Hawaii Day 3 +

Day 3 and still not feeling up to par we decided on another exploring day and drove across the island on Saddle Road. We drove by Mauna Kea rising 13,799 feet and is home to a number of observatories. Lava fields are everywhere on this island! We dropped down into Hilo and found a wonderful restaurant on a pond with open air windows and a nice view. After lunch we hunted up Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls. This side of the island gets 200 inches of rain a year and is so tropical! Big red trees with bright red blossoms are in every ravine. Plants we know as houseplants are huge and gorgeous and crammed in so close together. The coastline is spectacular!
Day 4
The Volcanic National Park was our destination today. We were glad we made the trip out to see it but were disappointed that lave wasn’t flowing. Just days before we left we had read about a new area of eruption. I guess it was done by the time we got there! Also, the trails into the Kilauea Caldera was closed along with the road around the crater because of gas emissions. We did get to look down into the crater at a viewpoint and see the venting gas. The final disappointment was that the Chain of Carters Road leading down to the water over the lava was only open for the first 6 of 19 miles due to a fire. It is an amazing area and different from other volcanic parks I have been to. The two types of Hawaiian lava pahoehoe and ’a-a, are prevalent everywhere. We stopped along the road to get a close up look in a couple of places. Flakes of the fine lava were brilliantly colored. They had the look of glaze on raku pottery with iridescent blues and purples. We had to sneak a couple pieces in our pockets. I would love to come back to this island. Maybe the lava will be flowing next time.
We had a fabulous dinner at the open air Fish Hopper restaurant back in town. Norm and I got a couple of island cocktails to drink down the sunset. Norm’s drink, the Sharks Tooth, arrived flaming and definitely added to the gaiety of the evening! Our meals were perfect in every way. Norm had a phenomenal night of cards with his Sharks Tooth leading the way. Christy and I thought his mental powers might be a little hazy but he won everything we played!



Volcanic National Park





We walked under this canapy to the lave tube.




Norm with His Shark Tooth



Day 5
With no fever last night and feeling better, we decided that snorkeling was on tap for the morning. The beach Sally and Bryan had recommended was a fabulous spot. It was easy to get in the water with all our gear, important, and the brightly colored fish of every size and shape were everywhere! It felt so good to be swimming in the warm ocean and getting such a panorama of color all around me; the turquoise water, beautiful coral in yellows and pinks, and of course the gorgeous fish. It might just be the most different kinds of fish I have seen in one location. We knew sea turtles were in the area but we didn’t see any while we were swimming. After we got out, we walked along the lava and found them in the shallow water lazily munching away on the algae on the rocks. They would gracefully swim in and out at their leisure. All in all it was a great morning. We took a dip in the pool before getting showers and walking to town for lunch at Humpy’s. We sat upstairs and on the patio for a couple of hours overlooking the water with the trade winds cooling us off. The walk was short but we were overheated by the time we got seated! We lazed away the afternoon. I got caught up with Rachel and finally felt like writing on my blog.

Our Snorkle Beach



Happiness at Humpy's

Day 6
Today was a totally lazy day in and out of the pool. We went into town to the Lava Java for lunch. Every time we had gone by there, no matter what time of day, the place was full. We got a great table and sat under an umbrella with the cool breeze floating by. We took our time and enjoyed a wonderful fresh beet salad with a veggie sandwich on a homemade roll. It was easy to see why the place was always packed. Tonight we are going to treat ourselves to dinner at Huggo’s. We will actually spiff up for this one. One night earlier in the week we had tasty dinner at Huggo’s on the Rocks as per Bryan‘s recommendation. Some of the tables are actually in the sand. It reminded me of a favorite place in Cabo called the office. Kevin Teves entertained us for a couple of hours. We would have of bought a CD if he had one. He has one in the making and I’m sure Norm will be watching for it. He had a kind of James Taylor voice and could sing all kinds of music. I wasn’t feeling my best and it was still a great evening. So tonight we will try the expensive side! Tomorrow we catch a plane for a week on Maui.


Pool Time