WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Time to skip town

beerrun

beerrun

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More pictures to follow this week
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Tank

Tank

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Were you staying? We have to get over to Kona some time this year.
 
HNL2LHC

HNL2LHC

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Hey Joel we doing Dukes again on your trip? I will be there tomorrow until Friday AM. LOL
 
t&y

t&y

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We just got back from 7 days at the Waikoloa Marriot. It was pretty awesome. There is a Hilton right there that supposedly has great snorkeling right off the resort beach (we never made it over there). Lava Lava is a cool little bar right on the beach with good food and drinks just off the Marriot Beach with public access. The Queen's Market Place / King's shops have some good spots and shops along with good restaurants. Only one stays open late and that is where all the hotel staff goes to let loose. Cool spot if you are near the area.

If you have a rental and can drive around, here is what I suggest. Side note, everything moves slower over there so your standard 45 minute drive in the states is probably closer to an hour / hour and a half. Most traffic in and around town is in the high 20's, low 30's, so don't be in a hurry to get anywhere.

Go to Don's Mai Tai Bar (at the Royal Kona Resort), sit right on the water, enjoy some drinks (Coconut shrimp was awesome) and get the Mud Pie. Be ready, it comes in one size and 4 of us could barely finish it off.

You want something a little different, go to the bowling alley for lunch. Decent food off the beaten path (Yes, they have a bar there too).

Two Step Beach (about 1 hour south of Kona) for snorkeling is for sure worth the drive (parking can suck) but you will need your own gear. We rented from Snorkel Bob's right next to Don's Mai Tai bar. You literally step down twice off the lava into the water, so unless you want to hang out by the parked cars, you will be on the lava. We rented chairs along with our snorkel gear. If you are going to go on a boat snorkeling tour, I believe they take you towards Captain Cooks area and it is supposed to be a little better than Two Step (we didn't go, so that is just bar talk info)

Night swim with the Manta Ray's is also very cool. They will swim within inches of your face. We left out of a harbor right by the airport and went north. Cool tour and it was about 2-3 hours total time near dusk.

We were kid less, so we did a 2-hour Helicopter tour. It was awesome and worth the money if want to see parts of the island that you cannot reach by car of foot (unless you are local of course).

Kona Brewery (downtown Kona) is a good vibe with little shops right next to it. It is an industrial park that they are converting to touristy attraction with shops and food. Puna Chocolate is worth the visit for sweets and chocolate related drinks. Cool little industrial area to hang out.

If you head over to the Hilo side, the farmers market is cool. It's small and has a variety of tourist shop type merchandise and handcrafted art, clothing, etc. They do have a fruit/vegetable section that also has sweets mixed in there.

Laupahoehoe Beach Park is a really cool drive. Not a ton of sandy beach access, but it is cool to see if you have some time.

We stopped in Honokaa (small town) and ate at what I think was a converted bank. It's a couple doors down from the visitors center right off the main road. It is a little pub with good pizza and sandwiches. No cool views, but if you find yourself on the northeast side of the island heading towards Waipio Valley overlook it's not a bad place to stop for food.

Waipio Valley overlook is just that... an overlook into a locals only valley. Parking can be a bit tricky, but the view is pretty awesome (better view from the helicopter).

Volcano state park was cool. We hiked across the volcano, it wasn't super difficult but it is steep down into caldera and backout the other side. Have something better than the standard "slippa's" for this. We ate at the Volcano House Hotel. The prices were no higher than anywhere else on the island and the food was very good. Had we planned a bit better we would have stayed the night instead of driving back over the gap to Kona.

If you have the time, drive to the Mauna Kea Onizuka Center/Mauna Kea visitors center. You can star gaze from the patio, or walk across the street and take about a 200 yard hike up for some pretty awesome sunset views. It is at high elevation and you will feel it. Bring a jacket at least.

We had a blast not having a schedule to follow and only our selves to take care of. Enjoy the time.
 
Ace in the Hole

Ace in the Hole

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HNL2LHC said:
Hey Joel we doing Dukes again on your trip? I will be there tomorrow until Friday AM. LOL
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We’re heading to Seattle..boat time and a few days at the cabin. I’ve gotta go to Hawaii before mid July to renew my drivers license though. I’ll be taking MaK in august to see family as well. If you’re in town one of those trips we will. If you make it by there tell Matt and the guys hello lol
 
B

Backlash

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We have a few weeks left to go before for our trip!! Have fun and safe travels! 🤘
 
t&y

t&y

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Beautiful spot. Family has a condo just south of your spot on the same course. Not far from downtown Kona, but far enough👍
 
R

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HaHa I was looking at the pics thinking you were going somewhere named Kona Alaska and I was amazed they had a resort😁

Have fun

In my defense, I did just checkin to my room after 14 hours of driving today
 
BingerFang

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Go down to green sand beach! It’s one 4 in the world.

Once you get to the parking lot there are locals that will take you in the bed of their 4x4 truck for like $10 bucks each. The hike is pretty long if you decide to hike down and I wouldn’t recommend it.
 
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