Exploring the Oceanside town of Kona, Hawaii

The Royal Kona sits at the end of all the tourist spots on Ali'i Drive here in Kona. It has a pretty epic spot, over the lava rock coast, looking out at the powerful Pacific Ocean.

After flying all day yesterday from the East coast to Hawaii, I hit the pillow pretty hard last night. But, I wasn't too surprised when I was wide awake at 4am this morning, still feeling like it was 9am east coast time. So I decided to go for a little photo walk and see if there was anything cool going on in the early morning here in Kona town on the Big Island. Well, there wasn't. I experimented with a few nighttime shots, but eventually just went back to the hotel and waited for the delightful buffet breakfast to come out.

After breakfast was finished, the sun had risen, and the town was starting to wake up. So, I set out again, camera in hand, to see what the town had to offer. The main center of Kona town is right along the coast, and filled with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, gift shops, art galleries, jewelry shops, and ABC stores. However, if you know where to look, you will see a lot of historical buildings as well. A royal palace, a two hundred year old church, one of the most important heiaus, or Hawaiian temples, can all be found here.

Follow along with me through this cute and historic town, of Kona, Hawaii.

Big waves crashing against the lava rock shoreline in Kona.

A Tiki statue with its back turned to the ocean.

Breakfast with a view at Don the Beachcomber Tiki Grill in the Royal Kona Hotel.

Pretty cool views out over the ocean from the Royal Kona.

Looking back along Ali'i Drive at some waves coming in.

Ornamental ginger and bromeliad plants in front of a small waterfall at the Royal Kona.

One of the local pubs here in Kona town. Lavernes is named after a locally famous tiger shark that hangs out near the fishing harbor.

Jack's Diving Locker is a scuba shop in Kona. They do beginner scuba classes in this 2 story pool, where onlookers can watch.

I was up pretty early, thanks to still being on east coast time, so I went for a walk and took this shot of the waters around Kamakahonu Heiau. This is a very important ancient Hawaiian temple that was used by Hawaii's first king, King Kamehameha.

This is a historical painting of Kamakahonu Heiau from the early 1820's, when western missionaries and merchants were greeted here by the new King, Kamehameha.

Kona has a beach volleyball court right in the middle of all the restaurants and pubs.

Tons of coffee shops selling famous Kona Coffee, bars, restaurants, boutiques, gift shops, galleries, and ABC stores line the main drag of Kona. This is Ali'i Drive.

Some African tulip blooms are looking very tropical.

The Hulihe'e Palace is one of only three palaces in all of the United States.

Colorful paint and cool plantation architecture still shine through here in the old shops of Kona.

The coffee shops were bustling this morning.

The Saturday market was just getting set up. This is a great place to get fresh food right from the farms. There are no other papayas or lilikoi quite like the ones I get from here.

A traditional outrigger canoe, carved from a local koa tree, sits in the museum at the bottom floor of the King Kam Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

Cool landscaping along the way here in Kona.

This is a great town to just set out in a certain direction and walk. The views are quite amazing along the way. This is an ancient sacred area, right along the coast, where no trespassing allowed.

As always, keep traveling,

• Dai Mar