Hawai'i Kona Arrival

We arrived late Friday night in Kona to heat, humidity and no luggage for Gene. American Airlines only has one flight a day from LA to Kona and we were told not to expect anything until the next evening. So we wasted our morning at Costco and Wall-Mart buying Gene a shirt, swim trunks, shorts, and other necessities.

Next day we were told that American no longer scans luggage so Gene's bag could be anywhere and they had no idea where that would be. In addition, American employees in Kona don't come in until 5 PM (found out later, it's really 7 PM) and they leave at 10 PM. They don't check on the luggage until the next day at 7 PM. Unbelievable!

Sunday we took a drive north into the Pololu Valley. Gene took the hike to the black sand beach at Kelokea Beach Park. I walked half way down and grabbed this photo. It was absolutely beautiful. We drove home through rain forest, grazing lands and desert.
We stopped by the airport on the way back to our unit to talk to the workers at American. They told us that usually the luggage comes in on Hawaiian the next day. Gene then went through both Hawaiian and American luggage bins and couldn't find his. He was bummed. But as soon as we got home he receive a call telling him that they found his luggage. It had been with Hawaiian Airlines since the morning and they notified us by calling our home. They delivered it an hour later and Gene was a happy camper. Such incompetence should not be accepted. American will be hearing from Gene.

Later.