04-24-2015, 12:39 PM
When people I know come to the big island, the "joke" is that Kona is only "2 hours away from Hawaii". You can spread cinder, dig holes and transplant 10-year old palm trees, artificially water, and have goat eradication programs to protect your carefully manicured gardens, but it's just a gimmick. Tourists in Kona are staying at an artificial Disney-esque facade of Hawaii. They might as well stay on a cruise ship. Almost everything this island really has to offer involves getting on a helicopter, car, or bus and making the "2 hour trek to Hawaii".
It wasn't always this way. You have to look at the history of tourism on the East side to see how and why we got to this point.
It wasn't always this way. You have to look at the history of tourism on the East side to see how and why we got to this point.