Wendy and I just spent nine days on the Big Island of Hawaii.  It's called the Big Island because it's the biggest Hawaiian island.  I'm not making this up.  Anyway, we rented a car and drove all over the place, camping most nights and spending the days hiking, snorkeling, and sightseeing.  We had actually been to Hawaii once before, but it was on a cruise, so we didn't have as much time to explore any of the islands.  This trip changed that. 

Quick Facts:
Miles driven:  1073
Nights spent in a hotel:  3 out of 9
Travel time to Hawaii:  18 hours
Shark attacks:  0
Minimum elevation:  -4 feet (snorkel dive!)
Maximum elevation:  9200 feet
Tattoo sightings:  1.7 quadrillion
Sunburns:  2
Sea turtle sightings:  A lot

Daily Recap:
Day 1 - Flew into Hilo via Honolulu via Denver via Newark; stayed at a hotel.

Day 2 - Drove to Volcanoes National Park to get a campsite; walked around Lava Tree State Park; visited the Cape Kumukahi lighthouse; swam in the Kapoho Tide Pools; ate at Lava Rock Cafe; camped at Volcanoes.

Day 3 - Drove around the Chain of Craters Road in Volcanoes; hiked to the Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs and the sea arch; camped at Volcanoes.

Day 4 - Hiked down to a little beach at Ka'a in Volcanoes; ate lunch at the Volcano Golf Club; tasted wine at the Volcano Winery; checked out the black sand at Punalu'u Beach; camped at Whittington Beach Park.

Day 5 - Stopped at the Punalu'u Bake Shop; went back to Punalu'u Beach and saw sea turtles; checked out the green sand at Papakolea Beach; drove to the southernmost point at Ka Lae; camped at Ho'okena Beach Park.

Day 6 - Kayaked and snorkeled in Kealakekua Bay; got lunch at The Coffee Shack; visited the Place of Refuge and snorkeled nearby (and saw spinner dolphins); stayed at a Marriott resort (!).

Day 7 - Checked out Waikoloa Petroglyphs; ate lunch at Kona Brew Pub; snorkeled at Kunalu'u Beach; camped at Spencer Beach Park.

Day 8 - Visited Pu'ukohola Heiau; snorkeled at Mahukona Beach; hiked down to Pololu Valley and Honokane Nui Valley; got lunch at the Snack Shack in Kapaau; stargazed at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station; stayed in a cheap motel in Kamuela.

Day 9 - Drove along Scenic Highway 19; stopped at Laupahoehoe Park; drove into Hilo for some lunch at Bueno Burrito; headed back north to Akaka Falls; ate at What's Shakin'; camped at Kolekole Beach Park.

Day 10 - Drove up to Pe'epe'e Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Kaumana Caves; got lunch at the Hilo Coffee Mill; walked around Hilo; saw the Queen Liliuokalani Gardens and nearby Coconut Island; headed to the airport to fly to Newark via Denver via Honolulu.

Pictures:

[gallery /img/2010/05/p0425104132.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425104132-150x150.jpg:::Our campsite in Volcanoes National Park.:::/img/2010/05/p0425171036.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425171036-150x150.jpg:::Houses built on top of fairly new lava.:::/img/2010/05/p0425171205.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425171205-150x150.jpg:::A sign for some beautiful beachfront property.  Probably pretty cheap.  Also about half a mile from currently flowing lava.:::/img/2010/05/p0425181150.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425181150-150x150.jpg:::A moonrise over the volcano.:::/img/2010/05/p0425183329.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425183329-150x150.jpg:::Destruction!  Notice the tree on fire in the background.:::/img/2010/05/p0425184505.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0425184505-150x150.jpg:::The lava glowed pretty bright as the sun went down.:::/img/2010/05/p0426110339.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426110339-150x150.jpg:::Wendy ate some spicy food.:::/img/2010/05/p0426112850.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426112850-150x150.jpg:::The earth is polluting itself.:::/img/2010/05/p0426121110.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426121110-150x150.jpg:::I have a lot of respect for this tree.  Growing in the middle of nowhere, on solid rock.  You go, tree.:::/img/2010/05/p0426122040.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426122040-150x150.jpg:::A view of the coastline.  The black parts are fairly recent lava flows.:::/img/2010/05/p0426124211.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426124211-150x150.jpg:::The lava monster ate the road.:::/img/2010/05/p0426125507.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426125507-150x150.jpg:::The understatement of the lifetime.  We were on a sheer cliff like 40 feet above the water, and it was hard to even stand up with all the wind and salty water spray.:::/img/2010/05/p0426125638.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426125638-150x150.jpg:::A giant sea arch.:::/img/2010/05/p0426125659.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426125659-150x150.jpg:::A view of the wave-battered coast.:::/img/2010/05/p0426130349.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426130349-150x150.jpg:::This bird seemed to have no problem flying through the strong winds and over the swelling waves, occasionally stopping in a nest on the side of the cliffs.:::/img/2010/05/p0426134502.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426134502-150x150.jpg:::Some artsy fartsy dead tree thing.:::/img/2010/05/p0426135057.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426135057-150x150.jpg:::A real live petroglyph in Volcanoes.:::/img/2010/05/p0426135421.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426135421-150x150.jpg:::A "honu" (turtle) petroglyph in Volcanoes.:::/img/2010/05/p0426140751.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426140751-150x150.jpg:::This is me taking shelter in a lava cave, getting a break from the relentless dry wind.:::/img/2010/05/p0426150150.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426150150-150x150.jpg:::Wendy peers down a lava hole.:::/img/2010/05/p0426150712.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426150712-150x150.jpg:::Dead trees sticking out of the lava.:::/img/2010/05/p0426151656.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426151656-150x150.jpg:::The lava monster tried to cross the road but got tired and gave up.:::/img/2010/05/p0426161712.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426161712-150x150.jpg:::A view of the arid grasslands to the south of the volcano.:::/img/2010/05/p0426162042.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0426162042-150x150.jpg:::Hey let's hike down to that beach (part 1 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427085026.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427085026-150x150.jpg:::I'm the guy from The Gladiator (part 2 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427091854.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427091854-150x150.jpg:::Well that clears things up (part 3 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427092317.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427092317-150x150.jpg:::Wendy looks tiny with that 800-foot hill behind her (part 4 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427100435.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427100435-150x150.jpg:::We made it! (part 5 of 7):::/img/2010/05/p0427101934.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427101934-150x150.jpg:::We came from up there (part 6 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427102535.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427102535-150x150.jpg:::Our reward for hiking 7 miles roundtrip was this friendly sea turtle (part 7 of 7).:::/img/2010/05/p0427191227.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0427191227-150x150.jpg:::A moonrise over a beach.:::/img/2010/05/p0428061855.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428061855-150x150.jpg:::A sunrise over the same beach.:::/img/2010/05/p0428061943.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428061943-150x150.jpg:::Waves crashing on an old dock.:::/img/2010/05/p0428063844.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428063844-150x150.jpg:::This birdie was nice enough to hop up on our picnic table and let me take his picture.:::/img/2010/05/p0428072230.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428072230-150x150.jpg:::Wendy stands near our campsite, which was comfortably tucked under a big monkey pod tree and overlooked the ocean.  Not bad.:::/img/2010/05/p0428084405.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428084405-150x150.jpg:::The waves are pounding that poor old dock again.:::/img/2010/05/p0428090023.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428090023-150x150.jpg:::A camera-friendly yellow bird.:::/img/2010/05/p0428090849.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428090849-150x150.jpg:::Not exactly a swimming beach.:::/img/2010/05/p0428095445.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428095445-150x150.jpg:::Wendy's feet in black sand.  There were about 10,000 other tourists on this same beach who took this same exact picture.  That didn't stop me.:::/img/2010/05/p0428114454.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428114454-150x150.jpg:::A dead poisonous centipede, Hawaii's only negative thing besides the volcano (which is really only negative if you're in the wrong place).:::/img/2010/05/p0428122202.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428122202-150x150.jpg:::Green sand.:::/img/2010/05/p0428122734.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0428122734-150x150.jpg:::Behold the sandwich made with sweet bread!  Mine had a ludicrous amount of onions, which greatly exacerbated my already dangerous body odor problem (day 3 without a shower).:::/img/2010/05/p0429095735.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429095735-150x150.jpg:::Wendy gets her stuff ready for snorkeling.  The water was about 50 feet deep and crystal clear, with huge coral formations as far as the eye could see.:::/img/2010/05/p0429100426.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429100426-150x150.jpg:::A Longfin Bannerfish (I think).:::/img/2010/05/p0429101108.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429101108-150x150.jpg:::A Red Slate Pencil Urchin.:::/img/2010/05/p0429111020.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429111020-150x150.jpg:::This brown blob of goo is actually a White-Spotted Sea Cucumber, contrary to its strong resemblance to fecal matter.:::/img/2010/05/p0429113722.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429113722-150x150.jpg:::A blue-hued Black Triggerfish, next to a regular Black Triggerfish, a.k.a. Humuhumu'ele'ele, which is quite fun to say.:::/img/2010/05/p0429131954.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0429131954-150x150.jpg:::This gecko was one of several who were licking some stuff out of a little container left out on a railing at The Coffee Shack.:::/img/2010/05/p0430123447.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0430123447-150x150.jpg:::I have come to believe that it's impossible to have a bad time at a brew pub.:::/img/2010/05/p0430151857.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0430151857-150x150.jpg:::Sea turtles are awesome.:::/img/2010/05/p0501091421.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501091421-150x150.jpg:::This is a bee decal in a urinal, which has been proven to reduce, uh, aimer error.  I realize I broke a major rule here by taking a picture in a bathroom, but I was the only person there.:::/img/2010/05/p0501104332.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501104332-150x150.jpg:::This thing was stuck on a rock by the ocean.  I have no idea what it is, but I'm lead to believe it's a sea creature of sorts.:::/img/2010/05/p0501114412.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501114412-150x150.jpg:::A view from atop the Pololu Valley, which we hiked to the bottom of.:::/img/2010/05/p0501123456.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501123456-150x150.jpg:::This giant squishy lump was lodged in the sand on a beach and was in the process of being burned, which leads me to believe it's some sort of sea creature's carcass, possibly a whale.  It was gross, but fascinating.:::/img/2010/05/p0501123942.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501123942-150x150.jpg:::A view from the bottom of the Pololu Valley.:::/img/2010/05/p0501132147.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501132147-150x150.jpg:::Some sort of pine tree, which was amazingly green.:::/img/2010/05/p0501132640.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501132640-150x150.jpg:::That's me thinking about taking a fruit from a tree.  It looked like a pineapple, but it turned out to be a hala, a.k.a. a "tourist pineapple.":::/img/2010/05/p0501173307.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501173307-150x150.jpg:::On the way up to Mauna Kea, we were pretty literally in the clouds.:::/img/2010/05/p0501174942.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501174942-150x150.jpg:::And now we're above the clouds.:::/img/2010/05/p0501192529.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0501192529-150x150.jpg:::This isn't a fabulous picture, but you get the idea.  It's Venus rising over Mauna Kea, just after sunset.:::/img/2010/05/p0502153344.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0502153344-150x150.jpg:::Akaka Falls.:::/img/2010/05/p0503064547.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0503064547-150x150.jpg:::Our final camping spot, which was right next to a rain forest, which contained many flying bugs, which were attracted to the street light above our tent, but which the frogs took care of, only occasionally jumping onto our tent.  That was a unique experience.:::/img/2010/05/p0503092826.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0503092826-150x150.jpg:::If someone can please tell me when I'll be too old to think this is funny, that'd be great.:::/img/2010/05/p0503102256.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0503102256-150x150.jpg:::The most common bird in Hawaii (a Common Myna) takes flight.:::/img/2010/05/p0503114135.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0503114135-150x150.jpg:::Unripe coffee beans.:::/img/2010/05/p0503133907.jpg:::/img/2010/05/p0503133907-150x150.jpg:::The Palace Theater in Hilo.:::]
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