Big Island

Drew and I have wanted to take a trip over to the Big Island for as long as we can remember, but for some reason it just never worked out.  We have been to both Kauai and Maui (and loved both), but always wanted to see the volcanoes.  We were quickly running out of time and I had given up on the idea of going.  


Drew sold his car and had some extra cash.  He came home from work last Tuesday and surprised me with a trip to the Big Island for the upcoming weekend!  Due to his schedule we would only be able to be there for 2 days, but I gladly jumped at the chance to go!  


Our flight was scheduled to leave Oahu around 7 pm on Friday night.  Drew just so happened to get off of work early, so I asked him to call and change our flight to an earlier one.  We wanted to land in time to go see the lava flow at night, as they won't let anyone in past 8pm.  I was busy running errands, like picking  up some travel sized toiletries so we didn't have to check a bag, when Drew called. This is 1:47 pm, mind you.  He tells me that they have one earlier flight available at 3:20; did we want it? "YES!" I said, but then started doing the math in my head. (I'm 20 min. from the condo, which is 32 min. from the airport and I still had a couple of things to throw in our bag)...Umm  we need to leave like NOW!  So I finished up at Walmart as fast as I could, hurried home to finish packing and pick up Drew.  I got back to the condo at 2:20pm, we left in a crazy rush at 2:28 pm and arrived (safely...thank you, Lord) at the airport at 3:00 on the dot....TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE OUR FLIGHT!  My adrenaline is pumping.  Drew and Andrew hop out at the curb, while I jump in the passenger seat to go park the car.  I had to exit the airport, drive all the way back around, and then wait on an excruciatingly long elevator, then run what seemed to be a half a mile through the airport to meet my boys in the security line.  *WHEW*  At 3:15 pm we made it through the security line and then ran like the family in Home Alone all the way to our gate, thinking the whole time that we had long missed our flight.  But lo, and behold when we came screeching to a halt in front of gate #25, there was a long line.  They had JUST started boarding!  It was a miracle.  Somehow, america's #1 on time airline (Hawaiian Airlines) was running late and we made it!  Other than Andrew being upset that we were on the very back row and therefore didn't have a window for him to look out of, it was a quick and painless 45 min. flight.  


When we got to the airport, we found the Avis rental car window and went to pick up our vehicle, which was supposed to be a tiny economy car.  We had plans to scale the summit of Mauna Kea, which required a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  Luckily for us, they had a brand new RED dodge 4 door truck ready to go.  With the Kama'aina rate, the upgrade cost wasn't that bad.  I think we actually got it cheaper by "upgrading" than if we had reserved a 4 wheel drive vehicle in the first place.  


Finally settled, we were on our way!  I was like a kid at Christmas; super excited!  First thing we did: EAT...I was starving.  Then we drove to KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) to check in, which is inside Volcano National Park.  Coming through the gate, I can already see steam...SEEPING FROM THE EARTH!  (I'm amazed)

When I turned off my camera, I thought to myself,  'I really should have packed my battery charger.'  I didn't think anything else of it because my battery lasts for about 3 months before I have to charge it.  


After checking in, we realized that we didn't bring our jackets and jeans.  (KMC is about 3500 ft. above sea level and it gets cold at night!  Mauna Kea is over 13,000 ft. and gets REALLY cold at night)  So we made a quick stop at the general store at the camp and picked up a sweatshirt for Andrew and fleece jackets for Drew and myself.  Next we headed out to the end of Hwy 130 to hike down to see where the lava flows into the ocean.  Due to the recent lava flow, and that guy's house being destroyed by the lava, they had to move the "safety area" waaaaay back, so all we saw was this fiery, orange glow in the distance.  Still, very cool.  It started to rain so we walked the mile back as fast as we could; Drew, with Andrew on his back.  We were soaked.  Good thing we had jackets on!  


When we got back to our apartment at KMC, it was 58 degrees outside and we were wet....and cold.  So Drew built a fire in our fireplace and we warmed up.  Andrew looked really cute in front of the fire so I reached for my camera to take a picture.....YEP, you guessed it.....my camera died!  :(  I was so upset.  Luckily I had my cell phone and even luckier, Drew had his Kodak easy share in our bag! (Thanks honey!)  Now this would normally be the part of the post where I share all kinds of really neat pictures from our trip with you, BUT that Kodak easy share is currently 5,000 miles away, so the pictures will have to wait!.

Here's a quick run down of the rest of our trip:
We spend the majority of the day on Saturday inside Volcano National Park.  We saw the crater at Kilauea (it smelled like sulfur), we walked through a rain forest and a lava tube, and drove Chain of Crater's Road all the way to the ocean.  We I really wanted to actually see the lava flowing into the ocean, but it was a 4 mile hike IN (which means a 4 mile walk out) on uneven terrain and Drew we didn't want to take Andrew on that excursion.  So we put that on our to-do list for the next time we come.  (Because we WILL go back.  There's just so much left to do)


That night was probably one of our highlights of the trip. We left KMC and drove through Hilo, where we had to make a very important stop at Big Island Candies, where I spent way too much money, but that's beside the point.  They are famous for their hibiscus truffles and since they're all gone, I'm thankful that you can order them online!  Then we headed up the Hamakua coast to visit Rainbow falls and Akaka falls.  Then we drove up to Mauna Kea for sunset.  It was breathtaking.  I mean, how many of you can say you've seen the sunset from 13,500 feet?  After sunset we drove back down to the visitor's center (9,000 feet) for a star party.  They had multiple telescopes set up for us to look through.  We saw the moon, Mars, Venus, and the rings of Saturn.  Then we even had a mini astronomy lesson, as our guide pointed out all the constellations.  The air is very clear and still at 9,000 ft.  I have never seen so many stars in all my life!  It was gorgeous...and FREE, so if you're ever on the Big Island, you have to check it out.  


Sunday, we spent most of our time in the car.  We only had 2 days and wanted to see as much of the island as possible, so we drove from KMC down to Punalu'u's black sand beach, then headed down to south point.  We at the southernmost restaurant in the U.S., and had malasadas from the southernmost bakery in the U.S.  We drove down to the southernmost tip of the U.S. and saw some crazy cliff divers.  (It makes jumping off the rock at Waimea a walk in the park!)  We wanted to walk to the green sand beach (yes, Green) but again it was quite a hike over lava rocks and I hear you had to climb down a cliff to get to it...so, next time!   From there we drove west,  to Kailua-Kona, around the northern side of the island, through ranch country, Waimea, and back down the Hamakua coast through a Eucalyptus forrest to Hilo, where we had just enough time to fill up the truck and head to the airport.  (For those of you not familiar with those areas, we basically drove around the whole island.)   


We had so much fun!  There is so much more to do on the Big Island than Oahu.  Or maybe not.  Maybe it just seemed like it since I live there and do all the touristy things all the time.  But c'mon...there's not an active volcano on Oahu!  I could spend a week in Volcano National Park alone, just hiking trails!  Like I said before we will be going back one day.  I have a whole list of things to do and I can't wait.  


I'm thankful for my husband, who took us on this trip.  It was so nice to get away as a family and spend some quality time together.  I really enjoyed it and can't wait until we can have another family vacation!