Port of Call: Hilo, Hawai'i, HI
Hawai'i
Nickname: The Big Island
Official Color: Red
Official Flower: Red Ohia Blossom
We arrived in Hilo early, met our driver, and headed off to the airport to reunite with Hubby (again)!
Our first stop was at the King Kamehameha statue in the Wailoa River State Park...
before taking a peek at today's surfers down at Honoli'i Beach Park...
We next made a stop at the beautiful Akaka Falls State Park...
This was a great stop to get out and walk around...
We decided to hike the Circle Route which follows the long way around to Akaka Falls through a lush, tropical rainforest type area...
below the canopy of a majestic banyan tree...
and past the overlook for the smaller Kahuna Falls...
We circled back past more pretty flowers...
and up around to the other side of the banyan tree...
passing by even more pretty flowers...
before making our way to the breathtaking Akaka Falls...
Akaka Falls plunges 442 feet into a stream-eroded gorge...
From there we continued the trail...
back around to where we started...
From the park, we made a pit stop for fresh coconut water and pineapple from a roadside stand...
The jury's still out on the fresh coconut water.
B liked it...
Hubby liked it, too...
L, not so much...
M wasn't a fan either!
I loved it, but was looking for that "drinking out of a brown, furry coconut movie moment"!
As it turns out, coconut water differs from coconut milk because the sweet, nutty elixir that builds inside the shell of a young coconut (hence the green, smooth shell) is actually called coconut water. As the fruit ages (and the outside shell morphs into the brown, furry one we all know), the water solidifies into the white meat and is then pressed for coconut milk or coconut oil.
After finishing off my dose of coconut water, I spent most of my time at this stop looking at...wait for it...flowers...
As it turns out, coconut water differs from coconut milk because the sweet, nutty elixir that builds inside the shell of a young coconut (hence the green, smooth shell) is actually called coconut water. As the fruit ages (and the outside shell morphs into the brown, furry one we all know), the water solidifies into the white meat and is then pressed for coconut milk or coconut oil.
After finishing off my dose of coconut water, I spent most of my time at this stop looking at...wait for it...flowers...
Next up, we visited the Mauna Loa Factory and Visitor Center...
Since it was the week of Christmas, the factory was not producing...
but we did get to take a peek inside...
before grabbing a quick lunch at the café onsite.
After lunch, we made our way over to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park where we spent some time in the visitor center working on the kids' Junior Ranger badges...
Upon leaving, we stopped at the steam vents...
It's crazy how right next to the parking lot, the ground is so hot in places that there is visible steam rising up!
Evidently, the steam is created by rainwater coming in contact with the hot fissures in the rock below...
From there, we took a short path to the rim of the Kilauea Caldera...
which...
was...
cool...
There are still several closures in effect from its last eruption in 2018, that expanded the caldera substantially...
Before heading back to the port, we took one last drive down to the southern side of the island for a view of the southernmost point of the island (and therefore, the United States).
While this would suffice for most people, what our driver didn't know is that I'm not most people...yes, it's a curse. I'm a researcher. I'm the one that knows what I'm seeing before the tour guide tells me...
I know that this wasn't as close as we could get to the exact spot of the *official* southernmost point of the United States, Ka Lae off of South Point Road, but (sigh) time was ticking and we had a ship to catch (well, 5 of the 6 of us did at least)...
{Hawai'i Magazine}
{Pinterest}
Now don't get me wrong, that didn't stop me from taking pictures like it did, in fact, suffice!
So, Ka Lae remains on my "list" to get back to, for real, one day... Afterall, I must *officially* check off this "extreme point" and add it to our collection someday...
The very last stop of the day was at Punalu'u Beach...
The black sand at this beach is made of basalt and forms when lava flows into the ocean and explodes as it reaches the water and cools...
Until next time, Hawai'i...
The very last stop of the day was at Punalu'u Beach...
The black sand at this beach is made of basalt and forms when lava flows into the ocean and explodes as it reaches the water and cools...
Until next time, Hawai'i...
More {CA, HI & MEXICO} 2019 Fun
