Driving around the Big Island

Day 4:
This was one of my favorite days of our trip. We rented a convertible and drove around the entire island, seeing volcanoes, incredible ocean views, and lush green forests:

 

We stopped in Hilo, Hawaii's second largest town, to have a picnic at Leleiwa Beach:

On our way out of town, some big truck cut us off. A local noticed and shouted to us, "Welcome to Hilo!"

All of this led up to arriving at our destination, Volcanoes National Park, where we saw the still-active Kilaeua caldera:

 

Steam rising from the caldera

Even though it looks like a warm sunny day, it's actually quite windy around the volcanos. And the sulfur steam smells like burning matches. It comes out of the ground in steam vents that are all around the park:

Sulfur steam rising from vents in the Earth

We drove around the caldera, then we took a short hike on the Devastation trail. Reportedly this was formed by lava flowing through the forest. 

Devastation trail

On our drive back, we drove past the southernmost point of the US, SURPRISE, it is called "south point." It really feels like the edge of the world, with nothing but fog and black rock looking out over the endless ocean:

South Point

Landing on the Big Island

Day 3:
We hit the beach in Oahu in the morning to try some stand-up paddleboarding. Wow, that is harder than it looks. I fell over 3 times trying to balance on the board. But it was fun! I got the hang of it towards the end.

Then we headed to the airport for a quick flight over to the Big Island. Got an awesome view of the other Hawaiian islands. The airport in Kona, HI is now officially my favorite airport. It's all outside. The check-in counters and gates are in a series of open-air hut-type structures. As soon as we landed, we were enjoying the island air.

On our way from the airport, I noticed graffiti in the black volcanic rock. But it's not painted graffiti. It's messages that people have left with white rocks. Here's one of my favorites:

BACON!

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the lagoon, pool, and ocean around the hotel:

Return tomorrow for a recap of one of my favorite parts of our trip, a trip around the Big Island and to Volcanoes National Park.