Big Island Adventures

Since sleep in inevitable at this point, I'll use my time wisely to blog about the big island. Good idea huh?

Well, after waking up SUPER early to catch our flight, we got to the big island right at 7am. Then we went to Budget to pick up our rental car. That's right! I rented my very first rental car! And may I just add that I think it's a load of crap that they add an extra charge per day if you're under the age of 25. I mean, you can rent a hotel room at 21 and purchase cancer sticks at the age of 18?!

My rental car!

Back on track though, first thing on the agenda: Captain Cook's monument. There are a few different ways you can get to this popular snorkeling spot, and we chose the most difficult: hiking. It was about an hour hike straight down, so you can only imagine the torture we endured to get back up (again with Hawaii's practically vertical hiking). But the snorkeling was great! Saw lots of pretty fish and coral while meeting some cool people in the process. Oh and I almost forgot the crazy guy who passed us on the way back to the top. This guy was in his forties or older just cruising to the top with no problem... carrying a parrot on his shoulder and being followed by a dog. I felt like I was being passed by Dr. Dolittle.

Ok next thing: Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, and don't ask me to pronounce that. In the late 1700's it was a place of refuge for lawbreakers. If they could reach this place, they were given a second chance. The coolest part about this place was all the statues.

I'd like a second chance at life if I got to stay here, wouldn't you?

After this, we ventured down to south point. These are a bunch of cliffs that apparently people can jump off of. Not this girl though. I didn't see a way back up, but I'm told there is an old rickety ladder to get back up. Still, no thanks.

Next on the list: volcano. We didn't stay here too long. Due to poor air quality, it made it hard to see. However, we came back the next day to check everything out. We did drive a ways down to see lava flow though. At night it was really neat. It was a few miles away and you weren't allowed off the path to get any closer, but you could see bright red and orange spots coming down the side of the mountain.

Steam vent at the volcano.

Best picture I could get of the lava.

The next day was filled with more volcano exploring, including a lava tube, lots of waterfalls and a botanical garden. We went to three different waterfalls, Rainbow Falls, Boiling Pots, and Akaka Falls, all were beautiful. We also stopped at a Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. Their slogan was " A garden in a valley on the ocean". It was definitely worth our time stopping! After a full day of amazing sights and scenery, we headed to the airport for our flight back to Oahu.

Inside the lava tube.

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls

Inside the garden

Boiling Pots