Sunset at Puako Beach

Hawaii April Travelog #31
Puakō - Fri, 15 Apr, 2022, 7pm

Our visit to the Puakō Petroglyphs this afternoon was part of a two-fer. The second part was visiting Puakō Beach. We timed it for sunset. We parked near one of the small public beach access slots along a narrow road lined with shabby looking multi-million dollar homes and walked out to the shore.



We explored up and down the coast, hopping across rocks and over tidepools.

"Where are you going?" you might ask. "How do you know when you're there?"

Trick question. We're there the whole time.



It was interesting looking at the countless bits of coral washed up out of the ocean. Most was plain white and smoothed out, but occasionally we found a piece that still showed color and lots of small cavities.

During our walk up and down the coast we found what I dubbed "The Stairway to Nowhere".



It looks like it was originally part of one of the house's privacy walls/retaining walls. Now it's separated from the nearest wall by 25'.

We picked the Stairway to Nowhere as a great place to sit and watch the sunset.



It had been cloudy for much of the day, but just before sunset the sun dropped down below the cloud layer.

We stayed until the sun finished sinking into its watery grave.

The Timeshare Presentation that Didn't Happen

Hawaii April Travelog #32
Waikoloa - Sat, 16 Apr, 2022, 3pm

This afternoon we were supposed to sit for our timeshare sales presentation. That sales effort was nominally the reason we're on this 5-night stay in Waikoloa on the Big Island. But it fizzled. We escaped without them even trying to sell us.

We planned our day around the 1:30 meeting that could've taken up to 2 hours. We took it easy in the morning, swimming in the pool next to our building instead of going out further afield. Of course, with gloomy weather today and rain in the forecast we were okay keeping close to home base. We even ate lunch in our condo instead of going out somewhere. That wasn't because of the weather, though. That was because, simple, the food here sucks. Add that to our (long) list of reasons why we wouldn't buy a timeshare. 😅

We went over to the main office right in time for our 1:30 appointment. One of the sales people welcomed us in to the sale suite and... Hawk had an allergic reaction right away. Literally, an allergic reaction. There was some kind of diffuser that was putting mint in the air, and she's allergic to mint. I could smell it clear as day— that's how strong it was— and Hawk started choking up. A coordinator led us to a safe place outside. The manager visited us to make sure we were okay.

The sales manager returned 10 minutes later and gave us the good news. They were overbooked with clients, she said. Nobody was actually available to pitch to us. She'd give us our door prizes— some Hilton Honors points and a $200 discount voucher for a night at a Hilton within the next 6 months— and cut us loose.

It was a great solution for us because we totally weren't going to buy anyway. It saved us the hassle of explaining all the reasons. Though a small part of me did want an opportunity to unload about how the timeshare company bait-and-switched us. I wonder if they had a spy microphone pointed at us out in the courtyard as Hawk and I discussed our talking points and decided, "Yeesh, we're not going to waste our time with that." 🤣

So now we're back at the room. We'll finish up bingeing some so-bad-it's-good TV then go out to a nearby beach late in the afternoon. We'll catch some more sunset action like we did last night!

Hapuna Beach & Ala Kahakai Trail

Hawaii April Travelog #33
Hapuna Beach - Sat, 16 Apr, 2022, 7pm

Leave it to us to go to a beach and say, "Let's go for a hike!" That's exactly what we did late this afternoon at Hapuna Beach. First we kicked off our sandals to walk through the sand and surf at Hapuna Beach, then we laced up our proverbial boots— actually we just put our sandals back on as we have hiking sandals— to hike the Ala Kahakai Trail.



Before we got to the trail, though, we crossed to the north end of Hapuna Beach where the Mauna Kea Resort overlooks the water. Seeing these attractive buildings so near the water, with a great soft-sand beach just steps away, made me frustrated all over again about our accommodation a mile inland. Next to a golf course nobody uses. Where instead of water traps there are lava traps. ...How's that for The Floor Is Lava!?

I might have been happier staying at this property. One of the buildings is a Westin hotel. Maybe I could have used some of my 600,000+ Marriott points. It's the building in the back, though; the one with the beige walls, not the blue windows. But still, walk to the beach. And it probably has a restaurant with more than a kids menu. That's probably open past 6pm. 😣



Once on the Ala Kahakai Trail I left the hotels and condos behind. Up here the sandy beach gives way to rough, lava-rock bluffs. There are private homes up here; they're out of the frame in the picture above. Some of them, it's obvious, are worth well into the 8 figures. And they're empty. Because people who can afford homes that spendy can afford 2 or more of them.



The trail crosses over some rough terrain. It's not so evident in the picture above but more so in the next one. I'm glad my sandals are hiking sandals. Some of the other folks walking the trail were wearing thongs. I could tell them were not happy.

The trail leads up to another beach, almost a mile north. I stopped just short of that beach because it was getting late. Hawk had already turned around, wanting to spend time in the surf back at Hapuna Beach before it got dark. I turned around, too, about 10 minutes after her.



This trail was interesting for its feeling of being remote and in the natural wilderness yet at the same time next to civilization. Next to empty $10 million house civilization, that is. In beauty I walk. For free.