We stopped at paradise Cafe for breakfast, and I’m in Paradise on earth. Portuguese sausage and locomoco! Picked up the cute Hawaiian guy, and we were joined by a native! He liked the jelly best

Our first resort,  the Royal Kona, is a hotel room,  not a condo,  but our room has a fabulous view.  This was the deal we couldn’t pass up,  75% off the points value,  so 9 days worth on Kauai equaled about 40 days in Kona!   We asked for a bay and ocean view  We are hoping to move to for that view,   but in the meantime this 1 does have a spectacular view with the waves crashing 5 stories below our lanais!  Plural!  We have them on both the Lagoon and ocean sides!   We are too tired to go out to eat, so snacking tonight and going to bed early!   The sunset welcomed us.   Feels wonderful to be here again!

We have run the gauntlet!   You REALLY have to want to come to Hawaii! And we won’t be island hopping!   But the deal was too good to miss!   We tested Monday for COVID,  NEGATIVE, YEA!  then made our account on the state of Hawaii Safe Travels website.  When the test results came in, we entered that info.  Within the 24 hours before your flight,  you have a health questionnaire to fill out…. we had 2, 1 for our first entry in Honolulu and 2nd for our final destination.  That gives you a QR code you have to have ready for each island…. don’t mix them up,  they won’t work for another island!  (Voice of experience)  of course,  there is another set of QR codes for your boarding passes too, but that part we were used to!  As you are entering,  you present the state QR code, with the same government ID you used to fill it out (oops … again… had to redo because I didn’t BRING that ID) …. and on the 2nd island present your test results (the entry online only goes to the first Island).  Then,  we had to go thru a special line on Kona, because when you come from the mainland,  you get another antigen test!  At least that 1 is free!   And if we don’t get a phone call tonight,  we can stay!   SHISH! Quite the gauntlet! It isn’t difficult really, just confusing. And you have to keep your records straight! But I’m so delighted to be here I’d even do it again!   no crowds anywhere! The planes were half full,  and  we found paying a little extra for our seats was the best idea!   You enter last,  as they load back to front,  and leave first!  And there are more empty seats in those sections!   At least that was a win!   It is a long time to wear a mask!  But the reward for all this has to be worth it!  we have 81 days to enjoy Kona! So worth it!  

My great granddaughter Zuriah was 4 last week and for her birthday, she got a trip to see snow! We gave her a little sled for her birthday. She loved the snow! And even made a snowman!

Today was our CCP VIRUS test and we both passed with a negative result! Our document’s uploaded to the Hawaii travel website and we are ready to do the last step on Wednesday, answering the health questionnaire. We are both 95% packed, and have a box ready to ship on Tuesday with our extras…. granola, pill bottles, misc bits and pieces we can’t carry that we will need for the timeshares! We learned the hard way, on a past trip, TSA can’t figure out what granola is, so they had to search Emmett’s bag for it! Hair cuts Wednesday, and transportation scheduled for early Thursday morning! We are almost there! Stay tuned for Kona!

As many times as I’ve driven this scenic highway in 45 years, today was the most lovely for 2 reasons! Not many cars! And the weather was spectacular! Driving north in the morning and home in the afternoon is the best direction because the sun is at your back! The views on both sides of the road are beautiful! Don’t forget a stop to see the few redwood stands along the way.

We arrived in Carmel about noon and had time for a quick visit to the Mission before finding a deli for sandwiches for our picnic lunch by the beach.

Since the 1990s Elephant seals have been breeding and birthing on a 7 mile stretch of beaches along this central coast, just north of San Simeon. Today about 25000 frequent these beaches, 10% of the world population. January is birthing season. We saw many newborns with their moms! Each Harem master, alpha male, has between 20 and 50 females that he guards until they are ready to wean pups and head back to sea, about 4 months. During this time all but the pups are fasting. The seals feeding grounds are far out to sea! This is a perfect time to see the seals, and if you never have seen this sight, come spend a couple days, It’s amazing!

Our adventures today started late, because we decided to work on our next trip plans. We are headed to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii and found a super colossal amazing offer for our Diamond resort. We had 13,800 points to use and had planned on a 9 day trip to Kauai, however the island county administration implemented very strict CCP Virus restrictions, and our resort couldn’t handle them, Soooo we had to cancel that part of our trip. However, while doing that we found a fantastic deal on the Big Island, where we were already booked from March 9 to April 19. After some calls and much thought, …. well, actually about 3 seconds of thought, we booked this deal! We got 40 nights at the Royal Kona resort on Kailua Bay for the same timeshare points we would have used for 9 on Kauai! Plus free parking and $25 per DAY hotel credit to use at their restaurants! We can upgrade to the most amazing corner view room for just $30/ day and have a King Suite with views of the ocean and the bay. I think I’m walking on air here! We booked our CCP test for Monday afternoon and we are out of here Thursday! I will be celebrating my 72nd birthday in Hawaii, again! Our extended trip now is almost 12 weeks, just 3 days short of 3 months! Needless to say, expect pictures of sunsets, palm trees, papayas, and beaches! It is another of my favorite places in earth! And after missing 3 international trips over the last year, this is a welcome vacation get away!

Back to what we did today! Our drive down the coast for lunch in Morro Bay, a visit to the Rock, and some photography of the sea otters, my favorite sea creatures! Enjoy!

There is an upcoming Pacific storm the end of the week, part of the reason we came up early instead of waiting for my birthday week. The benefit for us now is the beautiful waves breaking on the shore by us! We had lunch in Cayucos and you can see the height of the waves as they pass under the pier there! A couple of classic cars were in the parking lot at Leffingwell Landing.

We long ago discovered a drive out of Cambria south along the Santa Rosa Creek Rd, and decided on this day with lots of tourists we would find a get away there, and we did! Few other cars! Only 1 passed us! The views are stunning, and we even saw a couple little foxes along the way. Enjoy the ride with us