October 18, 2009: Day 4, Waterfalls and Active Lava Flow

 

Rainbow Falls 

 Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens

 Akaka Falls State Park

Hike to the active lava flow!

Today we had an enjoyable day visiting different tropical gardens and waterfalls.  After our time out and about, we took the girls and hiked to the active lava flow viewpoint.  It was really neat.  A little hard to carry the girls the whole way on the uneven lava surface, but it was a good experience.

October 17, 2009: Day 3, Thurston Lava Tube, Puna, Zoo, Hilo

  

 Thurston Lava Tube

Star of the Sea Church 

  Active lava steam

 Puna

 Pana'ewa Zoo

Liliuokalani Garden 

We had a very busy day again today.  We visited the Puna part of the island and spent the evening in Hilo.  The Pana'ewa Zoo was nice with lots of animals.  It was nice to visit the Star of the Sea Church and see the steam from the active flow.  In the evening, Abby was in the playpen crib at the foot of my bed and played with the door handle and locked herself in the bedroom.  After over an hour, we finally got tools from the military camp to take the knob off and let the girls out.  

October 16, 2009: Day 2, Kilauea, Black Sand Beach, and Southpoint

Kilauea

 Chain of Craters

 Holea Sea Arch

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach

 Southpoint

View of the stars and the glowing lava!

We are staying at the Kilauea Military Camp, in the National Park.  It is a great location and we can go at night to view the stars and the lava glow from the crater rim!  We had a very busy day.  We visited the National Park Visitor Center, went to the Kilauea Overlook, Jagger Museum, drove the Chain of Craters Road to Holei Sea Arch, drove south of the park to Punalu'u black sand beach (where we snorkeled and saw lots of turtles), then drove on to Southpoint (the southern most part of the United States).

October 15, 2009: Day 1, Travel and Hawaii, Hawaii

The airport in Honolulu.

We have one more flight to catch, to the Big Island.  The first flight went pretty well. We were at the airport or in the air from 6 am till 7 pm.  We had a bit of time to explore the Camp, and drive to view the lava glow and steam vents.