Post #692705 by LoriLovesTiki on Fri, Sep 6, 2013 4:22 PM

thanks David!

Next up was the Big Island. Our first port there was Hilo. I woke up early and managed to see the sunrise and got a picture from the boat. Not the best shot but being on the boat made it hard to catch sunrises and sunsets, which I like to photograph.

We got our rental and headed to Volcano National Park. I bought a long sleeved t-shirt b/c it was kind of cool. We went to the visitors center, drove up to one end for the view - where you could also see these steam vents, here's a picture:

went through the Thurston Lava tube and then took the 6 mile hike down into the floor of the volcano, across the bottom and back up. Thank goodness it wasn't sunny! It was nice but I'll never need to do it again. My husband and I found out we really aren't big hikers, btw. LOL

Lava Tubes

floor of the volcano

When we finished our hike and manged to find our car again we drove back down and stopped at the Mauna Lau macadamia nut factory where we bought macadamia nut Hershey kisses that aren't even available in Hershey, PA and some other snacks. Then we found Rainbow Falls. After all that walking we were excited to see this only a few feet from the parking lot!

Then we headed back to the boat because Hilo wasn't an overnight port. That night we sailed to the other side of the Big Island. Next stop Kona and lots of tiki goodness! Stay tuned....