The Big Island (sit back and enjoy....long)

In a fit of spontaneity Sunday afternoon, Larry and I used our Hawaiian miles and purchased two tickets to Hilo, Hawaii. We called up a bed and breakfast that a friend of Larry's recommended and reserved a room for 2 nights. We pack up some clothes and our snorkel gear and made our way to the airport. In 30 minutes we arrived at Hilo. I figured it actually takes longer to go from Waikiki to our condo than it did going from Honolulu to Hilo. Go figure.

We arrived on the island, got a car and made our way north to the Hamakua Coast. This is a rugged coast within a rural, agricultural setting. It is also about 2500 feet above sea level and much cooler. As Larry drove following my directions, I became concerned about what this B&B was going to be like. The road became dirt, and cattle mooed on either side of us. The roads were dark and unlit and we nearly hit a pack of wild turkeys. Finally we made it to the drive to find a little oasis amongst the forest.....



The place is completely self contained and is run off solar energy. The water is all catchment (collected from rain water) and most of the rubbish is composted. The experience killed any thought that living self contained is impossible. This place was gorgeous with all the lighting anyone could need (inside and outside), has a fully functioning gourmet kitchen, 5 bedrooms with flat screen T.V.'s, hot showers, bathtubs, a jacuzzi, and generally anything anyone could want to live in total comfort if not luxury. It is very doable my friends.

We spent the evening talking with the manager drinking wine and eating pupus. Later we decided to jump in the jacuzzi for a little soak. The stars were amazing and plentiful.

The next day we found ourselves overwhelmed with all the possibilities of what to see and do on the island. We decided to visit the Wiapio Valley over look.....


I was bugging to head down to the valley, but it was 4 wheel drive only. Next time.

We later headed over to the Hawaii Botanical Gardens. The varietals and numbers of plants was overwhelming.








We headed out of the park and found an old abandoned Sugarmill and decided to walk down to the coast.



We found a great hidden gem of a place to eat lunch at. The food was amazingly fresh and tasty. They make amazing fruit smoothies with only fruit; no fruit juice, water, or other stuff, just fruit. It was fabulous.




We then hiked up to the Akaka Falls.


Nearly missed one of those turkey's.....



The next day we headed to the Kahala coast and went to the beach.


I am actually in this picture.....just very, very small


Ouch....that's gonna hurt (yep it does)

We left the beach and drove the Saddle road which is an old military road built during WWII and goes between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The diversity of climate on this island is amazing. One of the other guests at the B&B said that the island of Hawaii has 12 of the 14 climates zones. That's a lot of variety. If you don't like the weather where you are, you could honestly go about an hour and be in completely different climate.


The next day we were at Volcano's National Park. We got a room at the Military camp in the park. As far as military establishments go, it was nothing luxurious. Just clean and a place to sleep. I could write a book on visiting quarters of military bases, but it might make some cringe or even get queasy. The worst was in New Orleans, but that is a story for another day.

Kilauea caldera


Lava, Lava everywhere and a dead lava tube



Larry telling me to smile and me talking back.


Hummmm. what's down here?



We hiked up to a site that had 2300 different petroglyphs. The ancient Hawaiians (not the current Hawaiians who are from Fiji) came from the Marquesas Islands about 1600 years ago. They had no written language, so the pictures are their stories (sounds familiar).


All the little holes you see are part of a sacred ceremony where they would take the dried umbilical cord of a baby and attach it to the hole in the lava. The hill then became "the hill of life." Pretty cool.



No reason....


Just a cool dead tree...

And last but not least, we went out to the coast where the lave tube from Kilauea is currently dumping new earth....

To offer some perspective, the picture on the right has a small boat on the left side. If you open the photo you can see it better.


Our flight left at 9:30 and we got in around 10:30, showered and crashed. What a great couple of days!!