This is the ultimate tourist area, and for us, only good for shopping and fancy eating out.

We dined at the Kona Village Restaurant, which is right by the ocean. I probably ate the best dessert of my life there, some kind of coffee-cheesecake. Otherwise, the food was fantastic.

The ambience is romantic, and you can watch the sunset during dinner.

No photos, unfortunately. It's hard to do after dark, underwater, while holding a spotlight in one hand. But I digress:

Lights from the resort have drawn huge (6-10 ft) manta rays to this location for many years. The lights attract plankton and the mantas have learned where to get an easy lunch. They'll follow the beam of your light right up to within touching distance (please don't!). And watching the graceful ballet of these gentle giants is like being in another world. It's hard to realize that they are members of the shark family. "Manta" comes from the Spanish word for blanket (or cloak) and their swimming style certainly brings that image to mind.

The tour boats drop both scuba and snorkel passengers in the water at the feeding site. Then you're on your own for about an hour. Just remember to keep an eye on your tour boat, which will be one of many. It's easy to get so caught up in watching the mantas that you lose track. And there are advantages in returning to shore on the same boat which took you out.

As a consolation prize for the lack of photos, see , , or . And there are many more websites, if you do a little web surfing.

We set out to have dinner at the recommended Jamesons by the Sea Restaurant. We planned to leave early to make a stop on the way, at Hilo Hatties.

After our purchases at Hilo Hatties (great place to buy Hawaiian shirts!), we continued our drive to the restaurant. When we had made reservations several hours previously, we had asked to have a table with an ocean view so we could see the sunset. Since we were told that the weather would prevent us from getting the ocean seats, we made our reservation for 6 PM thinking we would watch the sunset first and then go inside to dinner. Those were the plans but it didn’t happen that way.

We knew the restaurant was on Ali’i Drive but necglected to find exact location. It was very slow going since traffic was very heavy. At one point we stopped at a parking lot to park the car and find out exactly where the restaurant was located. We also thought we would stop in and see the Gump Shrimp Co Restaurant. Well Kona is a busy town and there was a large crowd of people milling around enjoying themselves. Instead of finding a parking spot, we continued driving. At one point we pulled off the road, as lots of other people were doing, to take pictures of the high surf. This was at the Disappearing Sand Beach. Then we continued on our way to the restaurant. All along the road, cars were to the side watching the sunset and surf. At least 30 minutes later, we found the restaurant. I was happy that we would be able to park in the parking lot and be able to see the sunset. At first, we were confused that the parking lot was empty. Then we saw the sign on the restaurant door: Closed because of high surf! No problem. We had a parking spot and since it was about 5:45, we had a perfect spot to watch the sunset. We took pictures of the sunset and also of the surf pounding the restaurant outdoor area. I was glad I was on dry ground watching the waves and not inside worried about the waves crashing over me!

After watching the sunset and the surf, we had to find a different restaurant. We ended up at Wendy’s! The food was ok but it certainly wasn’t what I had in mind for dinner!

By the way, the next day, we found out that part of the Ali’i Highway was closed sometime that evening (and remained closed the next day). Among the problems was that the road was pounded by the high surf going onto the highway and leaving dirt and vegetation. In addition a person drowned and the Disappearing Beach disappeared! That’s why the restaurant closed. The surf was just too dangerous. Try to imagine if you were staying at the one hotel in our picture where the waves are right to the doors!

Kailua-Kona is the visitor center for the Kona Coast. It offers a significant number of activities and attractions such as cultural sights and beaches. Most of the hotels and resorts are also found in this area.

In the Kailua-Kona town, you will find the following:

• Hulihe'e Palace on Ali’i Drive – once the summer home of Hawaiian royalty and now a museum of rare Hawaiian collection.
• Ahuena Ehiau - next to the King Kamehameha Hotel.
• White Sands Beach – also known as Disappearing Sands or Magic Sands Beach. This is a wonderful bodysurfing beach. The currents are generally strong. This beach is one of the local favorite beaches. It is crowded with both tourists and locals on the weekend.
• Kahalu’u Beach – one of THE best snorkeling beach on the island. The shallow water makes it an excellent choice for beginner swimmer and snorkeler. This is also the home of several green sea turtles. They are friendly, you can swim along side them. If you see them laying on shore, don’t be alarmed, they are not dead or laying eggs; they are just there sun bathing.

In South Kona, the attractions are:

• Kealakekua Bay – has good snorkeling and is the scene of Captain Cook’s death.
• St. Benedict’s – the painted church by a Belgian priest in the late 1800’s
• Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park – also known as the Place of Refuge. Here you will find the great wall, temple platforms, royal fishponds, and the site of a coastal village. Snorkeling is excellent in Honaunau Bay. This is absolutely a must see!
• Roadside Attraction – The unattended fresh tropical fruit stands between Kailua Kona and Honaunau where purchases are made on an honor system. There are lots of tropical fruit trees along the road, they are tempting but do not pick the fallen ones like we did; they are infested with creepy crawlies, such as worms as we belatedly discovered.