Off to the Big Island

The main island of Hawaii (the Big Island) is the one with the active volcano so it should be no surprise that this is where I planned we would spend most of our time.  I had the opportunity to visit Hawaii 2 years ago and spent the entire week on this island.

In college I went on a field trip to Hawaii and as a geology major was actually interested in the geology of the island and of course the volcano.  As fate would have it, Kilauea stopped erupting about 2 months before we arrived and started up about 4 months after I was there - and has been erupting ever since.  Two years ago I saw lava from about 3 miles away and took a helicopter ride over the flow but still never got very close.  I hoped to do better this time.

We landed in Kona and started driving around the bottom of the island on the way to the Hawaii Volcano National Park where we we staying.  The first stop was the Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.  It is called a place of refuge and defeated warriors could come here to be safe (kind of like 'base' when you used to play tag).

Jenny got into the spirit of rest and relaxation and tried out one of the examples of how huts used to be built.

These were either to ward off evil spirits or to keep the birds and rabbits out of the garden.

Can you pick out Jenny?

Turtles also seemed to use this as a place of refuge and we found several of them meandering around the shallow waters near here.

One of the things we learned is that 94% of the life forms on Hawaii are unique to the islands.  Most of the vegetation was carried there by wind, waves, or wing (birds).  Other small animals were brought over by early settlers.  So I'm not exactly sure about the story for this fellow we found after leaving the park.  He was just standing in a field along the road.  And yes, it was real...

So off we continued... heading south....as far as we could go

 Here we are: as far south in the US as you can go. (I've also been as far north in the US as you can go but that is another story)

Of course, Jenny had to go just a little farther south. Not to mention scaring mom since that is about a 200 foot drop behind her.







We decided to come back another day to visit the green sand beach near by since it was still a couple of hours drive to the Volcano Park.

It was dark by the time we arrived but I still had to head to the crater rim which was just a mile up the road from our cabin.  The actual lava lake is not visible from the summit area because it is about 100 feet down from the edge.  But there are gases coming off of it constantly and in the dark the glow from the lava lights up the gas cloud.

I felt at home standing there looking out over active crater but it was about 45 degrees, windy, and starting to rain so time to call it a day.

Sunday - Time to start sightseeing

Jenny worked as a hostess at Cheeseburger in Paradise right on Waikiki beach this semester (again, don't we all feel sorry for her).  We started out the day with mass at the church where Father Damien (now Saint Damien) was ordained.  This was just down the block from Cheeseburger and we went there for breakfast where we sat near the window looking out over the ocean.  We had two main things planned for the day: a submarine ride and a hike to the top of Diamond Head.  I had already learned that traffic around Honolulu never moves very fast and we had to allow plenty of time to get around.

The submarine ride takes you down to some man made reef areas since this area of the island does not have nearby natural reefs.

To get to the submarine you take a short boat trip which gives you a nice view of Waikiki.  This is one of the oldest hotels in Hawaii.











And a great view of Diamond Head.













As we approached the area, our submarine surfaced.







There are port holes along the sides and bench seats down the middle so each person has their own window to look through.  I was surprised by how blue the water was beneath the surface.  Even though the water was clear you often did not see the fish or 'reef' until you were right on it.

Where is that fishing pole?

We went 100 feet down and the fish are evidently used to the submarines coming through the area.

As are the sea turtles.  We saw quite a few of these both on the submarine ride and on the beaches on the Big Island.

After returning to land we headed off to hike to the top of Diamond Head.  I expected a long hike but it turns out you drive nearly to the top of it before you start to hike.  It was about 45 minute hike to the top and the view was great!

Looking down into the crater from the top.

And back toward Honolulu....

Even a lighthouse at the base - look at that clear water!

Here is a panoramic view of Honolulu and the other communities.  Notice how they built back up into all the valley areas.

All in all, a much better day than sitting in the rain.

Jenny 'had' to spend the semester in Honolulu this past semester.  To help her get over the boredom I went out to visit with her over spring break.  This is some of what we saw and did while I was out there.


Saturday - first full day in Hawaii!

Theme for the Day

Jenny was thrilled to have the opportunity to work at an event called Warrior Dash.  A company called Red Frog organizes these all around the country and this was the first ever in Hawaii.  Jenny was hoping to intern with them this summer and thought this would be a good way to get her foot in the door.

Think of this as a marathon (5 K) / Obstacle Course / Beer Fest.

Jenny's job was as a life guard at the 'Warrior Wash' - a peaceful little lake where participants could rinse off after the race (you will see it was much needed).

Clean and quite for now

Yes, we actually paid good money for that hat.











We got there about 7 in the morning (having gotten on the road about 6 AM) and they stationed Jenny at this lakeside area.  The water was about 3 feet deep and these were all technically adults participating so the risk of any of them actually drowning was pretty low.  They said they would come by during the day to see how things were going.... That was the last we saw of them for the day.


We could only see the last 3 obstacles on the course but this gives you a good idea of what they had.  From 8 AM to 5 PM, every 1/2 hour, over 100 people would be started on their way.

Jack be Nimble...

This was near the end of the course so people had been out running for over 1/2 hour, going through other 'challenges' and then had to jump 2 fire pits. They kept the flames about 3 feet high.

Several of the people ran the course in costume.  We saw guys in dresses, super hero costumes, and dressed like gladiators.

The final 40 feet was through a giant puddle with barbed wire over the top to encourage participants to keep low in the clean water. (well it started out clean)

They were certainly ready for a Warrior Wash but most of them decided to head over for their free beer and rinse off later...

I took these pictures in about the first hour.  So here it was about 9 AM with another 10 hours to go.

I sat and watched Jenny watch muddy people in the water.  As the day went on they got more and more drunk - that was about the only interesting part.  Just when I thought the day would drag on forever, it started to rain.  Jenny and I tried to make a tent out of garbage bags so we would be slightly less miserable but it did not really help.


I had to say that my first full day in Hawaii was probably the most boring of my life!

If nothing else I figured it would make the rest of the trip exciting - no matter what happened.