Kuilua-Kona DAY 8

DAY EIGHT – Oct 6: Today we are in Kona. It might be surprising but we didn’t get off. It is a tendered port and we have both been here before. We saw a lot of tours but everything was either a repeat or of no interest to us. We slept in and had a pool day. There is a lot of overcast so I am not sure how that will turn out for those taking any sort of flight to see the volcanic activity. An announcement was made yesterday that some heritage park and refuge will be close due to the Government shutdown. I am sure that is very upsetting to a lot of people. However, it does say online that Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will remain accessible to the public during the federal government shutdown, but some services may be limited. We had a small lunch at Lido Market because we have Morimoto in Pinnacle Grill tonight. We have enjoyed this venue in the past and we are looking forward to it. We are thinking a lot about our friends Paul and Maureen who had to cancel coming on this trip just days before departure. They would have enjoyed it so much, but happy to know Maureen is making a good recovery.

There is much to enjoy on the Big Island, Kona is more of a village than a city. There are many areas to walk around and enjoy the area. You can see breathtaking sunset, as we did at sail away. There are many lovely beaches and you may see whales, dolphins, turtles, and more. You can explore Hulihee Palace, built in 1838 as a vacation home for Royality  You can visit the Palace Museum and many other places in the port.

Morimoto was fabulous. Appetizer choices were the dumplings and the fresh Ahi Tuna pizza. I like the pizza more each time I have it. The crust is thin, crisp, and goes so well with the tuna and other toppings. For our main course, Stuart had the Tenderloin and I had the shrimp 3 ways. Everything was quite delicious. For dessert we both had the White Chocolate Lime Ganache. We are so stuffed. We went to the piano bar to listen to James and then off to bed with 1 last Cribbage game of the day.