Day 8

We started the day with another yummy breakfast delivered right to our door.  This morning's was even better than the previous day with croissant egg sandwiches and a different selection of fruit.  This time the mystery fruit was a bright pink dragon fruit.  I liked that one.

We didn't have any specific plans for the day, so we pulled out out handy dandy guidebook for ideas.  It ended up leading us back to Hilo. 

Our first stop for the day was the Mauna Loa nut factory.  It didn't involve a whole lot- you could peek through the windows along a catwalk outside the building and watch the various stages of nut processing.  The main attraction was really the big giftshop with every variety of macadamia nut products that the company makes.  We bought a variety box and some macadamia nut Hershey's kisses.

We decided to check out a little area nearby called Rainbow Falls.  After we parked the car, we walked over to an observation railing along a set of stairs.  It overlooked a very nice though not spectacular waterfall.  Supposedly it produced a lot of rainbows, but I didn't see any evidence of them.

We found a little path into the woods near the observation area and decided to follow it.  I was really not wearing the right shoes for this excursion.  It was muddy and filled with tree roots to climb over, and I had chosen to wear my Sketcher wedged sandals!  But I've never been one to chance missing out on an adventure, so I went anyway despite the footwear.  The trail led into an area filled with unusual trees that reminded me of thick pieces of rope all stuck together and intertwined.

The other thing we noticed at Rainbow Falls was big busloads of Japanese tourists.  We saw bunches of these groups as opposed to the Kona side where we mostly saw Japanese families touring on their own.

Our guidebook brought us next to a little zoo known as Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens.  It was so quiet that at first we weren't even sure if they were open.  There was no charge to get in so we walked through the entry and explored.

The zoo really felt more like a bird sanctuary than a zoo.  We passed many different sorts of birds including macaws and the rare endangered state bird, the Hawaiian goose or Ne'ne'.  There were signs protecting them throughout the islands, but the only time we saw them was in captivity.

There was one major non-bird occupant- a white Bengal tiger named Namaste.  He had a huge play area in which we had a round of spot the tiger.  He moved constantly from one side of the enclosure to the other, occasionally trekking through the edge of the water.  We struggled to get a good picture since he kept moving in and out of view and was quite a distance from us.

After exploring the zoo, we read about an astronomy center in Hilo called 'Imiloa and decided to make that our next stop.  Unfortunately, we failed to read the part about the center being closed on Mondays....  So once we arrived at the empty building, we had another place to add to our list of things to remember to return to next time.

We found our way to a big Japanese garden.  It featured a beautiful view with lots of traditional ponds with stone bridges, gazebos, and -oddly enough- lots of cats.  One tree had a couple adorable kittens poking out from little hideaways in the trunk.

We walked across a footbridge to Coconut Island, a small island with some small, sandy enclosures in which one could wade.  I took my shoes off for a moment and stuck my feet in, but there were lots of rocky edges everywhere.

My guidebook had one particular suggestion that really perked my interest- Big Island Candies!  It's a huge sweet shop where you can watch shortbread cookies being made behind glass.  But the best part was that aisles were filled with free samples- I was in heaven!  Chocolate, brownies, cookies, all different flavors!  Yum.  One of the women working there even brought over samples of chocolate with bits of potato chip mixed in after s he heard me talking about how much I liked that combination.

They had some other more unusual combinations.  I wasn't brave enough to try the chocolate dipped squid....  We came home with varieties of chocolate goodies- yes, the potato chip flavor was among them.

For dinner that evening, we chose a local favorite called Ken's House of Pancakes.  They did have many scrumptious sounding pancake combos, but I went for another plate lunch type dish.  I chose a chili cheese loco moco- rice, Angus patty, chili, and cheese piled together in a big bowl.  These Hawaiians sure know how to eat!

We weren't sure how we wanted to spend the rest of the evening.  We settled on returning to the overlook at Volcano Park- the same area in which we had stood before daylight the morning before.  As the sun went down, we saw the glow return.  I also quickly discovered why Derek had preferred to go there in the morning- there were large groups of people including what sounded like a noisy group of students.  And I couldn't believe the number of people trying to take flash pictures!  Eventually the chaos died down.  Derek was even able to use a time delayed exposure to get both of us in the picture with a glowing volcano in the background. 

We chit-chatted with a nice family- a mom, a dad, and their seven year old daughter who really seemed to enjoy being there.  This was one time that I really regretted only bringing one pair of long pants.  They were still wet and muddy from the day before so I was stuck in my capris and had to deal with the cold.  But otherwise, it was really neat being out there in the dark.  I even heard ceremonial Hawaiian chanting sounding off from some unknown point in the distance.

Day 7

We woke up very early this morning- about 5 am.  Derek had been to Volcano National Park once before a few years earlier and had noted that the best pictures could only be captured before the sun is up.  I am so not a morning person and could have just stayed in bed and let him have his fun...but I hate to take a chance on missing something great so I agreed to tag along.  The morning was quite cold.  It gets colder in Hawaii than one would expect!  I had my long pants, long sleeve shirt, lightweight hoodie, and windbreaker.

It was very dark as we pulled into the parking lot of the visitor center.  There was a brick ledge over looking a spot of bright light in the distance.  It was the fiery glow of an active volcano.  From where we stood, it didn't look much bigger than a typical campfire, but we read it was actually bigger than a football field!  Most of our days had been so cloudy.  For a brief moment that morning, though, it finally cleared, and we saw a glorious sky filled with stars.

Only one other couple decided to brave the early morning.  As time went by, I could see why Derek had wanted to get there in the wee hours of the morning.  It didn't take long for the sunlight to start peaking through the clouds.  Bit by bit, the glow dimmed until all we could see was the smoke rising from the opening.  Then, we headed back to our room to experience the breakfast part of the bed and breakfast.

The wife of the Korean couple who owned the place came to our sliding door with a tray filled with baskets of food, plates, utensils, a pot of coffee, and orange juice.  There were croissants & a collection of fruit- some I recognized and some I didn't.  There was one fruit that looked like large grapes with peels.  We didn't take the pit out a first- Derek declared them edible, but after tasting, I had to disagree.

It was relaxing to have breakfast bought right to our room, but I did miss the chance to interact with other guests.  After we rested, we headed back into the park.  Visitor Centers are always good places to start.  We joined a group for a quick orientation to the area.  They had a three dimensional model of the land.

It was a gloomy day as far as weather was concerned...overcast and raining on and off.  Thankfully, it was just a steady drizzle most of the day so we at least weren't stuck inside.  First, we drove to a couple interesting spots.  We saw a little section of fenced off land- a pit with natural steam vents.  We could feel the heat emitting from them.  My glasses kept fogging over!

We headed towards one of the main trails.  This one traveled way down into a crater then across the bottom and back up.  The path down the sides had lush rainforests and muddy puddles to get around due to the continuously drizzling skies, but they allowed a great view down into the crater itself.  The path had a steep grade and switch backs.

Once we reached the bottom, the mud turned into rocks and our tree canopy protecting us from wind and rain disappeared.  We came to a couple steep stone staircases which thankfully had railings embedded in the rocks.  We met up with a mother hiking the trail with her young son.  They actually had a guidemap with information on the trail marker numbers we passed occasionally.  We then made the journey across the wide gray crater while being pelted with raindrops.  The hosts at our bed and breakfast had lent us old purple umbrellas that morning.  Unfortunately, one of them later broke.  The crater had a very other worldly environment- pockets of vents, very little earth or vegetation- all rock.  Eventually, we made it to the other side and began the trek of endless switchbacks back up.

It felt good to finally return to the car.  We decided to find shorter areas to explore which led us to a lava tube.  We followed a paved path to a set of stairs leading down into a cavern.  The tubed cave looked as if it had been made by the burrowing of a giant worm.

According to the visitors guide, the park had a long road you could drive down that had a number of lookout stops and such, so we took the car in that direction.  We drove passed a lot of lava as well as signs indicating the year that each particular flow of lava came from.  We parked the car a couple times to look around.  We even caught sight of a beautiful rainbow at one of the overlooks.

Unfortunately, the gloomy weather made the idea of continued exploration less appealing.  We decided to forgo the ancient rock drawings for a future visit, so we turned around and drove back up the road. 

That night we had a Thai dinner- the only other real meal option in the area.

Day 6

Finally, it was time to leave the resort and explore the other side of the Big Island.  This day would be predominantly a road trip. I had decided on a souvenir, so we stopped at a shoe shop in the market area where I picked out a pair of authentic locally made flip flops which are known on the island as slippers.  Normally, I'd never pay $50 for flip flops, but these were very nice- thick soles and cushy floral printed fabric on top and no between-the-toe- pieces.  I can't wear thong style flip flops- they hurt my feet.  I was on a mission to find made in Hawaii products. Even the plastic hair flowers were made in China!

As we headed out in the car, we drove past more variety in the landscape.  We saw rolling green hills that looked like sleeping giants under grassy blankets.  We reached a town called Waimea.  Since we didn't have to be anywhere by any particular time, we got out of the car when we arrived at a farmer's market.  The weather was a bit drizzly but not too bad.  It was fun to see a farmer's market in Hawaii with all it's unique vegetation.  One tent had all sorts of different flavored macadamia nuts.  I nibbled on so many samples, we figured it was only fair to make a purchase.  We decided on mango, kona coffee, and coconut curry.

As we continued to travel, the landscape changed.  Soon, we were driving through lush rainforests with deep gorges.  We came to a look out stop and got out of the car again to gaze at a distant shoreline.

We got to Hilo around lunch time.  It turns out Hilo was actually named for all the rain it gets...mark that on the list of things I wish I'd known before we arrived!  Sure enough, we were greeted with a rain shower.

On the Travel Channel, I'd heard about a popular Hawaiian dish called the plate lunch.  Basically, it's a pile of rice, meat, and eggs.  I kept saying I wanted to try it.  Our guidebook suggested a place called Cafe 100.  It was just a large counter service dive, but lots of locals ate there.  Derek and I both ordered variations of plate lunches- I think mine had spam, sausage, and a hamburger patty- yummy!  But oh- way too much food.  I should have gone for the smaller loco moco.

We explored the town a bit, parking among a strip of shops.  We caught the tail end of another farmer's market.  There was also a little candy shop with lots of different flavored taffy.

Our last part of our afternoon in Hilo was the Lyman Museum- a historical museum attached to an old mission house.  The house itself was closed for the day, but we didn't know if we'd be back in the area so we decided to just go through the small museum.  It gave a quick overview of the island plus a special Korean house exhibit- a hands on mock up of an old Korean home.  Hands on things are always fun to explore.  In the museum's giftshop, I found a locally made Hawaiian synthetic flower hair scrunchie- another item on my quest for local souvenirs.

Our bed and breakfast for the next few nights was at the Lotus Cottages in Volcano Village about half an hour from Hilo.  It was in a very secluded area surrounded mainly by private homes and rainforest.  What a difference from staying at a fancy resort!  The air was so quiet.  All you could hear was the patter of light rain on the leaves.  There were a few cars parks on the patch of grass by the entrance.  We found our host- a man from Korea I think- in one of the little huts.  He gave us a key and led us to our cottage.  It was like a tree house!  There was a set of wooden steps to get up to the entrance.  I never saw any other guests the whole time we were there.  The room was gorgeous!  The mattress was plush and soft, the bedspread was fluffy.  A kitchen nook took up a corner and had bottles of water waiting for us.  There were huge windows with bamboo blinds and a loft overhead.  Little Asian and Hawaiian knick knacks filled the shelves.  I even found a leg massager!

We were in such a secluded area that there were few dining options- a Thai place, a lodge, and some quick service sandwich place.  We chose the lodge- although it was very busy and we had to wait.  It was a German place.  The menu had some exotic meet on it- ordering antelope was an option!  Derek and I both played it safe and ordered chicken.  Derek later read that the antelope was from a range on the mainland...what fun is that?

We made it an early night that night.  Derek planned to drag me out of bed before dawn the next morning in order to photograph the glow of an active volcano at the park the next morning.

Day 5

Today was the day we had reserved for general exploration of the area.  We started with another cereal breakfast at Lagoon Spoon, then took the rental car out in the same direction we had ended up going the day before surrounded by rock writings.  We passed what looked like a place to tum in and explore last time, so this time we decided to check it out.  The sign said Kekaha Kai State Park.

It wasn't much of a road.  It, in fact, was really just a path formed out of the lava rock and was completely unpaved.  We slowly inched the car along, bumping and jolting and vibrating for what seemed like ages, hoping the tires could take it. Eventually, we got to a little paved parking lot so we got out and explored.  We found a small beach with few people around.  The most interesting thing there was a sign on a palm tree that read "Caution falling coconuts."  I took off my shoes for a moment to wade in the water.

We saw a sign to what was supposed to be a trail, but as we walked, all we saw was more lava with the occasional green plant sticking up.  The lava was brittle.  It felt like walking over slabs of plaster.  It amused us for a bit, and we found some funny places to pose Stitch, but it didn't take long for us to get our fill.

We drove the car back through the rocky road and returned to the main highway.  A little farther down, we found another inlet.  This time a parking lot and visitors center were clearly visible from the road.  We talked briefly with the ranger then headed down a paved path.  This trail was much nicer.  Instead of resembling the surface of the moon, it actually had plenty of plantlife- flowers, fruit, grass, etc.  Nothing amazing, but it was a nice walk.  We even passed through a boardwalk area where you could see some ancient drawings on the rocks.

After a while, we reached a little beach area.  It had a recreation of a native council house.  We paused there for a while and watched a sea turtle swim at the edge of the tide.  Then we walked back through the trail and returned to the car.

We continued down the main highway until we arrived at the same area we had found the day before.  We wanted to visit some of the places that had been closed for the day last time.  Having a guidebook helped us find a place to eat.  We chose a place called Annie's Burgers where I, oddly enough, ordered a chicken sandwich.  We also had an order of their signature onion rings- so good!

Because we had an earlier start this time, we had the chance to go on a tour at one of the local coffee plantations.  We ended up at a place called Greenwell Coffee where we arrived just in a time to join a tour group.  It was just a small group with a handful of couples.  We were by far the youngest.  The guide told us that their particular coffee farm had existed since the 19th century.  Many coffee farms exist in that area because it is one of the few areas on the island with just the right amount of rain.  They showed us how the coffee beans were still handpicked to make sure they only used the best ones.  Coffee fruit before the bean is removed looks a lot like cherries.  We saw huge surfaces covered in beans being dried out in the sun.

When we returned to the little shop at the beginning, they had several stations of free samples.  I tried them, but all coffee tastes bitter and gross to me- even ones marked chocolate flavored!

After our tour, we drove back to the strip of shops we had stopped by the day before.  This time, it was early enough that they were all open.  One of the shops was called Just Ukes, and that is exactly what it was- a shop full of ukeleles and everything that goes with them- including real life versions of the hula outfit American Girl made for Kanani, big full skirts made from layers of colorful fabric.  I was tempted to buy one, but they were not cheap, and where on earth would I wear it?  I did buy a little wooden ukelele shaped magnet.

Soon we needed to head back because we had tickets for that night's luau at the hotel.  I think if we return, I'd like to try a less touristy version, but this was fine for an introduction.  We followed a path down to the staging area where they threw leis and a uke at us for the mandatory photograph they try to sell you later.  We didn't even get to keep the leis!  They tried to sell them to us.

The luau was in a big courtyard filled with rows of picnic tables with a stage at the front.  Everyone sat together family style.  Buffet tables were set up in the back and included a full roasted pig.  Our show tickets included two alcoholic drinks, but our server never showed up a second time for another order!  I had a strawberry swirled pina colada.

The tables were called up one row at a time to start the buffet lines.  They had a lot of good items at the salad bar- I jumped at any chance for coconut!  I finally tried poi which looks like purple pudding but has more of a vegetable taste- not my favorite.  I did try the poke too which is raw tuna, but not surprisingly, I didn't care for that either.

The other food included pork, purple sweet potatoes of some sort, chicken, yummy sweet bread, etc.  I, of course, favored the dessert table with even more coconut in the form of cake and flan.  And there was no absence of chocolate either.

At first, they just had some random Hawaiian people singing in the background or a woman teaching everyone a little hula, and I thought- this *can't* be it!  It wasn't....once everyone was eating, the real show began.  It was everything you'd expect- hula, high energy Tahitian dancing, fire dancing, etc.  It made you want to get up and try it.

We didn't interact a whole lot with our table mates.  We found ourselves in the middle with conversations on both sides of us and no one making any effort to bring us in.  The two of us both being shy didn't help.

After the luau, it wasn't too terribly late- I don't think it was even 9pm.  So we spent the rest of the evening strolling around the resort.  The wind whipped around us, and some of the pathways were surprisingly dark.  The next day we would finally leave the resort and see the other side of the island.

Day 4

We were still getting up early due to jet lag.  This time we decided to try a cute little counter service place called Lagoon Spoon.  Basically, it was a place where you could mix several different cereals and toppings- such as Cookie Crisp, granola, coconut, and macadamia nuts.  (I had coconut and macadamia nuts every chance I got.)  We also shared some malasadas which are like little sugared holeless donuts.

I wanted to try the pools again.  There was a sandy lagoon area too, but we didn't feel like spending the money to rent the equipment so we headed towards another system of slides on the opposite side of the resort from our room.  Again, Derek didn't want to stay in long because it was cold.  I didn't think it was too bad- the  slides were fun, and there were some hot tubs hidden in the caves.

I had seen in the resort guide that there was supposed to be a hula lesson out by the pool that morning.  I saw a woman standing near the pool with a cd player and figured that must be it but I didn't want to be the only person in the class.  Thankfully, I saw another woman come over so I decided to give it a try.  The instructor led us through some basic hula steps to Hawaiian music while we stood waist deep in the water.  I was relaxing, reminiscent of yoga.

As we toweled off, I pulled my cellphone out of my bag and noticed I had voicemail from a Hawaiian area code.  I listened to the message in dismay- our Mauna Kea summit tour had been canceled that evening due to weather, and we couldn't reschedule within the time that we'd still be on the same side of the island!  Bummer!

We were left with a gaping hole in our plans for the day, and I was itching to get out of the  hotel and actually see the real Hawaii.  For a little bit, we ate burgers at the Lagoon Grill and watched the dolphins swim in circles and pop up their noses in the dolphin cove.  A little baby one swam alongside it's mother.

We weren't going to rent a car until the next day, but we didn't want to be stuck at the hotel any longer so off to the car rental desk we went.  Finally, we would see what was beyond the shopping market,

We headed out passed the main entrance and were greeted by what seemed like endless miles of black lava rock.  And along every foot of roadside was even more coral rock writing.  I have no idea where people even got the white rocks as the only ones I saw were those that formed words and pictures.  There were memorials to loved ones, wedding dates, names, etc.  It was fun to try to read the messages as we whizzed by.

After a while, I started to wonder if there was anything out this way to actually see besides the sea of lava rocks, but eventually the landscape changed to hills and rainforest greenery and little huts and shops.  We decided to pull into a little coffee farm that Derek had been to on his previous visit to Big Island called Kona Joe's.  It was too late in the afternoon for a tour, so we nibbled on some free samples and bought some coffee and some addictive white chocolate covered peaberry coffee beans.

Our next stop was a little strip of mostly closed for the day shops.  But there was one shop in particular which was still open that Derek had wanted to return to- Donkey Balls.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It's a chocolate shop.  Donkey Balls are balls of chocolate with macadamia nut centers- yummy!  There were many varieties-  salty balls (with sea salt), flaky balls (with coconut), balls of fire (with cayenne pepper), etc.  They even had ones called Wild Boar Balls!  It took a lot of hemming and hawing, but we chose several different ones to take home, and Derek had to have another Donkey Balls t-shirt.

There wasn't much left to do at this point in the day so we drove back to the hotel area to search for dinner.  As usual, we went back and forth on decision making- pacing between the King's Shops and the Queen's Market.  We finally settled on a local- though not particularly ethnic- chain called Merriman's where I had a pasta dish, and we shared a mango cobbler for dessert.  I was amused that the place shared a name with one of my favorite American Girl characters- Felicity Merriman.

Day 3

We woke up pretty early our first morning on the island due to the 5 hour time difference.  The whole resort seemed to still be asleep.  There was a notice in our room about an info session in the common area of our building, so we decided to go check it out.  We were the only ones who came since the first one was so early- the woman leading the talk was about to give up and leave.

It turned out that the talk was mostly trying to get us to sign up for the hotel's time share program.  She did tell us about the island and explained different activities we could do.  Most of them involved money we didn't want to spend.

We decided to just do some more exploring.  The buildings had long open hallways filled with museum pieces, mostly Japanese artwork and sculptures.  We scoped out our breakfast options and ended up at their big Kahuna buffet.  It was rather expensive, but we figured we should do it at least once during our stay, and we were able to get discount cards.  For the most part, it had pretty standard breakfast fare- eggs, french toast, potatoes, etc.  The more interesting dishes were the Asian specialties such as chicken juk- some sort of cross between soup and porridge.  They did have guava juice among the fruit juices, and the syrup selection included coconut and some sort of Hawaiian fruit called lilikoi- we would see that again and again throughout the trip.  I ordered my usual hot chocolate, but it was totally bland and watery.

We decided to go for a swim in one of the hotel's beautiful pool areas.  There was a network of connected streams of pools with little slides.  The skies were rather gloomy, though, and the water was so cold!  It took a while to get ourselves to go all the way in.  Derek is more sensitive to cold water than I am, so we didn't stay long.

We threw some clothes on over our bathing suits and did more wandering.  A lot of black lava rock filled the shore covered in scatterings of white coral rock that people had been using to form words.  We had to do it too, and I wrote "A+D 11-13-11."  I posed Stitch next to it for a picture.

I had on my new Sketchers sandals that weren't really appropriate for walking around on rocks.  They weren't in very good shape by the time we got home!

While wandering around the expansive hotel, we discovered that the little nearby shopping centers- the King's Shops and the Queen's Market- were actually within walking distance despite everyone looking at us as if we were crazy when we didn't want to take the shuttle.  But they weren't really *that* far.

We got there and caught the tail end of a farmers market.  We visited a booth where a man was offering tastes of his jams- lots of very Hawaiian flavors like coconut and guava.

The shops in both areas were pretty touristy- like Hawaii versions of all the Florida shops back home.  They sold all sorts of Hawaiian nick knacks- things carved from wood, kui nut leis, plastic flower leis and hair items, various spices, artwork, jewelry, etc.  I noticed with amusement that much of everything was made in China.  It became my mission to find Hawaiian souvenirs that were actually made in Hawaii!

It ended up being a rather slow and lazy day.  It was the sort of day I had thought I wanted, but I discovered it actually made me stir crazy!  I was in Hawaii, but I wasn't actually seeing Hawaii!  At least we would be going to see the Mauna Kea Summit the next day...or so I thought!

For dinner that evening, we ate at the resort's Chinese restaurant- expensive as they all were, but good.  I think I had orange chicken, my usual favorite.  After dinner, we walked around some more and ended up lounging by one of the adult pools with our tablets before turning in since the free wii-fii only existed outside in the public areas.