My golden day in Hawaii was actually my lava day. Since finding out that we were going to Hawaii for real, the one thing that I wanted to do more than anything was to see lava. The only place to do that is on the island of Hawaii (or the big island as it is called to avoid confusion). So Josh and I concocted a plan to fly down to the big island on our day off and cram in as much excitement as possible. Well it started off on the wrong foot as our flight (the first of the day) had mechanical issues so we were delayed over an hour. Once we finally made it though, we started by visiting Rainbow Falls in Hilo. Then we drove down to the southern tip of the island to see the green sand beach (one of only two in the world). Along the way we saw a sign for a black sand beach so naturally we made that detour. The visit to the green sand beach was particularly cool because not only is the beach situated in a spectacular old volcanic cinder cone the hike to get to it takes you through really barren and desolate terrain. It really does not seem like Hawaii at all. Because of our delay we skipped hiking down to the most southern point in the US (Key West held the title until Hawaii became a state). Instead we ate at the most southern bar in the US. Then we headed to the Volcano National Park. By that point it was late in the afternoon and we did not have much time to do any of the hikes (including a very cool one that goes through the floor of an old crater) so we chose a couple of short hikes including the lava tube. After hiking we were on our mission to see lava. First we went to the Kilauea Caldera. There was a collapse in the floor of the caldera at some point, and at night if the conditions are right one can see the lava glowing red up through the hole. Well it had stated to rain and was really overcast at the point, but the conditions were just fine for seeing the glow. Sadly the conditions were not right for taking pictures. I am as much to blame as the weather, and we would have stayed all night to get a good picture except that we wanted to see where the lava flows into the ocean. So we made the trek out out to the point on highway 130 where it ends do to an old lava flow. From here you hike out another mile or so and come face to face with the lava. It was very cool. You can see a bit of the lava down in the lava tube, and you can also see the big cloud of smoke glowing orange where the lava comes out into the ocean. Again I did not get great pictures, but the experience ultimately was what mattered. Now the next time that I come to Hawaii...
