Ali'i Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

When we were planning our vacation, all of our plans were to go to Kona and rent an oceanview condo . We arrived at the Kona International Airport (KOA). Little to our surprise the locals don't call this place Kona, but rather Kailua-Kona. I can only surmise that it is an amalgamation of two places to make it sound larger. Even when I went on Accuweather there was no Kona, but they listed Kailua (without the Kona).

As much as I prefer driving/riding on unfamiliar roads and taking pictures, near the end of our trip we had to allow for a souvenir day. This is a day to walk about as tourists to survey the trinket stores with the idea of bringing back some little momentos to give away when we get home. There is one main road which threads its way through town known as Ali'i . (pronounced: Alee-eee)

There are lots of places where you can sit and enjoy a meal while people watching



Or you could enjoy an icy snack and sit on the lava rock wall



There is definitely a lack of visitors due to the economic situation and you can have the stores to yourselves



you could even have the streets to yourselves as you will notice by the empty roads



With so few customers all the storekeepers were very friendly and helpful. As January is in-between seasons as far as merchandise is concerned you weren't always able to obtain the correct size in your desired pattern, but if you were lucky to find your size then you could take advantage of the discounted/clearance pricing. Large discounts or two for one



I also noticed this Beemer rider with the requisite Hawaiian riding gear, with matching passenger



This reminded me of Key West Florida, even though I have never been there, this is the type of building that I imagine is there



I looked up and noticed this palm tree which makes me feel that I am in a tropical place



most of the side streets are narrow and one way



If you were young with no money and had no where else to hang out then you would find yourself sitting in this lane next to a hot dog stand, which is just behind the Hostel



there are lots of moped (49cc) scooters in Kona as they are cheap to operate, require no insurance or even a driver's license



halfway down the strip (Alii) there is a Farmer's Market which is open Wednesday to Sundays. They have all sorts of stuff, especially jewellry and other art crafts, trinkets, aloha shirts, mu'u mu'u's . Most people say MOO MOO but that is wrong, it should be pronounced MOOO-OOO M000-OOO, that's why I put in the apostrophe to emphasize the second OO.


(John is on the right, who sells orchid Lei's, which he makes himself)

This photo means nothing, I just included it for Jack "r" as his attention span is short and he keeps nodding off.



Earlier in the week I was ambling around the area with my tripod and too a few night shots



there weren't many folks mucking about and the streets were quiet. A few stores were still open hoping for the odd sale



I noticed this welcoming sign: "Welcome Bring Money Beautiful Price"



Another view of Ali'i street looking south



it was a pleasure to be able to walk about in the evening in a warm place with not so much as a sweater. I must be in paradise