"E Komo Mai" - A Return Visit to The Big Island

My sister and I are spending a few days in Hawaii with my parents.  It always good to have a couple of spare hands to assist older travelers maneuver the airport terminals, air travel, rental cars and hotels. Although the spring weather in the San Francisco Bay Area has been nice, excluding some welcome rain earlier this week, the chance to feel the ocean breezes and see familiar island sites always offer a welcome respite.

For several years, my parents have stayed at the Hapuna Prince Beach Hotel, on the Kona side of the Big Island. They have made acquaintances among the hotel staff and enjoy talking with them again to catch up on island life. We also are able to visit several Big Island sites they have enjoyed seeing in their many past trips to Hawaii.

Flying from San Jose International Airport to the Kona Airport is a five hour non-stop flight on Alaska Airlines. Once we arrive, we have about a 30 minute drive to the hotel resort.

The hotel periodically offers special packages for those staying at least three nights. Under the "Spring into Summer" package, the fourth night for each of our three rooms is free, breakfast is included and we receive $300 of resort credit per room. Last year, we primarily used the credit for meals and I zeroed out my balance by making a last minute purchase from the hotel's clothing shop. There is a beautiful golf course on the resort grounds, but I've long since given up playing after shoulder injuries several years ago. Actually, my shoulders are now pretty much healed and seeing the green fairways is always enticing. At most, I'll probably stick to my early morning walk along the golf course, dodging the early morning sprinklers.