Hilo

We arrived the evening of January 18. We first landed in Honolulu after about nine hours nonstop from Atlanta. Carole was feeling motion sick, so she was less than excited about hopping on anotherLue lisää
Pāhoa

The morning of our first day we took a drive through the Puna district of the Big Island. Its a more remote, relatively untraveled area with a lot of beautiful scenery. We saw a hot spring pond and aLue lisää
Kalapana

We continued our drive through the Puna district on to the Red Road and Kalapana.
Rainbow Falls

We booked a tour with Arnott's Lodge to drive up to the summit of Mauna Kea. The first stop was Rainbow Falls. As you can see, the falls were beautiful and the banyan tree was the biggest banyan we'dLue lisää
Mauna Kea visitor center

On the way up to the summit of Mauna Kea we had to stop at the visitor center to slowly acclimate to the elevation before going to the summit. Saw some interesting silversword plants there and watchedLue lisää
Mauna Kea summit

We drove up the winding road to the summit and waited for the sun to set at the top of Mauna Kea. About a dozen massive telescopes line the summit as the location, atmosphere and elevation make it aLue lisää
Mauna Kea summit

These are more pics at the summit...incredible sunset view above the clouds...we could also see the mountain on Maui in the distance. The coats we're wearing were provided by the tour company and weLue lisää
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

On Friday, we got up early and headed for Volcano National Park. We got there before the visitor center opened so we headed to the lava tube first. A short walk from the Visitors Center there wereLue lisää
Jaggar museum and observatory

Kīlauea is a currently active shield volcano, and the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaiʻi. It is the clearly the highlight of Volcano National Park and JaggarLue lisää
chain of craters road

Chain of Craters Road is a 19-mile/30-km winding paved road through the East Rift and coastal area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We saw lava for miles and miles along this road. A longLue lisää
scenic view

We ate a quick lunch and enjoyed the view here. It wasn't the best $8 turkey hoagie I've ever had, but at least there was a view and the sun came out for us.
Holei Sea Arch

After a long drive we made it down to the Pacific Ocean to see this arch created by the erosion of the waves against the lava. Carole was breaking the rules again when posing for this picture, but itLue lisää
Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs

We hiked about a mile and a half round trip for some carvings in the lava stone...not the best use of time in my opinion, but we didn't realize how lame it was till we got there. I suppose if you knowLue lisää
Kilauea Iki Crater/Kilauea overlook...

These pics are from the Kilauea overlook, Volcano House, Kilauea Iki Crater, Lua Manu crater and the Puhimau crater. On the way back to Hilo for a flight to Honolulu we stopped by the little nearbyLue lisää
Condo view and Diamond Head Crater Hike

Friday night we flew to Honolulu from Hilo and it was a bit of an adventure to find our air bnb condo. We eventually did and it was a nice spot on the 28th floor overlooking Waikiki (see pic). TheLue lisää
Diamond Head Crater Hike

The hike up the crater was pretty steep at times, and the footing was terrible. We saw a lot of joggers running up and down which we thought was nuts given the poor footing and how narrow the pathwayLue lisää
North Shore of Oahu

After hiking up Diamond Head and back we went back to the condo to shower and then decided to drive up to the North Shore of Oahu. We stopped by the Dole Plantation to buy some stuff and then drove upLue lisää
Polynesian Cultural Center

We got here a little before 2pm and had a guided tour where we saw several interesting cultural shows including one from New Zealand, Tonga, and Samoa. We then watched a floating parade which you canLue lisää
Polynesian Cultural Center

Before the trip, one of Carole's musts was to go to a luau. This place was recommended and the food and entertainment did not disappoint. The luau and the show afterward were very impressive.
Pali lookout

On Sunday Carole went to her conference and Mike visited a little PCA church in Honolulu. It just happened to be potluck Sunday! Woo hoo! Then we decided to drive around the rest of Oahu and stoppedLue lisää
Kailua Beach/ Lanikai Beach

After Pali Lookout we drove along the southeast coast of Oahu stopping at Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach. With the wind and the waves we saw some pretty impressive kite surfing and walked along theLue lisää
Waimanalo/Makupu'u and Halona blowhole

All kinds of beautiful views along the coast here, but the highlight was the Halona Blowhole. Apparently, on some days, there isn't much to see there, but this was a very windy day with heavy surf soLue lisää
Bishop Museum

On Monday morning Carole was back at her conference and Mike headed to the Bishop Museum which was a really interesting look at Hawaii's history. Some fascinating exhibits told the story of how HawaiiLue lisää
Hanauma Bay

On Monday afternoon, we headed to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. Carole, of course, had her own snorkel and mask and Mike had to rent one. It was a little chilly, but we saw some amazing fish. MikeLue lisää
Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial

Mike got online and bought tickets early the previous day so that we could go see the USS Arizona memorial. We just about missed our tour because it was almost impossible to find parking, but we madeLue lisää