Yesterday (Friday) was our last chance to head to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where, you guessed it, volcanoes, craters, lava rocks and such are to be found. You also guessed correctly, if you read previous blog entries, that this was another 2 hours drive from Kona. Now where you might get penalized in points (for those keeping score) is that there are no active volcanoes and thus, no glowing red lava flowing. This isn’t so bad if you think about what could happen with an active volcano and trying to flee on this island of no bathrooms.
Starting at the visitor center, we headed to Crater Rim Drive East to follow it all the way to the ocean and a land/sea arch formed by cooled lava. We truly did make it an adventure and made various stops along the way to see craters and lava flow remains from past eruptions. Here are some of those scenes
The final destination in the park was the sea arch – a 38 mile (round trip) car ride down in elevation to the coast. As we approached the coast, the wind got more and more intense. Luckily, I didn’t blow away but it felt unnerving being close to cliffs with wind gusts present.
Ready to leave the park, we made an impromptu decision to check out the steam vents found near the entrance. The steam was intense but the $Free.99 facial was worth it!
Before we headed back to Kona, there was 1 more place David wanted to check off of his list: the Southernmost part of the USA. And probably for not any reason that comes easily to mind. Nope, he wanted to call his best friend of 45 years and tell him that he was more Southern than him! David likes to say he’s from the south, and from what I noticed, Jacksonville, Florida is more southern than San Diego. But I indulged him, despite the sun and elevation having gotten the better of me.
After our long day at the volcanoes, we rested up a bit and went to have sushi. The yellowtail was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and I don’t really like much raw food. If you’re in Kona, eat at Kenichi, especially if you can get a seat during their 30% off sushi happy hour.
Today (Saturday), David’s friend Mike came from Maui to spend some time catching up with David & getting to know me. It was fun going to Kona brewing and hitting a snorkel beach before Mike had to head back to the airport. But I appreciate the effort he made to visit and we’ll get to spend some time with him at the wedding.
We leave tomorrow back for San Diego. It was nice to be forced into slowing down. But, I’m ready to leave this “3rd world state” behind and settle back into my San Diego paradise. And David and I have figured out our collective travel style, which makes this Gypsy Girl ok with settling down.
There She Goes... 