Summary

The web content describes a personal travelogue of visiting Kona, Hawaii, detailing the author's experiences and favorite spots from trips in 1979 and 2005.

Abstract

The author recounts their family's travels to Kona, Hawaii, emphasizing the beauty and cultural significance of the area. They visited in 1979 and returned 26 years later, noting changes and similarities. Highlights include the Kona Arts Center, The Little Blue Church, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, and various beaches. The author fondly remembers daily breakfasts of Spam and eggs, the historical significance of King Kamehameha's retirement home, and the first Christian church in Hawaii. The narrative is punctuated by the author's personal photos and reflections on the timelessness of Kona's charm despite the evolution of its hotels and infrastructure.

Opinions

The author expresses a deep appreciation for the natural and historical landmarks of Kona, particularly the Moreton Bay Fig Tree and the tiki statues at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park.
There is a sense of nostalgia in the author's recollection of the food, especially the traditional Hawaiian breakfast of Spam and eggs.
The author seems impressed by the talent of the artist who made the flat wall behind the altar in The Little Blue Church look much bigger than it actually is.
The author notes the changes in the hotel they stayed in, which is no longer a Hilton but has been remodeled and renamed the Royal Kona Resort, indicating a mixed feeling of surprise and acceptance of change in popular tourist destinations.
The author values the historical significance of Moku'aikaua Church, the first Christian church in Hawaii, and the Kim Chong building, which has been a part of the Kailua Kona landscape since their visit in 1979.
The author's fondness for the banyan and Moreton Bay Fig trees suggests a personal connection to the natural environment of Kona, which they found largely unchanged over the years.

My Favorite A-Z Travel Destinations — Kona

We visited the Big Island in 1979 and returned 26 years later.

Ali’i Drive and a Moreton Bay Fig Tree in Kailua Kona . Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

The Hawaiian Islands were our favorite vacation destination in the 1970s and early 80s. We visited Oahu and Maui twice each during that time, and in 1979 we flew to Kauai for a week and then to the Big Island for two weeks. After a week in Hilo, we rented a car and drove over the north coast to Kona and then spent another week there.

A glass bottom boat in Kailua Bay. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Looking into our boat’s glass bottom. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Kona Arts Center in Holualoa above Kailua. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Kailua Kona sits at the foot of an old volcano called Hualalai. Further up the slopes of this volcano, you will find the village of Holualoa in the midst of a lot of coffee trees. The kids enjoyed our visit to the Kona Arts Center.

The Little Blue Church in Kahaluu. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

One day we drove down the coast south of Kailua Kona. We stopped for a while at Kahaluu and walked along the beach and then visited St Peter Catholic Church, also known as The Little Blue Church.

Inside the Little Blue Church. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

This tiny church looks a lot bigger than it really is, thanks to a very talented artist. That’s just a flat wall behind the altar!

A few miles south of Kahaluu we came across the spot where Captain Cook was killed by local natives in 1779.

We drove all the way to an ancient sanctuary that was called The City Of Refuge in 1979. It’s now called Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. These tiki statues are the star tourist attraction.

One of our favorite Kona beaches. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

When we were not walking to town and back or driving around to see nearby landmarks, we most likely were swimming at one of Kona’s many beaches. One of our favorite beaches was this long narrow stretch of sand with the ocean on one side and a lagoon on the other.

My kids loved the beaches. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Black crabs on black rocks. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

We passed by these rocks and crabs every day on our walk to town. And we stopped at a nearby restaurant for our breakfast of Spam and eggs and rice. I don’t know if that restaurant is still around, but there are three McDonald’s in the Kailua Kona area and most Hawaiian McDonald’s serve a breakfast platter with your choice of either Portuguese sausage or Spam.

A replica of King Kamehameha’s retirement home sits on Kailua Bay. It is on the grounds of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. King Kamehameha is famous for uniting all of the Hawaiian islands. He died here in 1819.

Moku’aikaua Church in Kailua Kona.. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

Moku’aikaua Church is the first Christian church in the Hawaiian islands. It was built by New England missionaries in 1837.

The Kim Chong building next door to the church. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

The Kim Chong building housed a mini-shopping mall in 1979. The mall and the church next door are on Ali’i Drive in downtown Kailua Kona.

One of several banyan trees on Ali’i Drive. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

We discovered banyan trees all over Hawaii during our many visits. Hilo’s Banyan Tree Drive is a shoreline boulevard lined with banyans. There’s a large banyan with its own park in the middle of Lahaina on Maui. Queen Kapiolani planted a couple of banyans that were gifts from India on the grounds of her Iolani Palace in Honolulu in the 1880s. And we walked by several trees like this one in Kailua Kona.

The Moreton Bay Fig Tree on Ali’i Drive. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

We passed my favorite tree in Kona every day during our stroll down Ali’i Drive. It’s a Moreton Bay Fig tree, a native of Australia, and a cousin to the banyan trees found all over Hawaii. The same tree stands prominently in the foreground in this story’s first photo.

The fig tree was still there in 2005. Photo by Jerry Dwyer.

And here is the same tree 26 years later in 2005. That year we went on a Hawaii cruise and stopped by Kailua Kona for a few hours, enough time for us to walk down memory lane (better known as Ali’i Drive) to our old hotel, the Kona Hilton.

Well, we found the hotel, but it was no longer a Hilton. In fact, it looked a little rundown. Many of the big hotels in a big tourist area such as Hawaii only last a generation or so. Then they are either demolished in favor of a more modern hotel. Or they are sold to be used as condominiums. It looks like our old hotel has been remodeled lately and is now known as the Royal Kona Resort. Hilton, in the meanwhile, took over a luxury resort north of Kailua once called the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa (built in 1988) but now known as Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Outside of the new hotels replacing the old, though, we found that Kailua Kona village hadn’t changed much. The old church was still there. And so was the Kim Chong building.

And so was my favorite tree.

Sam Millichap started the A-Z Travel Destination Challenge and has already published her Z story. Adrienne Beaumont is nearing the end of her alphabet. Check out these other Globetrotters writers to see what letter they are on: Michael Rhodes, Anne Bonfert , Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, Darren Weir, Nishan Fuard, Dan Carlson | Meandering Naturist, Robert G. Longpré - [he/him] - Canadian métis, and Ronald Smit.