The Kyle Family Mystery Trip is no longer a mystery! Upon arrival at Dulles Airport last week, Jessica and I learned that we would be spending a week exploring the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I must say, I was quite surprised - I definitely didn't expect to go to the mountains when I had been told to prepare for sand. As it sunk in, I realized that no mention had been made of visiting family in Colorado, nor had we discussed the implications of the forest fire. And then I recalled a comment I had made earlier: "Wouldn't it be funny if you only told us the connecting destination?" Turns out I was right! Upon landing in Denver, we received another envelope that contained our itinerary for our trip to the Big Island of Hawai'i!
My parents are so sneaky. :)
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| Black Sand Beach! |
So, after approximately 11 hours of flight, we arrived in Kona, Hawai'i. Our first day was very laid back, considering it was 7:30pm EDT when we arrived (1:30 HAST), and of course we ended the day with an episode of LOST. Our first official day on the island (Sunday) we spent exploring the Kohala district (where we were staying), seeing sights like the Waipi'o Valley, the statue of Kamehameha I, and Pulolu Valley. Monday was our first big adventure day, driving from the Kohala district along the north coast, and ending in Hilo. This was definitely the day of rainforest and waterfalls. Our first stop was the beautiful and dramatic landscape at Laupahoehoe Beach Point, where a tsunami destroyed the local school in 1946. We then traveled around the coast to the Akaka State Falls Park, home of two waterfalls, the Kahuna Falls and the Akaka Falls. Next stop: the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Gardens! This absolutely beautiful juxtaposition of jungle and bay was well worth the numerous mosquito bites! In the city of Hilo, we stopped by Rainbow Falls, and we ended our expedition with the black sand beach at Honoli'i Beach Park!
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| Onomea Falls in the Botanical Gardens |
Tuesday, we traveled south along the coast of the Big Island to the Kona district. We began our day at the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, a culture-center of sorts. This park holds a number of re-constructed buildings, where the Polynesian royalty once lived. In some ways, its very reminiscent of Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. We continued our journey northward to Hula Daddy Coffee Plantation in Holualoa. Coffee is one of the main crops in the Kona district, and there are many plantations that offer tours and free tastings of their coffee. Our last stop of the day was at Honokohau Bay, a frequent resting place for sea turtles! Yet another check on the Hawai'i bucket list!
Wednesday was definitely a smorgasbord day. We started off at Kealakekua Bay, in the hopes of seeing spinner dolphins. Unfortunately, this was one of the items that did not get checked off of our bucket list. :( We then traveled into Kailua-Kona, the most touristy town on the island for some shopping and lunch. We hit the beach for about an hour, but all of the beach parks closed early for the Fourth of July.
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| Kilauea Caldera |
Although Wednesday was rather uneventful, Thursday was the most jam-packed day of our trip! Leaving early in the morning from our condo, we drove for three hours south around the coast (passing the southern-most point in the US!) to the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea Caldera, the most active volano in the world, is the main attraction here, although there are many other craters to be seen and hikes to explore. After exploring the Thurston Lava Tube (yes, you can actually walk inside of a lava tube!!), we embarked on a 4-mile hike across the Kilauea Iki Crater. The crater itself is 1.2 miles in diameter, and last erupted in 1959. I guess a crater that has been dormant for 50 years is fairly safe! There are trails that lead you across the Kilauea Caldera as well, but the current activity of the Halema'uma'u Crater (see photo on left) has closed these trails indefinitely. Hiking the Kilauea Iki Trail was definitely a highlight for our whole family. How many people can say that they've walked across a volcano?! We ended our tour of the national park with a drive down Chain of Craters Road, which abruptly ends in a lava flow. This road used to continue along the southern coast in the Ka'u and Puna districts, but lava flows from the 1980s through today have so consistently blocked the road, that the national park service has stopped trying to clear it.
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| Chain of Craters Road |
Our final day on the Big Island was a perfect way to end the trip. We started the day with a trip to Hapuna Beach, a white sands beach close to our condo. While the beach and water were absolutely beautiful, the wind was insane! It felt like a sandstorm! Needless to say, we did not stay too long, and had to empty sand out of all of our belongings! We ended the day with a sunset dinner cruise along the Kohala coast - absolutely beautiful! :)
I can't believe that we packed so much into just six days! The big island is definitely one of the most beautiful (and diverse!) places that I've visited, and I would love to go back both to this island and to the other Hawaiian islands some day. We left only three things on our Hawai'i bucket list unchecked (seeing a green sand beach, seeing dolphins, and seeing a wild donkey - yes those are very common in Hawai'i...they have their own crossing signs and everything!), which I would say means we did pretty well! Aloha Hawai'i! Mahalo.
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| Sunset Dinner Cruise - a perfect ending to our trip! |
The Kyle Family Mystery Trip is no longer a mystery! Upon arrival at Dulles Airport last week, Jessica and I learned that we would be spending a week exploring the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I must say, I was quite surprised - I definitely didn't expect to go to the mountains when I had been told to prepare for sand. As it sunk in, I realized that no mention had been made of visiting family in Colorado, nor had we discussed the implications of the forest fire. And then I recalled a comment I had made earlier: "Wouldn't it be funny if you only told us the connecting destination?" Turns out I was right! Upon landing in Denver, we received another envelope that contained our itinerary for our trip to the Big Island of Hawai'i! My parents are so sneaky. :)
