I ve been there many times. Only a 5 hour flight from here, and surprisingly it s usually nonstop. I

I was surprised to learn recently that cruise lines go to Hawaii. Of course, the majority of time is spent on board during the voyage to and fro, but I always thought, even before the advent of cruise-mania, it would be neat to go by ship.
I ve been there many times. Only a 5 hour flight from here, and surprisingly it s usually nonstop. I love the Big Island of Hawaii. It is so diverse with nearly every climate possible somewhere on the island. Much of it has a small town America feel to it when you get out of the localized tourist spots. Many places remind me of my rural Pennsylvania hometown, and just a few minutes away some incredible volcanic landscape that looks like another planet, or a secluded beach with incredible waterfalls and crashing waves. At lower elevations on the wet side it s thick lush jungle, then on the dry side it s more Mediterranean, then up the mountains a few miles and it s a western cattle quality accommodation bilbao or horse ranch type climate with vast grassland, with arctic wasteland at the highest elevations. The ocean of course is just amazing with sea life that is stunningly varied, beautiful and easily accessible to anyone. In my twenties I went with a girlfriend there where we stayed for a month living on the beaches in a tent. We only had enough money to rent a car, feed ourselves and occasionally stay in a hotel until the credit quality accommodation bilbao card ran dry ($500 limit). It was a fantastic experience. It has gotten more developed since then, and many of the most beautiful and secluded beaches are now incorporated into big hotel properties, but back then, it was wild, uncontrolled, and open to anyone who wanted to explore. We would walk into the jungle along the shore and find abandoned villages full of ruins and artifacts just strewn about where people long ago had obviously lived off the sea, but these were entirely unmarked or protected. Just fascinating stuff to a couple of PA kids in the early 80 s.
My first impression of the Big Island was that it was just like West Virginia with better plants. Then I realized that the reason every rural house was surrounded by ever burned quality accommodation bilbao out appliance, wrecked car, busted tv or broken sofa is that it costs money to ship that crap back to the mainland. Hang in there, Hilo Hillbillies - and save a koa log for me.
Just imagine all the sights we get to see. Lem in a speedo at the pool. Shouting Thomas using his best moves to pick up the Filipina waitress. Chip Ahoy sitting at the bar drinking grasshoppers and making pop up cards out of cocktail napkins and sizzle sticks. It would be epic!!!!!