The Big Island of Hawai’i

We took a fantastic trip to Hawai’i late in the Summer! It was a 2 week adventure celebrating our 35th anniversary. We have been to Oahu before, but this time we planned time on 2 other islands. Our first stop was on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We landed in Kona, HI around 8 pm and basically just checked into our hotel after a long day of travel. But this is what we woke up to in the morning…

After breakfast on the balcony, we left to drive to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and see the Kilauea Volcano. These are just a few of the sights along the way.

We stopped at Punalu’u Beach, one of the amazing black sand beaches, on our way to Volcanoes National Park. Black sand and the Hawai’i sun means you keep your flip flops on!! ☀️😳 And wear sunglasses…and a hat! 😎🤠

It was an incredible sight to see this amazing volcano during the day from the Halema’uma’u crater overlook at Jaggar museum in the park. It’s an easy drive to get to the museum and overlook. And the view of the volcano is spectacular!

We went back to see the volcano at night. I took a couple of pictures, but they don’t even begin to give justice to this amazing sight!

The lava fields stretch for miles as you travel towards the ocean. Such an incredible sight to see! The island is ever-changing since the volcano is still active.

The next day we headed over to Hilo. We spent a little time relaxing under the Banyan trees before starting the drive back across the island to Kona.

We stopped by Rainbow Falls on the way. We didn’t see a rainbow because it was cloudy, but it was still so beautiful!

It didn’t take long as we were driving across the island to drive into the clouds and rain…but as soon as we started heading back down the mountain, the sun returned.

A drive to the tip of The Big Island gave us a great view of Maui under the clouds.

Our last evening on The Big Island included this little guy – he kept trying to get close enough to eat our dinner. And, yes, he made me jump every time! He was so fast!! 😳