OK, I said we were going to Kona, and we did fly into there. But we are actually staying (at least this weekend) in a house in Honoka'a, on a hillside overlooking the ocean. The Kona side was hot and muggy. I wasn't impressed. It seemed like Florida, except much more scenic. But as we drove through Waimea, the landscape turned from lava desert to lush green hillsides, and it drizzled and cooled. So far, despite the clouds and rain, I like the northeast side of the island much better. We'll probably go down the coast to Hilo today, and perhaps up Mauna Kea. We won't be able to do that after we dive, so we'll probably get the high-altitude stuff out of the way.

Oh, and to the commenter in the other post who recommended Poncho and Lefties?

Why? I read a review in a guidebook that consisted pretty much of the phrase "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." What's the appeal?

Random bit of news, relevant to something you've posted about before... it looks like NASA has ok'd night launches:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/29/space.shuttle.ap/

Rand, just a word about "that guide book" When my sister and I did the big island together. We found the restuarant reviews were the exact opposites of our tastes. My favorite story about using this guide is we spent a night trying to find a chinese resturant that had rave reviews. Couldn't find it. Next day we stopped at a dive shop so my sister could buy a mask. My sister asked where you could get a good chinese dinner. The clerk told us of several places in town that should do. Upon exiting the store we noticed the place we had been looking for was right next to the dive shop. So we had someone that really seemed to like chinese food not reccomending the the guide book 5 star choice. So go to Sam Choy's for breakfast, go to The Manago Hotel for the pork chops, enjoy. BTW last trip to Hawaii I stayed at the Parc hotel in Waikiki. When I told the desk clerk that I had stayed at the Manago, he asked, "Did you have the pork chops?" He told me one of their chefs used to work at the Manago.

My wife and I went to the big island last year and loved it. Honoka'a was beautiful. Waimea Valley had some pretty waterfalls but this late in the season they may be dry.

I'd recommend visiting the black sand beachs on the southeast side, especially Punalu'u. We camped there and woke up to find a couple of sea turtles who had snoozed the night ten yards away from our tent.

We spent several days in Volcano National Park. Hiking into Haleakala Crater was very cool, although steep in a few spots going down. As you probably know, use good shoes when around lava flows. Near sunset you may be able to drive down and watch (from a distance) where flowing lava enters the sea. Ask the locals how it is right now. We were able to hike in that area last year but I understand they've closed much of it off for safety.

South Point in the morning was beautiful with a hazy view of Mauna Loa and with crashing waves whose sound managed to thunder despite the high winds. It was just us and the local fishermen who used trash bags to catch the wind and let their fishing lines enter the water hundreds of feet away from the cliffs.

I fell in love with french toast made with Hawaiian sweet bread.

Have a great trip!

I am sure the atmosphere of Poncho and Lefty's didn't meet the needs of the guide book writer. Another good place is Jameson's by the Sea just below Kona.

OK, so what is the "atmosphere" at the restaurant (or bar, or whatever it is), and why do you think that I would enjoy it?

Not knowing your tastes I can't say if you would like the place but by my experience, a pan by these guys often really is a real gem to use their terms.
BTW The City Of Refuge has a boat ramp were you can do a real nice shore dive. There is a parking lot run by the painted church you can park all day for a donation. The locals watch the lot and the donation box. Ok Captain cook might be better but you can just get your gear from the car to the water without a boat.
The videographer from the Fairwinds told me there are flame angels in shallow water at Captain Cook. One juvie was supposed to hang out by the base of the monument, at snorkel depth rather than the usual 100+'. I was also told that bannerfish were best seen from Old Kona Airport. So little time so many fish.

Not a bar, it is just an older place. If they are not busy they usually give you a table on the balcony overlooking Alii drive. I have had better mexican food, but it is pretty good and usually not busy.

and perhaps up Mauna Kea.

It used to be that all rental car contracts specified “no saddle road”, which is the only way to get to Mauna Kea. I of course ignored it. The drive and view from the top are spectacular, and the telescopes are cool too. Take a jacket. Being a sea level type you might get altitude sickness.
Dive the Kona side, much clearer

Rand,

I don't know if it's related, but there is a Mexican place called Pancho & Lefty's in Maui that I ate at last year: it was good, tasty Mexican food with some tropical ingredients added to some of the dishes, and excellent margaritas. An unusual number of locals there for anyplace I made it to in Maui. If the one on the Big Island is related, it's a good spot.

It's related, but they closed the one in Maui.

The only outfit in Hawaii that will rent you a 4-wheel-drive vehicle and allow you to drive it up Mauna Kea is Harper's Car & Truck Rental.

If you're on the big island, don't even think about going up Mauna Kea beyond the visitor center (abotu 9000 feet elevation) without 4WD. It is absolutely necessary to have a low range transfer case to come back down without losing bakes. We have several people killed every year, and some of them even have 4wd vehicles...
As to Poncho and Lefty's in Kailua Kona, they have decent food, get about 30-50% of their business from locals, and even if not "authentic" mexican (and just where do you expect to find that in Hawaii???) they have some great selections (try the fish or fish and shrimp fajitas) and Margaritas are great too....

By the way, Haleakala is on Maui, not the big island, so you can't walk into the Haleakala crater from here.

Most rental companies still prohibit travel on Saddle road because way too many tourists think they can drive on lava (which will kill even a 4wd in short order with most drivers) and saddle is way outside of cellular service, so if you have even a minor problem, the towing bill is in the hundreds of dollars... Saddle is now being upgraded, and in the next 5 or 10 years (things move slowly here) they'll finish and it will be a nice, reasonable road to travel on. For the current time, if you're not used to driving on rough, often twisty roads where locals are going like a bat out of hell down the center of the road, and only move over at the last second, you will definitely have problems with Saddle Road. It's definitely not for the timid.
There are several head on collisions up there every year, all with fatalities... This is the biggest reason the rental companies try to prohibit travel there. Having grown up in the sticks, on gravel roads and twisty and turny places, I never had any problem with saddlwe road when I visited the big island, but I'm not stupid enough to try to travel "off road" with a rental car, no matter how smooth the lava looked from the highway...
Aloha from Volcano...

We did go up the mountain, with a rental car, with no problems. Low gear on the way down preserved the brakes. No problem with the Saddle Road, either. But I've done a lot of driving in the mountains and deserts out west, so it was just more of the same to me.