Big lsland Here We Come!

[Norse]

You will love it! We went last fall - stayed on the Kona side - snorkled almost every day, learned how to paddle board, spent a few days at Volcano Nat'l Park, enjoyed some truly fantastic seafood.... I would love to go back some day but, like Indiana, it's kind of hard to get to from Minnesota.

[indysteel]

You will love it! We went last fall - stayed on the Kona side - snorkled almost every day, learned how to paddle board, spent a few days at Volcano Nat'l Park, enjoyed some truly fantastic seafood.... I would love to go back some day but, like Indiana, it's kind of hard to get to from Minnesota.

Awesome, Norse. Where were some of your favorite snorkeling spots?

[Norse]

Awesome, Norse. Where were some of your favorite snorkeling spots?

We were staying at the Mauna Lani Bay hotel, north of the Kona airport, and there was great snorkeling right off their beach once you got past the initial lava reefs. There was also good snorkeling off of the public beach that was just south of there. I heard good things about the Captain Cook area too. I have snorkled in a lot of places (Sea of Cortez near San Carlos, Catalina Island, Caribbean, Alaska - yes, Alaska, Galapagos, the reefs off of FL keys, the Dry Tortugas) and the Big Island ranked right up there both in terms of underwater geography and diversity and quantity of marine life. Enjoy!

[indysteel]

That's so cool, Norse. I've only snorkeled during trips to Key West and Oahu--and both of those trips were some time ago. DH had never been, and it sounds like we are both in for a treat.

Is it April yet?

[indysteel]

When I first posted this thread, April, 2013 felt like a long way off. And now it's finally upon us!!!!

The good news is that we both are very much in need of some R&R thanks to a lot of work stress. The bad news is that we've both been so busy at work that it's been hard to find time to plan this trip as much as I would normally like. I hope that it goes well, despite that. The weather looks mostly good (I say mostly because we are spending part of the trip on the wet side of the island, but we knew going in that it would be wet).

I'm nervous about the flight. The FAA just announced that its furloughs will begin this week and that travelers can expect flight delays and cancellations. Oh, goody. Wish us luck!