Vacation – Off Resort

We did not spend ALL of our time on the resort. We took a few days to explore the island as well. As I mentioned earlier, we had never been to the big island before. As much as we liked the resort, it did not really give us any idea what the rest of the island was like.

One day we drove around the island to the Volcano National Park. Unfortunately, it was pretty foggy that day. One guidebook describes the stunning views outside the dining room of a hotel in the park. On the day that we were there, you could only see about 10 feet past the window of the dining room. We drove through a volcanic crater and could barely see off either side of the road. There was a nice museum. It had one display where it showed you that volcanic eruptions are often preceded by earthquakes. The next display pointed out that the island had a big earthquake two weeks ago. In fact, it was the biggest earthquake in 20 years on the islands. (Hmm, I am standing on the most active volcano on earth, as I am reading this!) The next display explains that the recent earthquake was not the type that precedes volcanic eruptions (Sigh of relief).

We did not actually see any lava flow. The locations of lava flow will change from day-to-day. On this day, you would need to take an hour-long drive, and then hike out on the lava bed. If you did this at dusk or after nightfall, then you might see an active lava flow off in the distance. Then you can hike back to your car by flashlight. This would be followed by a 3.5-hour drive back to the resort. I am sure that many would say that we passed up a once in a lifetime experience. However, neither of us have any regrets about our decision.

We spent one morning at Kapuna Beach. It is commonly listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the US. It is a beautiful wide white sandy crescent-shaped beach. We were able to find a shady area to sit and enjoy the beach. The beach has reefs on both ends. I went snorkeling on one end of the beach. It was great; the water was really clear and warm. There were lots of colorful tropical fish cavorting about in the reef. It was a very pleasant morning. Later, I read that the snorkeling was even better at the reef on the other end of the beach! Once again, no regrets from me.