Yesterday afternoon we drove to Kona and checked into Marriott’s King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel for our last two nights on the Big Island. After we got ourselves settled, we walked along the waterfront where a couple outrigger canoe teams were practicing on Kamakahonu Bay. That’s our hotel in the background of the first photo; you can see the rest of Old Town Kailua-Kona in the background of the other two pictures.

We learned that paddling these wa‘a (that’s what the Hawaiians call these outrigger canoes) is a big sport here. They have races every week, the different clubs hosting the regattas around the island. There’s a big race here in Kona once a year with 1,500 wa‘a.

After walking the waterfront, we stopped for dinner at the Kona Canoe Club for dinner, just as the sun was setting over our hotel.

It will be fun to end our time on the Big Island where most of the tourists stay.