pointed out places to have food, places for a drink, and we found our way to a small bay where we sat and watched the waves. It was a great, calm afternoon – and while I did not shop or get any food or drink at the time it was great to see how Mark spends his time, hear about the downtown escapades, and all of the changes he’s seen in the city for the past few years as it has recovered from Covid. In many ways… Kona is a very small town – and as he discussed the different bartenders, waitresses, and staff he knew at each restaurant or those who had changed restaurants… I was reminded a lot of my own home town in the mountains of Colorado – where everybody knows everybody and nothing’s really ‘private’. This can be good, and bad, but that day it felt good as we just sat and watched the waves. I’ll try to post a video of that if I can in the next few days.
After that reprieve… it was on to Kenichi’s for dinner – a famous sushi restaurant with branches in Aspen, CO, Austin, TX, and here in Kona. The big draw for this place is not only the outstanding sushi, though… you have to go for Happy Hour – where each of the sushi rolls is 50% off its original price from 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM. And even in a small town like Kona… those kinds of deals draw a crowd. We were about fifteen deep in line for bar seating – the only seating that gets Happy Hour, but we made it and got good seats for what would be my second absolutely delicious dinner in Kona. We splurged even at half-price, and walked out full, well sated, and smiling.
Happy hour at Kenichi’s – Kona, HI
Dinner again left me tired, and it was back to Mark’s for a few beers and unwinding before bedtime. The next day wasn’t going to be a huge one for tourism – you see Mark and I are both big Green Bay Packers fans and it’s gameday tomorrow – but I’m going to get to meet some of Mark’s friends and see the local scene for Packer fans. It was time to save some energy – tomorrow was going to be a long day of day-drinking if I had anything to say about it!
