Kailua-Kona

Dearest Rachel –

Since the Big Island is somewhere between the respective sizes of the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut, we won’t be doing anywhere near the amount of sailing as we have been for the past six days; all we have to do is to just go halfway around the island to its leeward side. Kailua-Kona is even at virtually the same latitude as Hilo (19°39′0″N as opposed to 19°42′20″N for its windward counterpart, placing its center only three miles further south than Hilo’s).

However, it makes a difference as to which side of the island a town is on; while Hilo is one of the wettest communities in America, receiving an average of a little more than a hundred twenty inches of rain in the average year, Kailua-Kona only averages a little more than eighteen inches in that same time frame. It’s also the warmest place to be in winter throughout all America, with “winter” temperatures between 68° and 82° Fahrenheit. As a result, its tourism industry is much more robust than that of Hilo. Oddly enough, however, while it’s clearly considered a nice place to visit, not so many people want to live here; its population is just under twenty thousand (which makes it comparable to the Macomb you remember – although it, too, has dwindled in size since your days there, evidently), considerably less than half that of Hilo.

This hasn’t always been the case, though. The community was established by King Kamehameha I to be his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated rule of the archipelago in 1795. It was later designated as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Hawai’i. The capital was later moved to Lāhainā, before finally being transferred to Honolulu.

Royal fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were the hub of unified Hawaiian culture. The town later functioned as a retreat for the Hawaiian royal family. Up until the late 1900s, Kailua-Kona was primarily a small fishing village.  In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the region has undergone a real estate and construction boom fueled by tourism and investment. However, the lack of freshwater infrastructure (particularly in comparison to Hilo) makes it more challenging to make a home here, in comparison to its windward counterpart.

The community’s hyphenated name is due to the fact that there is also a town by the name of Kailua on the island of Oahu; the Kona designation distinguishes it from its sister town, and indicates its location in the Kona region of Hawai’i. And while you have no affection for the stuff, the Kona District is renowned for its Kona coffee – the only coffee grown in the United States, in fact – from the slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes, which benefits from ideal growing conditions including rich volcanic soil, elevation, and a unique microclimate. Kona coffee is highly regarded for its flavor – described as smooth and full-bodied, with hints of nuttiness and brightness – and is one of the most sought-after and expensive coffees in the world… which probably means I should look for some to bring home to Mom (and maybe Jenn, now that I think about it).

Come to think about it, it might be a story in and of itself; the fact that I’ve already made a practice of preparing some of this bean soup for myself as often as not on this trip. It might well dismay you to hear it – although, if you weren’t the one tasting it, I suppose it wouldn’t necessarily bother you out of hand.

But let’s get back to the port itself. To be sure, my shore excursion – a ride on a glass-bottomed boat – isn’t a particularly long one, so I’ll have some time to wander about the area, possibly both before and after, depending on when I can get a tender. Yes, this is one of those places that’s too small to accommodate a ship the size of the Serenade of the Seas, which isn’t all that surprising. Honestly, I’m going to be curious to see how many of our ports will be large enough, and how many will require us to send out the lifeboats to ferry us back and forth between the ship and the port.

Anyway, things to look for include:

• Alii Drive: This scenic coastal road runs along the waterfront and is lined with shops, restaurants, and historic sites. I’ll probably spend some time (and money) wandering around here.
• Kailua Pier: The iconic pier is a popular spot for fishing, boating, and watching the sunset. It also serves as the starting point for the famous Ironman World Championship triathlon. Depending on where the tenders drop us off, I might find myself here almost upon setting foot on Kailua-Kona. I’m not going to try to run the length of it, though.
  Interestingly enough, according to our tour guide in Hilo, the local chambers of commerce are trying to scale back the Ironman triathlon (hosting the men only one year, and the women the next, and so forth). It seems that the competitors pre-empt other forms of tourism for an extended period of time while not spending much money in the area themselves, so it’s not profitable to host; rather like the Olympics these days, in fact.
• Hulihee Palace: This historic royal palace was once the vacation home of Hawaiian royalty and now serves as a museum showcasing Hawaiian artifacts and royal memorabilia.
• Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park: Located just south of Kailua-Kona – which might make it prohibitive to walk to, given the time I have in town – this sacred site preserves ancient Hawaiian temples, royal grounds, and a place of refuge for lawbreakers seeking forgiveness.

Anyway, that seems like a good start, as far as what I ought to look into while we’re here. Keep an eye on me, honey, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.