For the 2nd time, some one asked where the ocean was! (Hilo: appointed, hotel)

[Joliefille]

Both times were in Waikoloa Village. On a street where you can see the ocean quite clearly.

The first time it was 4 adults on rented mopeds. When I gave them directions to Waikoloa resort, they said thats where they came from and were looking for a different beach. So, you left the beach resort and drove uphill for 5 miles looking for the beach? Smh.

2nd time an older couple said their gps sent them to the village when they were looking for the resort. But the entire way up, the water was in their rearview mirror!

Anyway, its given us a good laugh.

[hothulamaui]

I get asked once every few months while I am at work if I live here. no, I commute, I fly in for my shifts.

[GraceKrispy]

I swear, the tourists and new residents I met who were the most disappointed in their experience were those who ended up in "the ugliest place on the island, furthest from the water " (they all told me some version of that)-- aka Waikoloa Village.

Pretty funny that they drove straight up to get to the beach... they must have assumed the island had the diameter of a airport or something.

[Buckeye77]

I've often wondered - does the water go all the way around the island?

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by Hoot N Annie

I've often wondered - does the water go all the way around the island?

No, you should be wondering, 'Does the water go all the way UNDER the Island?"


I've had some sleepless ,,,uuurrrppp, scuze me, nights on that one

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Joliefille

Both times were in Waikoloa Village. On a street where you can see the ocean quite clearly.

The first time it was 4 adults on rented mopeds. When I gave them directions to Waikoloa resort, they said thats where they came from and were looking for a different beach.D

Tell them to keep going uphill, with directions to Saddle road. Next stop Richardson beach, Hilo!

[MikeyMike11]

Hey, let me tell you about stupid tourists! I used to work in Yellowstone National Park, and I have had people ask me why they don't cut down some trees in front of Lake Hotel for a better view, and why they can't pen up bison during dinner time (they roam free and take giant ****s while people are eating. Hilarious!) They think it is like Disneyland, and many people get injured and some die, every single year because of that ignorance. One poor kid got boiled alive last summer. It was horrific, and his sister witnessed everything. They never found his body. Ain't no joke out here, but you will see, all the time, some crazy Asian tourist try to put their kid on a bull elk for a photo shoot. This is an animal which carries 40 lb bone swords on its head. Totally clueless!

But let me tell you about the funniest tourist story I know. My buddy told me this one, so I didn't witness it. But he was a cashier at Jack Dennis in Jackson Hole, WY, when an Asian person (won't disclose which country) came in, and bought 4 cans of bear spray. He watched the man go outside to this small park across the street, look at the bottle VERY briefly, line his family up, and start spraying them thinking it must work like mosquito repellent or something. People started panicking, tourists were everywhere, getting maced. There was a damn biker gang across the street who were ready to beat this guy to death (there always is bikers at the bar there). The ambulance came, and trucked that poor guys family off to the hospital. Funny, but more astonishingly stupid than anything else. Stupidity knows no bounds!

[hotzcatz]

Well, never having heard of bear spray myself, I guess it's NOT like mosquito repellent? What exactly is bear spray and why would tourists everywhere be getting maced? Why was the biker gang involved? What exactly is bear spray and if it's that dangerous, why is it sold to people who can misuse it to that extent?

Actually, I'd guess this wasn't stupidity - other than by not reading the label, I'd suspect this was more ignorance than anything else. Unless the guy did it again, you can't cure stupid.

[Jane M]

@hotzcatz


Montana/Wyoming (Where Yellowstone is situated) have a semi large bear population. Particularly brown bears which can be very dangerous.

Since you can't carry weapons in Yellowstone, Bear spray, which is like a mace, is carried for protection just in case you encounter a bear. The mace is often much stronger than mace used to deter human attackers, so you can see why spraying it directly on a person would be a problem.

But, I agree with you that this sounds more like a misunderstanding rather than outright stupidity.

Messing with the animals at Yellowstone (like many people do) is flat out moronic. They will kill you if they feel threatened.

[hotzcatz]

Oh, mace for bears! Well, that explains part of it, although you'd think there'd be a bit more of a warning or at least an explanation of how to use it or a picture of it being sprayed at a bear on the label or some such. Not sure how one tourist spraying bear mace on his family escalated into chaos, but things happen.

I could see how tourists would be in Waikoloa looking for the ocean, since there are the Waikoloa resorts which are directly on the ocean and the town/village of Waikoloa which has no ocean. We do get a lot of lost tourists and they generally persist in looking for things by route numbers or highway numbers or quaint directions such as 'North' or 'South' and we have communication problems when trying to give directions. Since our main road circles the island, telling someone to turn "North on Highway 19" doesn't really help much. Depending on where they are on the circle highway, 'north' is sort of indistinct, whereas turn towards Hilo or turn towards Kona makes a much better distinction. But, since most tourists aren't used to that sort of directions, I suspect it doesn't help them become less confused.