Blog 18 – Arriving in Kona/ Getting to Hilo

The flight was smooth and even arrived early. We had heard several disaster stories about retrieving your pets, so we were amazed when they were released to our care even before our luggage had arrived. As soon as we landed they were taken to a special area and examined by a local veterinarian and our paperwork was checked. She said our documents were in the best shape she’d ever seen, so that might have been part of it, but we were also perhaps lucky. One story we were told was of the vet on duty at the airport being called away for emergency surgery and the pet owners having to wait several hours for her return. That would be stressful.

We had a pre-set confirmed appointment with the vet, whom we spoke with on the phone several times before arriving. Only one vet serves the entire Kona arrival center, so you also need to confirm that she is available at the day and time you want to fly in before booking your flight. Another thing is that you have to have the flight and flight number ahead of time for your application.

Anyway all went well with the pets, so we collected our entire assortment of luggage and I went to get the rental car while

Valentine and Kiwi received beaucoup attention from the passer-bys.

We had a mini-van on this end, so everything fit with relative ease, unlike in California where we were barely able to stuff everything into a “full sized” vehicle.

The drive to Hilo took us about two hours, but we stopped enroute in Waimea for food and household cleaning supplies – which added another hour. The Foodland store there is my wife’s favorite grocery outlet.

We finally pulled into our house very tired and very relieved at about dusk. One of the owners was still there doing some last minute cleaning and our realtor dropped by to welcome us with a bottle of champagne, so we had a little mini-welcome party.

"The View"

They left, and we crashed. Two beds were part of the overall transaction, so all we had to do was make one up and hit the sack. It felt so good to finally be back in Hilo – and best yet, on a one-way ticket.