1. Road to Hana
2. Kona
3. Queen’s Bath
4. Hike up Diamond Head
5. Rent a Jeep in Lanai
6. Helicopter tour of Kauai
7. Kauai Lighthouse
8. Scuba dive
9. Chain of Craters Road

I decided to sleep in a little bit but I ended up getting awake at around 6 a.m. I decided to go out and try to find a beach to swim at and then take a shower afterwards. I asked the lady at the front desk if she could recommend a beach based on my Google search results. She said the most popular Beach was not a part of the Google search results. She recommended Robinson Beach. I decided to drive there. Unfortunately I found out that beaches in Hilo are not the sandy beaches you picture whenever you think of a beach. Instead they have a rocky Coastline from the volcano eruptions. Since the land is relatively new it has not had a chance to be broken down into sand. I drove along the coast trying to find a beach that would fit my expectations but of course I was not able to find it.

I was getting hungry so I decided to head out to McDonald’s and try to get an authentic spam mail. Google Maps led me to a Walmart which had a McDonald’s inside of it. I do believe it was the same Walmart that I visited 8 years ago. I got the spam and eggs and rice. There’s nothing particularly amazing about the meal except for the fact that one could brag but they are spam in Hawaii.

While I was in Walmart I decided to check out there souvenir section. There wasn’t anything particularly that caught my eye in the souvenir section. However I would recommend Walmart for reasonably priced souvenirs for any vacation in Hawaii.

As I was walking out I asked a manager about the beaches and he explained how the beaches were all Rocky in Hilo. He suggested I drive to Kona which was a good 2 hours away. I decided not to because it would have eaten up most of my time getting there and then getting back.

I went back to the hotel and rest a little bit before checking out. The hotel had fruit including bananas and a citrus fruit and citrus flavored water available in the lobby. I wish I had known this before I had checked out and I would have taken advantage of it.

Yesterday my car’s tires showed being low so I decided to go to the airport to get more air in the tires Budget Rent a Car. I explained to the sales attendant to my situation and she told me where to go to get more air in the tires. Apparently in the back part of the airport there is a car wash and gas filling station for the rental car companies. I met Arthur the guy who was supposed to help fix it. He put air in my tires. The tower which was causing problems with the left driver side Tire. He also washed my car and remarks that my car was quite dirty. I did not reveal that I had driven down several miles of gravel road in order to see the telescopes.

I headed toward Subway to get a sandwich to go to eat while in volcanoes National Park. As I said before the restaurant options are very limited and I did not want to be stuck Hana hi Bill for food that I did not enjoy. I would highly recommend getting as an Ozark can cooler to keep your ice cold.

As I made my way to Volcanoes National Park I called my family to ask how things were and try to find gas. The first gas station that I went to must have been some sort of private membership only type gas station as my credit cards did not work. I ended up stopping at Phillips 76 station and filled up. I had went down to half a tank of gas on my way to both volcanoes yesterday.

I arrived at Volcanoes National Park and went to the visitor center.  I asked about the Kilauea Iki crater Trail which I had previously missed. She gave me good directions. How could shorten my walk by half a mile if I was able to actually Park in the lava tube parking lot. However this parking lot is always full. So instead I drove towards the trailhead.

I arrived at the trailhead and started walking. This time I started walking clockwise instead of counterclockwise as I had done yesterday. Throughout the trail they were signs indicating to stay on the trail rather than make a shortcut by cutting through the forested section of the trail.

It took awhile to get to the bottom of the trail. I saw many out of breath people climbing back up.
The bottom of the trail looks like the surface of the Moon. In order to keep the trail visible there are stacks of rocks along the sides. It looks like the setting for a Planet of the Apes type movie. I managed to get someone to take my photo at the bottom of it. This is an ongoing problem when you travel alone there’s not enough opportunity to take selfies for good photos of yourself. The people who took my photo mentioned that there was a steam opening but I was unable to find it. I walked over halfway to the other side and decided it would be best for me to head on back.

It took awhile for me to walk back up and by the time I got back up it was 1:30 p.m. I hadn’t had lunch and decided it would be best for me to go ahead and eat. I drove back to the visitor station and grabbed a picnic table and begin my lunch. As expected there was still ice in my Ozark cup  cooler.

A couple from Montreal sat down beside me after asking permission.  I finished up my lunch and offered them a “Bon Voyage” before leaving to travel to Jagger Museum.
As I drove to Jagger Museum I saw a parking area for the steam vents.  I made a mental note to myself to stop by after I got through the Jagger Museum.  The Jagger Museum is built within viewing distance of the smoking Halema’uma’u crater.  This is the most active volcano in the world as explained by the enthusiastic park ranger giving an impromptu lesson on the history of Hawaiian volcanoes….or more specifically Halema’uma’u.  Did you know visitors used to hold their postcards to be singed before mailing them to prove they were at the volcanos? Did you know the volcanos are considered sacred by the native Hawaiians and point to Pele, the goddess of volcanos?

I took some photos of the smoking volcano.  I almost bought a 50s style poster, but decided against it, after all it was $39 without framing, overpriced…and I’m not sure I had room for it in transport and on my walls back home.

Next I drove to the steam vents and smelt the slight sulfur smell fuming from them.  Afterwards I decided to hike the devastation trail.  There was a hill with gravel rock near the entrance to it, and later on the path to an overlook of Kilauea Iki.  I took photos of plants along the way.

I really wanted to go on the chain of craters tour, but unfortunately there was not enough time. It was already 3:30PM, and one way was 37 minutes.  I would like to stop quite a bit to get out and take photos, so it could have easily been a 90 minutes round trip.  I decided against it, opting to do some shopping on my way back to Hilo.

I decided to try out Hilo Burger Joint in downtown Hilo.  Parking was very limited.  I parked on the street in front of a music store.  I halfway expected to see my car broken into when I got back.  That’s what I do, expect the worst and be surprised when nothing happens.

I got a burger with cheese loading inside the patty.  There is a food truck, Hoss Burger in Nashville, that does it, and seems to be slightly better than Hilo Burgers, which seemed to have less cheese.  My waiter kinda forsook me and didn’t give me a refill of water.  I think another patron was asking him too many questions for him to pay attention to me.

After paying my bill I headed off to my car to pack up my stuff.  Have you ever tried to change from shorts to jeans in a parked car in downtown Hilo?  I takes some maneuvering. I do this because jeans take up so much space in my backpack, which was already full with Ozark water containers, a beach tow, electronics, among several other things.

Returning my car posed some issues as I couldn’t initially find a parking space for Budget cars, eventually I found one, but I did have to go back and write down the mileage on my car to give to the attendant.

TSA was no problem at Hilo airport.  I think there was one couple in front of me.  Hilo airport appears to be an open airport, like most Hawaiian airports.  I wonder what happens when a hurricane comes through?  There are no door to close to keep the rain out.

My flight left late possibly due to a late incoming flight.  I wish I had planned for it, otherwise I might have been able to do the chain of craters tour.

Tomorrow I pack up and leave for the mainland, but not without some much needed beach time.

​I scheduled my flight later than normal on purpose. I was due to fly out at 8 a.m. and arrive in Hilo at around 8:45 a.m. Brad gave me some tips on what to see on the Big Island including the Mains Kea volcano.

I arrived in Hilo and made my way to Budget Rent A Car. I used some gift certificates that I got from work in order to get a large discount on my rental car.

They gave me a Ford Fiesta, a slightly smaller car then the Ford Focus I had yesterday.  It didn’t have all the bells and whistles on it including the rear camera and it did not seem as powerful as the Ford Focus.

I stopped by Rainbow Falls just a few minutes away from the airport.  Brad had told me to arrive before the bus loads of tourist arrived. I got there and there was only one bus parked there but not as many tourist as what I thought would be. the way the water slows down it makes it look like there is a rainbow around the falls. It was very beautiful. Also by the falls there is a small wooded area with unusual trees with.roots exposed. I did a few videos and pictures in that area as well.

I decided to fill up on breakfast and have a late lunch so that I would not be hungry during the lava tour. I stopped at McDonalds at 10 a.m. but was told they had stopped serving the entire breakfast menu but the all-day breakfast menu was available. I was disappointed that I could not get spin as I was looking forward to getting it at McDonalds. Instead I got a sausage McMuffin with cheese. I managed to fill up my Ozark Yeti knockoff cup with eyes from their ice dispenser. I didn’t stop to buy Subway to get lunch to go. I mention to the sandwich artist that I was going to volcanoes and she said that was where she was from. I asked her about the Mauna Kea volcano and the Volcanoes National Park to try to determine if I could do both come one day and still make it in time for my lava tour at 4:30 p.m. She seemed to think I could but would not really give me a definite answer.

I then decided to drive up Mains Kea. It was about an hours drive away from Hilo. I would be using the infamous saddle Road in order to get to it. I’d always heard stories about how local Hawaiian drive really fast on this road.

After several minutes on the road I turned up the road in order to go to the doormat volcano. the paved portion of the road going up was somewhat steep and I was a little bit worried that my Ford Fiesta wouldn’t be able to make it. There were sons to check road conditions at the visitor center. When I got to the visitor center I tried to find a parking space that but there was none to be found. I did see parking spaces on the road but I decided to forgo parking and just head up the hill. Brad had warned me that there would be signs stating that no rental cars were to be used past a certain point. But the tourists always ignore that and drive all the way up to the top of the mountain which is what I was planning on doing. Sure enough there were signs indicating 4 by 4 only. I followed Brad’s advice and headed up the hill and soon encountered a gravel road. The road became pretty steep with a lot of Curves. I was a little bit worried that my Ford Fiesta would not make it up the hill. I was giving her all she’s got. After a while I got to pay for some of the road. I think they don’t pay if the road to discourage tourists from trying to drive up there. But somehow portions of the road at The Summit are paved.

The summit had many Optical and radio telescopes. Book The Lone Visitor Center that I found was not open. The rest of the telescope Square for the University of Hawaii to use.

Throughout my drive up there I noticed all of the road signs had large holes in them purposely put there. It wasn’t gunshot holes rather it was done by a machine at the point of manufacturing. I can only surmise that maybe the holes were put there so that it would not blow down during wind storms.

I spent a few minutes driving around at the top and taking several pictures and videos. On my way down I noticed a woman trying to hitchhike down with a Jeep parked in a parking lot nearby. Using my best judgment I decided not to give her a ride. I’m sure she would have been harmless but I really just don’t ever pick up hitchhikers.

I got to the visitor center and purchased a Christmas ornament to remember my time at the volcano. The lady didn’t give me a bag and mentioned that they were going back was there to reduce trash.

Next I decided to head to Volcanoes National Park which was about an hour drive away from my present location. I figured I could get there and have a good hour in the park and then be able to make my lava Tour by 4:30.

After about an hour of driving I reached Volcanoes National Park and stop at the visitor center. All the picnic tables were taken so I decided to eat my lunch on an old stump while standing. Thankfully virtually all the ice was unmelted in MA Ozark cup. I then set off to try to find the Kilea Iki crater. It was something that I missed doing 8 years ago whenever I was first on the big island. There is a way to get down to the bottom of the crater by hiking but I haven’t figured out how to get there.

I got to where I thought the Trail began and started hiking but it seem like I was not getting any closer to the crater and instead was hiking around the rim of the crater. I turned back and found a sign at the beginning of it stating that it was a 2 hour hike. I quickly decided to make other plans because I would not have been able to see the crater and have the lava tour. I decided to try and find the Thurston lava tube. I had seen it before but I remember it being a very short walk to it and something I could do within the allotted time. Unfortunately the parking lot was full with cars. This is an ongoing problem with Hawaii in general.  There is simply not enough parking spaces for all the rental cars. I drove around and found a Lookout Point for the crater.

I decided to check my phone to find out how long it would take me to get to the Rendezvous point for the lava tour. I had checked earlier and it said that it was an hour to get to the tour from Volcanoes National Park. However this time I checked and it said two and a half hours. In a panic drove back to where I came and started on my journey to the Rendezvous point for the volcano tour. At this point I called love the land which is the group that is organizing the tour. The lady on the phone was very kind and helped to guide me along the way and said that I was ok because GPS’s tend to mess up around this area. I later found out that the Google Maps had changed from car directions to bike riding directions when I entered in Volcanoes National Park.

After about an hour I made it to the Rendezvous point for the lava tour. I asked the first tour group that I spotted if that was Lava Land Tour and he said yes. I picked up my bicycle for a 3 Mile ride. Thankfully I was able to keep up with our tour guide. I felt that I was in better shape than some of the other folks on the tour. At times I was riding up here and it was a bit more difficult with unsteady gravel. But the wind was to our backs which helped as well. Along the way I saw shacks of houses where people had set up to live. I later found out that this used to be a subdivision and all of the houses had been burned up by the volcano. People were selling drinks along the way. I’m not sure if they were former residents or just people looking to make a quick buck. We crossed a gate which said residential area. Obviously this is where some of the houses were. After a few miles we made it to the National Park boundary which had another gate to it. Eventually we got out and our tour guide change the bikes to a post and We hiked the area near the ocean. You could see the lava flow jumping into the ocean and steam building up as it happened. You could tell that the law but was red and orange. 

It was very exciting to see this. We spend a few minutes there making pictures and video before moving on to get closer to the lava flow. We moved to a closer crowded area to see the lava flow. The park rangers head broke off in the area but people were behind the Rope near the ocean. The park ranger made the people move. I noticed there was some guy in the front of the area with a tripod and camera taking hundreds of photos of the lava. I couldn’t understand why he was dominating the area in prom photo taking position and not allowing others to share in the photo taking.

After a while there we decided to go 3/4 of a mile away from the ocean to sea a hotspot of lava. The lava there was amazing. It’s just like how you see it on documentaries. The Louisville is orange and it bubbled up and burst forth whenever the pressure became too much to keep it inside of the hardened lava. I took several pictures and made several video there.

It was at this point that I noticed all around us you could see was lava rock and it all look the same. Had I not had a tour guide I would have been completely lost. Our tour guide mentioned that many times there are rescues needed out here because people get dehydrated or lost. I think this area could be a great place to spend a devotional talking about being spiritually lost. There is no way that I can correctly put in words how vast it seemed. Everywhere you looked there was just miles and miles of lava rock.

Within our group there was probably about for families represented not including myself. There was a couple from Florida,  Another family from Australia, and two other families. I was wearing my GoPro chest strap and I noticed another teenager in our group wearing his GoPro as well.

When it started getting dark is when we headed back. It seemed to be a long hike but the length of the hike was probably misconstrued to the fact that we were having to use flashlights on uneven surfaces. We made it back to the road and walked a few feet to our bikes. It was then I was to start possibly the most tiring bike ride I had done ever. I walked much of the way with my bike. We had one girl to fall after just getting on the bike to roll out because the gravel with so uneven. To make matters worse we were riding into the wind. We did have flashlights secured to the handlebars of the bikes to help us navigate. But I was unable to adjust the size of the beam from my flashlight and it seem to be blinding several people as I was traveling. One kid made somewhat of a sarcastic remark and said in general put down your lights. It was then that I figured out that I should probably shut my beams to the ground.

But eventually I made it back to my vehicle and wasn’t the last person to arrive. The tour guide had taken a handful of people to the lava flow dumping into the ocean and was going to be sure to be the last one out.

Hi then drove back to my hotel and checked in. This particular Hotel like the rest of Hawaii has very little parking. I made my own parking space and I’m not even sure it is legal. But the hotel has my license plate number so they can notify me if it needs to be moved. I then decided to get Domino’s Pizza not necessarily because I was craving Dominos but because they were open. They close at 11.

Tomorrow I’m headed back to Volcanoes National Park to visit the Kilauea Iki Crater, among other things.

Today my flight wasn’t as early as my 6am flight yesterday. It was due to depart after 7 am, which let me sleep in a little later.

After a brief line in security I made it to my gate.  During down times like this call my family.  It was 11am in Nashville.

As I boarded the plane, the theme to Hawaii Five-O played.  How appropriate.

After a 40 minute flight we made to Lihue airport. I subsequently found the empty curbside Avis counter with instructions to catch the shuttle to the nearby parking lot. It was a bit confusing as it appears that Avis and Budget share a shuttle van and possibly a curbside counter, but are on different car lots.

The Avis lady tried to upsell me on the car by trying to get me to buy an extra $15 Mustang convertible package. I declined. Also declined the extra insurance coverage and liability. It’s really only a ploy to get more money when in reality we really don’t usually use this coverage. I was given a black Ford Focus. After messing around with the stereo to try and get it to play my Line in from my iPod I gave up. I then drove it to the attendant who helped me figure out what to do. If there’s one thing that I want is good music while I drive around the island.

After getting my music straight down I headed toward Waimea Canyon. Hi pass through a few small towns on my way to the canyon. There were some spectacular views of the and descending to the ocean on the horizon. I then started my way up to the canyon. There were a few pull off points to where you could see a nice scenic view. On my way up there was this dark minivan that seem to be going very fast and wanting to pass me at times. I eventually let him over. He was driving erratically and I would not be surprised if he had ended up in a wreck as he was driving on the wrong side of the road at times during navigation of the Hills.

Made it to the canyon Lookout. There were several cars already there. There was also a Fruit Stand and feral chickens hanging around and even at the top of this mountain.

I climbed the incline up to the top of the lookout. Nick Cannon was spectacular although I don’t believe it was as long as the Grand Canyon it’s still comparable in Beauty. I saw helicopters getting early morning tours to tourists. There was also a elementary-age child there who was exclaiming many Pokemon he had been able to catch. He also explained that the Waimea Canyon Lookout is a pokegym. It’s funny how some things that are so spectacular can have no effect on the younger generation. In a hundred years people won’t remember what “Pokémon Go” was. But 100 years from now Waimea Canyon will still be around and still as spectacular.

I really wanted to get a good non-selfie photo of myself and was hesitant to ask the gentleman with a nice camera taking photos of his camera.  He seemed very busy trying to figure out settings on his camera and remarked that it was time to leave.

There were other overlooks on down the road but I figured it was best to try to explore other parts of the island rather than see more overlooks.  Had I had 2 days in Kauai I would have explored more of the canyon.

As kind of a unique surpise, I found myself at a fork in the road and sure enough the road to the right eventually went to Polihale State Park according to Google Maps.  Polihale was a remote beach on the western part of the island.  I wanted to visit it as it had some unique mountain outcroppings which would make for a great photo op.  I decided to try to visit it.

After I got to the base of the mountain there was a long road with 50 mph speed limit signs – a rarity on Kauai when it seems everything in town is 25 mph.  Eventually I got to a sign which said “Road Floods During Rain” and “Travel at Your Own Risk.”  I knew that this beach was remote because many tourists aren’t willing to drive the 3 miles on unpaved roads to get there.  So I started on the dirt road in my Ford Focus.  If you could imagine going through several potholes at once, that was how the road was at times.  You couldn’t go too fast or else you would tear up the car’s suspension.  I envied the 4 wheel drive Jeep drivers.  Along the way I began to ask myself if this was worth it – to spend 20 minutes driving 3 miles.  I wondered if I would be penalized if Avis found I had driven on the road (this blog post might serve as evidence).  Sometimes I wanted to turn back.  After a while I got to what looked like sand.  I met a lady driving a Jeep Cherokee and I rolled down my window to ask if the beach was nearby.  “Yes,” she said..”Not too far.”  I got to a very sandy part and decided it was best to climb up the hill to see if the beach was nearby.  Sure enough it was.  I didn’t change into my swimwear and instead took my GoPro and Cannon cameras.  There were a few pick up trucks parked in the sand (something I would be very apprehensive about doing figuring I probably couldn’t get my truck out).  After doing some video taping and photography I figured I might was well wade near the water…or at least get my feet wet.  Some of the waves didn’t push the water much, others pushed it pretty far.  I was caught off guard and did get the bottom of my shorts a little wet. After a few minutes I figured it was time to go.  But now was my conundrum: how to wipe off the sand from my feet without a towel?  I tried putting them back in the water on the beach, but it didn’t work as I still had to put my feet on dry sand to put my shoes on.  So I ended up walking back to the car barefooted.

At first I couldn’t find my car.  I have this “worst case scenario” in my mind when I travel.  If I can’t find my car then obviously it’s been stolen.  After looking around I did find it.  After wiping off my feet, it was time to start the car.  Whoops!  Can’t go forward.  The thought of having to call a tow truck entered my mind…or at least asking for help with the guys with the pickup trucks on the beach.  But my car did go reverse and I was able to maneuver it out without much issue.  Then back on the really bumpy road again with a good hour drive to Puka Dog.

On my way back to eat at Puka Dog, I stopped at Hanapepe to visit the nice old historic town.  They have self proclaimed “Westernmost Independent Bookstore in the United States.”  There were quite a few art galleries (yawn)…no I don’t want your overpriced art.  I did manage to go on the swinging bridge, the entrance of which is located in an alleyway.  I misunderstood a native Hawaiian sitting at the base of the bridge asking for the time. I figured he was taking up money to board the bridge.  But in reality he just wanted the time.

After a bit more driving (and backtracking to get some good driving views for GoPro), I made it to Puka Dog which was located in an outdoor touristy type mall.  The mall must have been relatively new as there was plenty of parking.  After finding the restroom it was time to try the Puka Dog. I got a Polish Sausage with mile garlic lemon sauce and Banana relish and Hawaiian mustard.  The garlic and banana relish sound strange together, but it did taste good.  I also got fresh squeezed lemonade with half of a lemon on it.

Next was to find some better hiking shoes.  The soles of my current hiking shoes had come undone.  This would not last when I took my lava tour tomorrow on the Big Island.  So I found my way to a Payless Shoe Store and explained my predicament to the sales lady.  She was very nice and helped me pick out a size 8.5 hiking shoe much like my old shoes.  Satisfied with my purchase I asked the sales reps what they could recommend for my last few hours on the island.  They recommended a lookout and waterfall.  I plugged it into Google maps and was on my way.

Along the way I stopped by some waterfalls and lookouts and took photos.  Kauai is so lush and green in contrast to the Big Island which in some places could look like the surface of the moon.

Google Maps could not find this particular place recommended by the shoe sales lady.  It kept wanting me to turn into private property or non existent roads.  Finally after about an hour of driving around I gave up and drove back to Lihue, where the airport was.

I stopped by a souvenir shop where things looked cheaply made.  Then I went across the street to Hilo Hattie’s which I was given a shell lei and invited to try to open a treasure box. (the key didn’t work) As a consolidation prize I was given 50% off of pearls in a oyster which I declined.  The pearls seemed tiny.

I decided to have pizza again as somewhat of a personal goal to have pizza on every Hawaiian Island.  I ate at Pizza Hut opting for a personal pan sausage pizza.  Within view of my seat was the Lihue Theater, now retirement apartments, but with still the marquee on the outside.

After I finished supper I walked up and down the street taking photos of interesting things along the way. I briefly lost my keys (they were in my seat).  Then I filled up my tank at the local shell station and asked the attendant (an older lady) why there were so many feral chickens on the island.  The answer: Hurricane Iniki in 1992 released the chickens from their cages…and now they are all over the island.

I then returned my rental car and went through airport security.  I had been given the TSA Precheck stamp which allowed me not to have to go through the hands over your head x-ray screener.  And I kept my shoes on.

I got to gate 5 and started writing this blog post.  Tomorrow I’ll be spending the night on the Big Island after my lava tour.  Looking forward to it!