Tag Archives: The Big Island

The Big Island: Trip 3 – Day 1

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This past weekend, Josh and I headed to the Big Island one last time for our last trip before Josh deploys and I move. We flew in on Friday night and checked into our hotel to get some sleep before starting our early and very busy Saturday.

Our first stop of the weekend was kayaking across Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook Monument to snorkel. The snorkeling and kayak tour came highly recommended to us and they definitely did not disappoint! On our 1 1/2 mile kayak to the monument, we were surrounded by a pod of spinner dolphins. It was so amazing to be so close to them and on their level! The video below shows just how close they were too us. Amazing!

Kayaking with Dolphins Video

After kayaking over to the monument, we landed our kayaks and got our snorkel gear ready. We also took some time to admire the monument. Captain Cook first visited the islands in 1778. It was thought that he and his crew were gods and were welcomed with open arms during a time of peace. After exploiting the kindness of the Hawaiian people, he left and returned during a time of war where he was not exactly welcomed back with open arms. He was killed in the bay by the Hawaiians and the monument memorializes his death.

Kealakekua Bay.
Captain Cook Monument.
Kealakekua Bay from the other side.
Amazing cliffs.

Next, it was time to snorkel!! It was absolutely stunning. By far the best snorkeling I have ever seen. I could have spent hours just swimming around the area. It was great, as we were the only group (us and one other couple with our guide) and two other random people. We beat the crowd of tour boats!

Kealakekua Bay Snorkeling Video

Trumpetfish. Amazing!
Me swimming with a Needlefish. They were everywhere.
Tons of baby Needlefish on the surface…so hard to see.
Tons of yellow tangs.
Yellow Tang up close and personal.
Fourspot Butterfly.
Rainbow Butterflys.
Parrotfish.
More of the Parrotfish.
Grouper.
Amazing coral life.
Orange Spined Tang.
Orangeband Surgeonfish.
Two big Needle fish.
Parrotfish and yellow tangs.
Pennant fish.
Threadfin Butterfly .
Black Surgeonfish.
Arc-eye Hawkfish and Spotted Sharpnose Puffer.
Black Surgeonfish.
Trumpetfish and Fourspot Butterfly fish.
Blackspot Sergeant, Lowfin Chub and Achilles Tang.
Lowfin Chub, Achilles Tang.
Lowfin Chub.
Trumpetfish and Tellow Tang.
Parrotfish.
The massive boat of tourists coming our way.

After we finished snorkeling, we headed back across the bay. We encountered more dolphins along the way showing off their spinning moves. After we had lunch, we went back to the hotel to shower, change and start making our way towards Mauna Kea. The Mauna Kea summit sits at 13,796 feet and houses University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy and Mauna Kea Observatories. The 13 telescopes are operated by astronomers from 11 different countries. It was an incredible sight to see.

We stopped at the Visitor Information Station (9,200 ft above sea level) to acclimate to the elevation before heading to the summit. After about an hour, we headed up to the summit to catch the sunset and check out the observatories. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy so we didn’t get to see the sunset, but the clouds were still beautiful.

Heading up to the summit.
Telescopes!
This guy was flying this remote controlled plane around. Pretty cool.
The sun setting. Which we cannot see (of course).
Cool clouds.
Pretty sky even though we couldn’t see the sunset.
Our attempt at taking pictures of stars. It did not work!

After that, we headed back down to do some star gazing. The Visitor Information Station sets up multiple telescopes for people to view things far, far away! It was awesome. The stars were absolutely breathtaking. I have never experienced anything like it! Once we finished viewing everything through the telescopes, we wandered through the gift shop and then headed over to a picnic table area, where it was pitch black, to better view the stars. As we were sitting there mesmerized, Josh said “So I have a question for you”. My response was, naturally, something along the lines of “Yeah, what’s up?”. To which he replied “Will you marry me?” as he got down off the bench onto one knee (in the dark). I was COMPLETELY shocked and surprised and uttered things such as “EXCUSE ME!?” and “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”. After I slightly recovered, I remembered to say “OF COURSE YES!!!!!!”. Since it was so dark, I couldn’t see the ring he had…he jokingly said “So I know it’s dark, but I promise it’s pretty”. It was an absolutely amazing and unexpected way to end the day! As I sit here writing this, I’m still in shock! We attempted to take a selfie picture of the two of us and, of course, cut half our faces off (typical). So that is our engagement picture…sitting in the dark with half our faces cut off and squinty eyes! Once we got back to the car, we took a much better one (below). Then I decided to call my mom and wake her up at 2:00 am her time to tell her the amazing news! We then made it back to civilization to find a place to eat dinner. Since it was so late, one of the only places open was “Humpy’s”. Yep, we celebrated our engagement at a restaurant called “Humpy’s”. Hilarious! All in all, I would say it was one successful day on The Big Island!

Engaged!!!

Engaged!!!

The Big Island: Trip 2 – Day 2

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On Sunday, Josh and I woke up at 3:15 a.m. to head to our sunrise lava boat tour. Our tour was leaving at 5:00 a.m. from Isaac Hale Beach Park and we had to be there a half hour early to check in. We booked our tour through Lava Ocean Aventures and it was well worth it! Our boat was open on all sides so we were prepared to get wet and be cold! The coast we traveled on has some of the roughest waters in Hawaii. Part of the reason we chose the sunrise tour is that it would be the calmest time of day.

The amusing thing about this tour was that we all boarded the boat in the middle of a parking lot. They towed the boat to us and we all climbed up via a ladder. Once we were all on board, they towed us to the boat ramp and launched us…then we were off!

It took about 35 minutes to get to the lava ocean entry. It was pitch black and you couldn’t see anything…kind of scary! You could see the glow of the lava 10 minutes before we got there…amazing! Once we got there, you could instantly feel it getting warmer. The water around where the lava was entering the ocean was 180 degrees. Even 25 feet out, the water was still about 75 degrees. They stuck a bucket in the ocean to get some water so we could all feel how warm it was. The Captain got us within a couple yards of the flowing lava…it was SO close that we could hear the lava hissing when it hit the ocean. Pictures and videos below!

Lava Boat Tour Video 1
Lava Boat Tour Video 2
Lava Boat Tour Video 3
Lava Boat Tour Video 4

Our boat!
And we arrive to the lava!
The hikers viewing the ocean entry.
Amazing sunrise.
My favorite from the boat tour!
The new black sand beach.

 

After hanging out at the lava for a little over an hour we headed back. I was SO seasick at this point, so I was thankful to start moving again. We got back to the park and headed back to Hilo, showered and slept for two hours until we had to check out. I was dying from being so seasick, so I was quite happy to sleep for a few hours. We checked out of our hotel and had lunch at Café Pesto before going to the airport to catch our flight out. I was quite happy to have some good food and a diet coke. After our amazing weekend, I think Josh and I can mark off the volcano area of the big island. It was so worth the two trips and a once in a lifetime experience!

My seasickness cure.
Josh’s turkey sandwich.
My Asian Chicken Salad. So good!

The Big Island: Trip 2 – Day 1

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Josh and I headed back to the Big Island this weekend with two purposes: to see lava (since we got rained out a few weeks ago) and to see Belinda and Ted (two people who have known me most of my life and were visiting Hawaii for vacation). I am so very happy to say it was a HUGE success!

We landed late Friday evening and headed to Ken’s House of Pancakes for dinner since it was the only place open past 9 p.m. in Hilo. I had a fantastic curry chicken salad sandwich and Josh had a conglomeration of things (pictured below). After that, we checked in to our hotel which was on Hilo Bay and crashed in preparation for our big weekend ahead.

My curry chicken salad sandwich…so good!
Josh’s dinner of everything.

 

We got up on Saturday, grabbed a small to-go breakfast and coffee and headed to Honoli’i Beach Park. It is a black sand beach full of surfers. It is just north of downtown Hilo and is on a beautiful, scenic road.

Honoli’i Beach Park
Stairs to Honoli’i Beach Park
The black sand at Honoli’i Beach Park.
The surfers at Honoli’i Beach Park.
A huge bridge on the way back to the highway.
Another cool bridge along the same road.
View from the car on our way back to the highway.

 

After our slight detour, we headed north to the small town of Honokaa to meet Belinda and Ted for lunch. Honokaa was about halfway between where we were staying and where they were staying. We had a wonderful lunch at an Italian Pizzeria called Café Il Mondo. We then headed to Tex Drive In to introduce them to malasadas. They were pretty amazing!

Ted’s Spinach Ravioli
Belinda and I shared this amazing pizza!
Josh’s Chicken Sandwich
The famous drive in.
Ted: Raspberry, Belinda: Apple, Josh: Plain, Nicole: Bavarian Creme.
Ted, Belinda and I!

 

We then drove down to where our hike was starting in Kalapana (fingers crossed the entire time that the weather would stay nice). We arrived around 3:00 p.m. and took off around 3:30 p.m. with our guide. Our group had nine people in it, which was a great size to be hiking with. We started off heading towards where a surface flow might be. From what our guide said, it didn’t sound like we would get to see one but he wanted to try anyways to see if there was any action. The terrain was definitely rough on the ankles and feet. It was amazing to hike on the different types of lava from over the years. You could tell a huge difference between ten year old lava, three year old lava and month old lava. The newer stuff was much looser and easier to slip on (luckily, neither of us fell). The lava is super sharp (kind of like glass) and can cut you if you fall on it. We could see the different areas where the steam was rising from the lava tubes on the hillside. It appeared that there would be lava to see there, but it was all underneath the top layer flowing in the tubes to the ocean. After about three miles, we reached a surface flow and it was amazing! At first, there wasn’t much action and we spotted just a faint glow. But once we got there, there were a few different areas opening up and flowing. I have never seen or experienced anything like it in my life….the sound alone of it hissing was just insane! The lava was 3,000 degrees and if you got close enough, it felt like your face was melting. The closest I got was about two feet and I couldn’t stand it after that. It was incredible. Pictures and videos below describe it much better than I ever could.

Lava Surface Flow Video 1
Lava Surface Flow Video 2
Lava Surface Flow Video 3
Lava Surface Flow Video 4
Lava Surface Flow Video 5

The moon! Viewed from right before our hike standing in the lava field.
Steam rising from the lava tubes.
Hardened lava. I thought this was a really cool picture.
More hardened lava.
Josh and I with the lava.
Probably my favorite.
There were other groups of hikers that ended up where we were that had sticks to poke the lava. Sticking a stick in the lava is disrespectful to the Hawaiian culture and Pele (Goddess of Fire). However, it’s still amazing to see it catch on fire.
Me with the lava.

 

After spending about 45 minutes at the surface flow, we headed to the ocean entry area to see the lava flowing there. On our way there, we stepped over a crack that was glowing orange…amazing and scary at the same time to think about what you are walking on! There was tons of lava pouring into the ocean! There were about four different areas…it was so hard to see because of all the steam, but you could see the glow through the steam.

Lava Ocean Entry Video

Glowing crack on our walk to the ocean entry area.
Ocean Entry!
Me, viewing the lava flowing into the ocean.
Ready for the hike back! Headlamp and all!

 

After about a half hour, we headed back toward where our shuttle would come to pick us up. Walking back on the lava at night was pretty rough and I was so thankful for my headlamp. The lava was so incredibly beautiful under the light…super shiny and sparkly. We finally made it back after about an hour and a half hike from the ocean entry point. In total, our hike was 5.6 miles. Our hike was through Kalapana Cultural Tours and they were AWESOME.

After profusely thanking our tour guide, we headed back to Hilo for a quick dinner before crashing. We decided to try a new place instead of going to Ken’s, since it was Saturday night and places were open past 9:00 p.m.! We ended up at a restaurant called Ponds close to our hotel. We had a corner table that was surrounded by water on both sides. It was very nice and relaxing. I had a pasta dish and Josh had fish. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to go to bed. We had to get up at 3:15 a.m. for our lava boat tour the next day!

Pesto Chicken Pasta
Crab Crusted Opakapaka

The Big Island: Trip 1 – Day 4

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Monday morning we woke up early to head to Isaac Hale Beach Park to catch our boat for the lava tour. Well not surprisingly this also got rained out due to the weather and roughness of the ocean. So instead we headed to Kalapana Cafe for breakfast and to regroup and figure out what we wanted to do on our last day.

 

After breakfast we headed to check out the Kapoho Tide-pools and Wai`opae Ponds. Rumor has it that they are wonderful for snorkeling, but with the current state of the weather we only visited them from above ground.

 

After our brief stop at the tide-pools, we headed north for a few miles to check out a natural lava swimming pool. The drive there was along one of the prettiest roads I have ever been on. It was also ridiculous how instantly our surroundings changed to a jungle. The surf here was outrageous. So much so, that we took a video because pictures just couldn’t capture the magnificent waves.

This road was beautiful.
View from the car.
The path was SO muddy!
Interesting moss on the trees.
Seriously creepy van.
What we came to when we walk off the super muddy path. Pretty cool.
Ridiculous waves.
Josh standing on higher ground to see if we should go further. We determined no.
The start of the path on the way back. I thought this was a neat picture.

 

After hiking back through the mud to our car, we headed back to the paved road to Highway 137 to visit Ahalanui. Ahalanui is a spring- and ocean-fed pool containing a man-made wall that separates it from the ocean. The pool is heated to about 90 degrees…but we opted not to get in as it looked pretty disgusting. Even though fresh water replenishes the pool daily, I’m still not sure it was the cleanest thing to swim in. However, it was still pretty neat to look at. It also amazes me that there are pools that are heated by the earth to such high temperatures.

View of the pool facing the ocean.
The inlet and manmade wall letting the ocean water in.
The pool facing inland.

 

Our next stop down Highway 137 was back to Isaac Hale Beach Park. This time to visit Poihiki pool, which is also a warm water pool, but completely natural. We walked along a short path to the pool…and while it looked much cleaner, there were already a lot of people in it. However, we did sit for a bit and watch all of the surfing action at the park.

Surfers at Isaac Hale Beach Park.

 

Once we got sick of watching the surfers, we made one last stop at Mackenzie State Recreation Area. We weren’t sure what to expect, but the owner of our B&B told us to make a stop here because the scenery was beautiful. We definitely were blown away. We thought the waves were ridiculous at the lava pool, but they were nothing compared to the waves here. They were so large and powerful that there were little crabs on the top of the cliffs that had been tossed up by the water. They would start to then make their way back down the rocks. Rough life for the little crabs. We also took a video at this location because the pictures could not begin to do what we saw in person justice.

We parked so close to the edge that this was our view.
Hazardous Cliffs
Cliffs
Beautiful rocks.
Looking down off the edge.
This is where we saw the crabs scurrying back down the rocks.
Ocean spray..it was SO high!
Amazing.

 

After that amazing experience, it was time for us to head back to Hilo to the airport. Lucky for us, this time we were on Hawaiian Airlines which meant we had a big plane that would have no problems taking off in the rain…unlike our Molokai experience from a couple months ago :). Adios Big Island..til we meet again!

The Big Island: Trip 1 – Day 3

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The third day started out with another amazing breakfast and oddly enough no rain! We had pancakes, fruit, toast, coffee and juice. The other two cats also studied us during breakfast, attempting to decide if they should bother with us.

The fruit was SO good!
Pancakes, Toast, Fruit, Juice, Coffee..Delicious!
The black cat staring at Josh…determining if he is worth his time.
The other black cat that jumped up behind Josh’s chair after he was gone.
I had never seen a pineapple actually still growing before.
Me looking at the cat.

 

After breakfast, we packed up and headed to the easternmost part of the island. Since the winds come from this direction, scientists use this “untouched air” as a benchmark to compare to air in other areas around the world. The lava on this side of the island was also incredibly difficult to walk through!

Josh felt it necessary to take pictures of the jeep…everywhere…
So difficult to walk on.
Pretty shot with the ocean in the background.

 

After we stopped for a bit, we headed down a 4WD road to Champagne Pond. We took the road for about a mile along some very bumpy lava and ended up at the pond. The pond is a calm, protected ocean inlet that is completely clear. You could see to the bottom…and it was heated! It was about 90 degrees. When I got in, four little yellow and black striped fish surrounded my legs (of course). So I immediately got out and let Josh entertain the fish while I took pictures.

On the way to Champagne Pond we stopped b/c the cliffs were amazing.
Josh in the trees surrounding the backside of the pond.
Champagne Pond..it was so calm!
Josh swimming in the pond.
Josh..being forced to take a picture.
Me..not swimming and only going up to my knees.
Josh looking for fish.

 

Unfortunately, after our visit to the pond, we got a call telling us our Lava Hike was canceled due to weather. We were both pretty bummed as we had been looking forward to it all day. But we decided to grab some lunch in Pahoa and head back to the Volcanoes National Park to see Chain of Craters Road in the daylight. We had lunch at Kaleo’s and it was just as good as the dinner we had there the night before!

This soup was amazing!
My veggie wrap..so good!

 

Back we went to the park for our third and final time for this trip. It was definitely a good decision to go back. Chain of Craters Road was beautiful during the daylight (pictures below). At the end, you can hike to the current lava flow. Had we known this, we would have planned a bit better and hiked there ourselves. But it takes about 3 1/2 hours to get there and back and we were running out of daylight…so we made the safe decision to come back and do it on another trip (even though we both were DYING to go).

View of the ocean from Chain of Craters Road
Newer lava at the end of Chain of Craters Road
Holei Sea Arch
The view from near the ocean, back up to where the higher part of Chain of Craters Road is.
Walking toward the end of Chain of Craters Road. The start of a rainbow over the lava field.
The road literally ends where lava started to pour over it. Incredible.
Lava on the road.
More lava where the road is/was/should be.
Newer lava
I thought this was hilarious. The road closed sign buried in lava…with a rainbow as the backdrop.
Crack in the lava…they were everywhere.
The end of the “trail”. There wasn’t really a trail…you were just climbing over lots of lava.
Lava Field
Me on top of a pile of lava…Josh was making me laugh.
More Lava Field
Annnddd more lava.
The rainbow was getting closer…signaling our time to start hiking back!

 

We headed back up Chain of Craters Road and out of the park towards the Puna area to check out Kehena black sand beach. It was actually kind of hard to find. It was created by the 1955 lava flow and then it sank three feet all at once in 1975 because of an earthquake. We ended up there during high surf and it was ridiculous. The waves were HUGE and covered almost the entire beach when the tide came in. It was beautiful!

The rocks at Kehena black sand beach. Beautiful!
Black sand! beautiful
So pretty!
The waves were incredible.

 

After visiting the beach, we headed to the Kalapana Cafe for dinner (Josh) and ice cream (me). Yes…I had ice cream for dinner and it was amazing! We headed back to the B&B to pack up as we had an early morning with a lava boat tour!

The Big Island: Trip 1 – Day 2

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Our second day started out with a delicious breakfast of french toast, tons of fruit, toast, juice and coffee. The breakfast set up at our B&B was fantastic. Our B&B also had three cats..which I loved of course. I forced them to be my friends :).

Breakfast Bar of fruit and cereal..just the beginning!
Our cute little table set up for breakfast.
Juice, coffee, fruit, toast, french toast. So good!
Pretty flowers on our table.
Josh having his picture taken against his will.
My buddy at breakfast. One of the cats! 🙂

 

After breakfast we headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for the first of many trips. It was about an hour away from our B&B and yes it rained almost the entire drive to the park.  We arrived and started with the steam vents. These were incredible…especially since they were super warm and it was cold and raining. I would have stood there all day if Josh would have let me. The steam vents are created when rain seeps into the ground and is then heated by the Kilauea volcano, thus creating steam coming out of the earth. It pretty incredible to see. This was a positive to the massive amount of rain they were receiving. More rain = more steam.

Information about the steam vents.
Steam Vent in the sidewalk that they had cut out.
The numerous steam vents. Too many to count.
Josh warming up with the steam.
A small steam vent. The colors were so interesting.
A picture of the steam coming right at us. Foggy.
A larger steam vent. Again love the colors of the earth.

 

From here we went to visit the sulphur banks…along the path were some of the steam vents, which did not smell, but the closer we got to the sulphur banks the stronger the unpleasant smell. Sulphur banks are created when hydrogen sulphide gas and steam form deposits of sulphur, gypsum and hematite on the ground. It was pretty, but not the best smelling thing. A highlight of our walk is that we passed a guy with a Purdue hat. Boiler up!

Me at the start of the trail to the sulphur banks.
Sulphur Banks

 

After the sulphur banks we headed to the Kilauea Overlook to get a good view of Kilauea Crater and the Halema`uma`u Crater. Halema`uma`u is said to be the home of Madame Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess.

The edge of Kilauea Crater.
Halema`uma`u Crater
The bottom of Kilauea Crater.
Halema`uma`u Crater and the steam rising from it.
A closer view of Halema`uma`u Crater.

 

After viewing the crater at a few locations, the road was closed so we had to turn around and head back the other way. There is a road (Crater Rim Dr.) that goes around the entire crater. It changes on what and when parts of it are closed, depending on the volcanic activity. We definitely learned that information you read in a book or looked up online literally changed on a daily basis. It was very hard to find information on certain hikes, etc. because of the always changing landscape. It definitely made it more of an adventure!

Our next stop was Thurston Lava Tube. Unfortunately only the lighted portion was open to the public. There is a darker section that is usually open, but has been closed due to recent volcanic activity causing rocks to fall in the tube. We were ready to explore the darker side, but the lit area was still very cool to see.

The entrance to Thurston Lava Tube from the inside of the tube.
Inside Thurston Lava Tube.
Leaving the Thurston Lava Tube. It was super short.
The outside of the Thurston Lava Tube.
Josh in the pretty wild life posing for a picture.
I thought this looked like an elephant.

 

Next, we headed down Chain of Craters road for a bit to Mauna Ulu, the source of the second longest eruption (1969 – 1974). Along the way we stopped at Lua Manu Crater which is 109 yards in diameter and last had lava flow into it during the 1974 eruption. After Lua Manu we stopped at Puhimau Crater, which still has magma activity flowing beneath it.

Lua Manu Crater
Lua Manu Crater
Josh taking a picture of Puhimau Crater.
Puhimau Crater
Puhimau Crater
Puhimau Crater
Puhimau Crater

 

After these two stops we made it to Mauna Ulu for a short hike up to Pu`u Huluhulu. The hike consisted of different markers pointing out types of lava, trees, regrowth, devastation, etc. It was an interesting hike with some cool views. It was also neat to walk across so many different types of lava that had hardened.

The beginning of the Pu’u Huluhulu hike.
Lava Field
Lava Field
1974 Lava Flow
1974 Lava Flow
Lava. Love the way it forms. Pretty cool to look at.
The beginning of the path in the lava field. Not the easiest trail to follow.
Lava
Lava. Love this picture.
Clearly we had been rained on in this picture.
An area where lava had broken off and formed a small inlet/cave.
Josh walked through the lava field.
Lava Field
Mauna Ulu
Cool dial at the top that pointed in the directions of all the different craters/lava flows.
View of the forest in one direction.
Another view from the top.
Yet another view from the top.
I don’t remember which crater this was :).
Mauna Ulu again
Forest down below.
Lehua Blossom. The start of an ‘Ohi’a tree.
Huge area where lava broke off. Careful walking!

 

After finishing our hike, we headed out of the park back towards our B&B. The current lava flow is sometimes visible at the end of Highway 130. So at the recommendation from our B&B owner, we headed over there around 5:00 p.m. to see what was going on. We got there and were told that the only things visible at this time were steam from the lava hitting the ocean and steam rising from up on the hill where the lava flow was. The lava had reached a point in this flow where it was mostly flowing in lava tubes to the ocean. Which made for great ocean viewing. Luckily, we had scheduled a boat tour for Monday morning to see this in action! This most recent lava flow had completely wiped out the historic fishing town of Kalapana. A few people have rebuilt their homes on top of the lava (picture below). It was very interesting to see. The road to the viewing point is public property, but the lava field on either side of it is private property and you are not allowed to walk on it. There is a guard at the end of the path who gave us the tip to head back to the park to view Kilauea Caldera at night as they would have the best “show” for the evening. The absolute BEST thing about this walk out to the viewing area was that there was a giant double rainbow over the lava field. It is the must stunning rainbow I have seen to this date since my time living in Hawaii. Of course, shortly after viewing this it started to pour rain again. However, getting soaked again was worth seeing something so incredible.

Houses rebuilt on the lava field
New lava from the last couple years.
More of the newer lava.
Beautiful rainbow over the lava field and houses.
Josh and I with the rainbow.

 

After stopping at the viewing point we headed to the end of Highway 137, only about five minutes away. At the end of this highway is a little cafe and the start of the new Kaimu Black Sand Beach. What was previously Kaimu beach was a beautiful black sand beach with many gorgeous palm trees lining the shore. It was eventually, completely covered in 1990 by the Kilauea eruption. Today, new palm trees have been planted on this brand new shoreline land in an effort to restore Kaimu beach.

The rainbow on the way to Kaimu Beach. Incredible.
The new palm trees planted in an effort to restore Kaimu beach.
More palm trees. There were rows and rows of them!
Kaimu beach. It was beautiful!
More of Kaimu beach. You can see how small it is, signifying how new it is.
The black sand. It really was something else!
Kaimu beach shoreline.
The rocks here were still pretty intense.
Josh and I at Kaimu beach.

 

Next, we headed back to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to check out Halema`uma`u Crater at night. We had no idea what to expect…well we expected it to be raining…but we didn’t know what to expect besides that. It looked like a fireball had lit up the sky. We drove in and could see the clouds above the crater illuminated well before we got close to it. The clouds were a light orange from afar. We got to the Volcano Observatory and couldn’t believe what we saw. I would try to describe it, but the pictures will do a MUCH better job of it!

Halema`uma`u Crater at night.

 

After many pictures, rain drops and getting very cold, we got back in the car and decided to drive Chain of Craters Road all the way to see if we could see anything. The road was pitch black and it was raining, so it made it interesting for Josh to drive. We saw two things on this trip down the road: 1. We saw a red glow in the distance of the current vent and 2. Stars were super bright out here because it was so dark. The pictures does not do them justice!

Chain of Craters Road Stars

 

We finally headed back to the B&B after a ridiculous amount of driving for the day!

The Big Island: Trip 1 – Day 1

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This past weekend, Josh and I headed to the Hilo side of the Big Island for four days. Our Friday started out with our flight leaving at 5:30 a.m. So, Josh had set his alarm for 3:00 a.m. so we could get up, finish packing and be ready to leave around 3:45 a.m. for the airport. Well something happened and it didn’t go off so we woke up to the doorman from downstairs at 3:50 a.m. calling to let us know that our cab had arrived. We flew out of bed, grabbed our stuff and somehow made it to the security line at the airport in 25 minutes. Definitely an interesting way to start your vacation! But we made it!

We landed in Hilo around 6:30 a.m., grabbed our bag and got the rental car (a Jeep Wrangler…which turned out to be key for our weekend adventures). Now, many of you reading know our luck with rain and vacations (re: Kauai part one and our Molokai trip in December). Well, turns out this trip we would also be blessed with a TON of rain. Almost the moment we got in the rental car it started raining…to which Josh’s response was “Well they must have known we were coming”.

We ended up at a place called Ken’s House of Pancakes (recommended from online reviews and the lady at the rental car place) for breakfast. It was exactly what we needed…mostly I needed the coffee!

We could see this sign from our breakfast table and thought it was great. Not many places will you see a directional sign pointing you to the town of Volcano.
Much needed morning coffee!
I had scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns. Delicious!

 

After breakfast, we headed to Sports Authority to get Josh a rain jacket. It didn’t open until 9:00 a.m. so we had some time to kill. What might you do in the pouring down rain waiting for a store to open in Hilo? Why take a car nap of course! So that is what we did. We took a nap in the Sports Authority parking lot for an hour (Yes, I’m sure to anyone who witnessed this we looked creepy. No, we didn’t really care because we were tired 🙂 ).

After our trip to Sports Authority, we were ready to start exploring Hilo. Our first stop was Rainbow Falls. It is possibly the most beautiful and unique waterfall I have ever seen. There is a cave underneath the falls where King Kamehameha is said to have buried the bones of his father. The cave is huge and, in my opinion, what makes this waterfall so unique. We ventured up the trail to the left and found a GIANT banyan tree! I doubt we will ever see anything quite like it again. The picture of Josh standing next to it really puts how large the tree is into perspective.

Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Falls
The cave underneath the falls.
Path to the top of the falls.
The top of the falls.
Giant Banyan Tree
Josh standing next to the tree for perspective.

 

After visiting Rainbow Falls, we headed about a mile up the road to Boiling Pots and Pe`epe`e Falls. It REALLY started to rain, so we took this time to change into rain jackets and hiking shoes. After waiting for the rain to stop (it did not…only slowed down) we went to see what these two attractions were all about. While they were beautiful, we didn’t get to hike down to them in the rain. Using our better judgment we decided to skip the possibility of hurting ourselves on the slick rocks hiking to the falls on our first day there (and by we I mean me, because I am the less graceful one).

Boiling Pots
Tree by Boiling Pots
Pe`epe`e Falls
Pe`epe`e Falls and Boiling Pots

 

About another mile up the road was Wai`ale Falls. We stopped and viewed it from the bridge. We didn’t hike for the same reasons as before since the conditions weren’t that great. It was beautiful and impressive with how much water was flowing. Rainbow Falls, Pe`epe`e Falls and Wai`ale Falls are all along the Wailuku River. Pretty magnificent span of nature along that river!

Wai`ale Falls
Wai`ale Falls and Dam

 

Taro Burger

After we finished exploring the waterfalls, we headed back into Hilo for lunch. We decided to eat at Island Naturals Market and Deli. I had a Taro Burger and Josh had a mix of stuff from the “create your own lunch” area. The burger was pretty tasty. I LOVE veggie burgers and wasn’t sure what to expect…but it was pretty good! We then decided to ruin our healthy lunches with a stop at Big Island Candies to see what it was all about. Along with tasting a multitude of different cookies, chocolates, etc., we were able to see their operation through big glass windows. It was impressive!

Big Island Candies

Big Island Candies

Once we had tasted our way through Big Island Candies, we headed to check out Kauamana Cave. The cave was created by the Mauna Loa lava flow of 1881. Kauamana Cave is a 2-mile long lava tube with an interruption, which is now the entrance to the cave. When we entered the cave we had two options, to the right is a large opening and to the left is a smaller one. We went to the right first and looked around. Josh went a little farther than I did..it was creepy…and I’m claustrophobic…and way more afraid of the dark than I previously thought I was. We then explored the part to the left and both went pretty far into the cave. At first it looks like it doesn’t go anywhere, but once you crawl through a pretty low overhang, it opens up into a huge, open cave. We could have spent hours exploring, but with the cave being pitch black and only having one flashlight and no extra batteries, we stayed for an hour or so and then headed back up to daylight.

Kaumana Caves entrance
Stairs to Kaumana Caves
Cave to the Right
Inside the first cave looking up.
Looking into the cave.
Entrance to the cave from the inside looking out.
Graffiti in the cave
Inside the cave a little farther looking outside.
Josh in the cave with his flashlight.
Inside the second cave looking out.
Cave within a cave. Who knows what was in there!
Brown hardened lava.
More lava in the cave.
Josh in the small crevice in the cave. I happily volunteered to take a photo and not crawl in myself.
After crawling through a small overhang, it opened up into this huge cave!
So dark! Picture of the lava tube with a flash.
This boulder had fallen from the top of the cave. It was very unique.

 

After being in the cave with one flashlight, we decided a second trip to Sports Authority was necessary for the day. This time, to purchase me a headlamp. Being in darkness like that with only one flashlight for two people made it rather difficult. So we ventured back into Hilo, purchased a headlamp (no nap this time), said goodbye to Hilo and headed towards Pahoa.

Pahoa turned out to be a pretty cool little town. At first, after reading in my guidebook on the way there that it was known as the Big Island’s outlaw town full of guerilla gardeners, dreadlock enthusiasts, FBI fugitives and the never-bathe crowd, I was somewhat concerned. Even more concerned when I realized this is where our B&B was located. However, no concern was needed as this turned out to be an excellent people-watching experience in a pretty dynamic town. Pahoa is a real hippie town…I’m talking organic loving, no-bra wearing, “I think I’ll smoke this illegal substance in my car”, hitchhikers everywhere kind of town. It definitely made it interesting!

After passing through Pahoa, we decided to have one last stop for the day before checking in to our B&B. We were excited because it had stopped raining and this seemed like a great time to go spend a half hour or so in Lava Tree State Park. Lava trees form when pahoehoe lava (lava with a smooth, shiny or swirled surface) covers wet trees. As the lava drains away, it leaves the tree entirely encased in a thick coat, hardening around the tree. The park was an easy 20 minute stroll around sections of lava trees. Pretty incredible to see. Towards the end of our stroll it started pouring (naturally) so we raced back to the car and headed to our B&B.

Beautiful flowers at the entrance.
Sign at the entrance.
The path into the woods.
The first lava tree
Group of lava trees.
I have no idea what this is but I liked it and thought it was pretty.
Earth crack in the ground.

 

We checked in to Hale Moana, our B&B, met the owner and saw where we would be staying. It was great! We had a private entrance and a small studio room. We would be eating breakfast out in a screened in porch area and both the front and back yards were incredibly gorgeous with unique flowers, rocks, etc. It was a beautiful place to stay!

Hale Moana from the back.
Hale Moana view of the backyard.

 

We showered and changed and headed into Pahoa to a restaurant called Kaleo’s Bar & Grill at the recommendation of Petra, the B&B owner. It did not disappoint! I got soup and salad and Josh got fish. It was delicious! The pictures below do a much better job of describing it than I ever could.

Tempura Ahi Roll served with spicy lilikoi sauce
Boston Clam Chowder…my favorite!
Orzo, spinach, tomato, olives, feta, capers, parmesan, pine nuts, lemon.
Fresh fish coconut crusted served with sweet & spicy lilikoi sauce.
Banana Spring rolls with Vanilla Ice Cream

 

Dinner was the end of an incredibly busy first day on the Big Island!! We headed back and crashed in preparation for the next few days ahead!