We stayed in the Hilton resort in Waikoloa village. The resort was huge! From our room to the front entrance, it was about a 15-20 minute walk. Evidentally we went during a low season and it really felt like we had the place to ourselves.
This is the view from our room! It looked like this every day when we got up...amazing!
This is a shot from the pool looking out. The beach at the resort wasn't very user-friendly due to the large amounts of lava...but it was so pretty, and there were fish and turtles and a strange eel-looking snake (although Jason said it was a fish).
It was so incredibly lush. I realize this was all planted, but it was still so pretty!
This was looking back at the entrance from one of the bridges over the moat that went through the place. Boats would take you from the entrance to various stops at the resort. There was also a tram that you could take, but somehow we always missed it and mostly walked the mile from the entrance to our room. I don't think it was an actual mile...but seriously...it took a while.
Our first real day there we headed out to the volcano. Right now there is an active volcano on the Big Island. Unfortunately for us, the road down to the coast to see the glowing red lava was closed due to high sulfur levels. The road we took went through the center of the island. It was in really bad repair as it was built by the military for shuttling equipment back and forth. It was a fun curvy road to drive, and the terrain was like nothing I had seen. It's hard to imagine that this entire island is made of lava. On our way there, we stopped off on the side of the road to climb this little hill...it wasn't so little! This is the hill that we climbed...the taller of the two "peaks."
This is the first of many awkward pics of us. It's hard to take your own picture. Most turned out poorly!
We got to look out over old lava flows. It was amazing! It was just past a military base, and we weren't sure we were even supposed to be there. As we got to the top, a military helicopter flew right over our heads. Needless to say, we didn't stay on the top long!
This is the first of many awkward pics of us. It's hard to take your own picture. Most turned out poorly!
Once we got to the volcano national park, the air changed. You could almost taste the air. It had an ashy look to it. The since the volcano is active, it is spewing ash and steam into the air. It is hard to explain the way it feels around you, but Jason was actually having a little bit of a hard time breathing with his asthma.
This is the crater. If you look out closely, you can see the rim.
In the very center of the crater was the huge steam vent. I'm zoomed in as much as I can, but it was huge. And the air was so dense it made it hard to get good pics. Below is one of me. You can see the steam vent in the distance. It looks cold, but I got a little burned on this day.
This is one of the smaller steam vents. It was so weird, because it truly was steam hitting you. It was hot and wet (the definition of steam...I know!) They had these smaller vents all over the place.
We went on further to this lava tube. I took a ton of pictures, but I'm making this longer than I need. Read below to see what a lava tube is.
Who knew thousands of years later we would be walking through a lava tube...crazy!
A nice lady took our pic outside the lava tube. It was so tropical...so neat!
This was on our way back through the town of Hilo. It is very lush on the Western side of the island and everything was so green. This is a waterfall in the very center of town. We just pulled off a city street and here is this beautiful waterfall called Rainbow Falls. If you look down stream, (below) you see this amazing flowing stream and valley. It was gorgeous.
We took this scenic road back and there was a look out point to stop at. When you looked out you saw these amazing cliffs and this small little bay. It was just picture perfect. You could walk down a trail to the bottom and it was so serene. The water would rush against the lava rocks that were worn smooth from the ocean waves and when the water would recede you would hear them "clink" and "rattle" together as they settled. It was beautiful music!
We drove back a different way. North around the west shore. The road was similar to the Rockies. It was curvy and dangerous. But Jason drove, and I got to look out the window at the amazing cliffs and ocean view. It was a great day and the beauty of our Lord's creation was beginning to sink in. I cannot describe how it feels to see the works of His hand and know that of all He made, mankind is his masterpiece.
I promise that I won't make one big post for each day, but there is so much of our trip I want to share. So, more to come!!
Valerie
2 comments:
I didn't have time to "read" yet, but I love the face of Jason in the pic of you too and the face shortly following you are making solo! Priceless!! Miss you friends!!
Your pictures look so much better on the blog than on your camera.
I may not remember ever learning (or teaching) about lava tubes but I do remember pahoehoe. Cool words they got over there in Hawaii.
Keep the stories coming.
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