I'm sorry it has taken me so long to finish up the tale of our trip to the big Island of Hawaii. When we got home, life took over and the Holidays were coming up fast and I got lazy. So anyway, here is the story of the rest of our trip.
We decided to spend the day and drive between the two volcanoes, Moana Kea and Moana Loa to the West and wet side of the Island and the town of Hilo. From Kona we drove up and up until we could see the whole North east coast. You could see the lava flows that came down years ago from the volcanoes we were driving toward. Then we went over the pass (about 5000 ft) and down toward Hilo town. It was cold, stark, foggy and windy at the top, but as we descended it got greener and lusher.
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| Views of the coastline |
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| Lava flows |
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| Road between the volcanoes |
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| Banyon tree in Hilo |
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| Hilo street scene |
We stopped and walked around downtown Hilo, and got some sandwiches and drinks and drove to Rainbow Falls for lunch.
We drove north from Hilo, and headed into the rainforest. The scenery was sure different from the east side.
My goal for the day was to see one of the most famous tropical botanical gardens in the world. The Hawaii Botanical Garden did not disappoint. It had more orchids and gorgeous plants growing wild than you can imagine. But it was tropical......Steamy, hot, rainy sometimes, and steep. I'd love to post all the pictures we took of beautiful orchids, but it would take too long. Here is a sample:
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| Hot and wet |
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| One of the waterfalls |
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| Lily pond |
The paved path led down a canyon to the sea. We were surprised at how wild the ocean was on the west side. Huge waves and lots of spray made a big impression on us.
We trudged back up the trail enjoying the scenery and taking lots of breaks. By the time we got back to the car, we were ready to cool down and sit for awhile. I was following the guidebook and so we took a dirt road down to a park and memorial dedicated to people who were killed in a great tsunami. The waves were wild and exciting here. After our visit, we enjoyed a long winding ride north until we turned east again and got home Another wonderful day.
Later in the week, we decided to drive up to the extreme north of the island. On the way we stopped at Hapuna Beach and did some swimming and had lunch. The drive north was the opposite of the Hilo side. It was desert. Dry with sparse vegetation and lots of lava. The furthest northern town is Hawi. We stopped for some sightseeing and the worlds best ice cream and then went south over the Kahala volcanoe (5000 ft again) and down to the sea and home.
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| Building in Hawi |
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| Christmas in Hawaii |
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| Views from the Kohala Hiway |
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| Wild goats at one of the resorts |
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| Yet another amazing sunset |
For our last snorkeling trip, we went to "two-step" which is near the cove where we went on the catamaran trip. There is a rocky lava shelf and it looks like there is no place to get in, but there is a spot with two big steps so you can get in and snorkel. One of the best spots in all Hawaii. The fish there were huge. Jeff got in from the boat launch side and met with disaster. He was pushed by waves over the rocks and coral and got scraped up and down his left side. Yikes! Luckily most of the wounds were not too deep and some band-aids and neosporin took care of it. But our bathroom at the condo looked like a crime scene before we were through with the first aid.
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| People gathered at the steps. Getting in or out |
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| Before the accident |
On Thanksgiving we went to a local restaurant and enjoyed Hawaiian style turkey.
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| View from our table |
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| Turkey and the trimmings |
And here are a few more sunsets.
Our next adventure is a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, through the Caribbean. We are going with my brother Jon and Sister-in-law Sharon. After the cruise we are going to explore the Florida Keys. So stay tuned for more tropical pictures.
