The Big Island is the largest Hawaiian Island, named Hawaii.
Ken & I were looking so forward to going
and were delighted when Chris and Tim wanted to go.
We flew in on the East coast and flew out the West,
looping the southern end of the Island.
We packed our four days with all kinds of fun touristy stuff!
Day one
We jumped right into a tour of three East side waterfalls
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| Rainbow Falls |
Look at tiny little Chris!
Just down the road was another falls. This was as close as we could get.
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| Pe'ep'e Falls |
Following the east coast further North we found this beauty.
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| Akaka Falls |
Hawaii beauty
Hawaii is famous for it's macadamia nuts, which happen to be delicious!
Here is one of their farms and shop.
Traveling South on the East side of the Island,
we stayed at Kilauea Military Camp Cottages which is in the
Hawaii Volcano National Park.
And yes, the volcano was actually in the park :)
A fitting ending to our first day in Hawaii
Day Two
Pretty much this was the feeling of day two, wet, dreary, and cool.
Being hardy Western New Yorkers, we didn't let that stop us.
We spent the day touring the park.
These are steam vents releasing the steam from the hot lava under the ground,
Here's one up close.
Entering the lava tunnel.
Don't worry, no hot lava in there!
We traveled through the park toward the coast.
There were lava fields everywhere.
I was so windy!
Reaching the coast, unfortunately we were miles from where the lava flows into the ocean.
I was pretty sick during Chris & Tim's whole visit, so I wasn't up to the hike.
The Rock Bridge
The volcano crater was best viewed at night
when the lava lake beneath the surface lights up the steam.
Day Three
We spent the third day visiting places near the Park.
Of course, a coffee plantation was first on the list. We had a nice tour & some coffee :)
The next stop was the Black Sand Beach.
A favorite for the Sea Turtles.
I can see why, what an amazing place!
A pretty little pond at the beach
Lunch at the southernmost bakery in the United States :)
Scenic Stop
Hands down, my favorite thing of the entire four days was our trip up to
the Mt Maunakea Visitor Station.
We were 13,300 ft above sea level.
It was pretty cool, but when the sun went down it was down right cold!
When darkness fell, every inch of the sky was filled with stars.
They had telescopes to view thorough and guides to talk us on a journey through the stars.
It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I wish I could have captured a picture.
Here is Chris's picture of one of the planets :)
Here is a picture I found on line!
It was something like this but I got to see it with my own eyes!
Arriving back at the park, the guys wanted to see the crater again at night. This night you could see the hot lava splashing around the mouth of the crater.
Day Four
We had to head to the west side of the Island to fly back to Oahu,
so we traveled around the southern end.
First stop, breakfast at the Southernmost restaurant in the USA
Tim had local food, a plate breakfast but paid for that all day :(
We found an area on the shore to explore
When we got near the airport we stopped in Hilo for a little shopping.
We met this amazing merchant who preserves the native ways in his products.
He made paper the ancient way
and painted pictures on the products to tell stories of their culture.
We were so impressed that Chris & I bought a keepsake
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| this is what Chris bought |
Last stop before heading to the airport was one more cup of that smooth Kona coffee.
This felt so natural for Chris & I!
waiting for our puddle jumper
It was such a lovely time!
The best part was sharing it with good friends!
