Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Yesterday Barry and I drove over to Hilo. It was a 2 &1/2 hour drive along the coast and through the mountains. The variety of terrain on the Big Island is spectacular!

Hilo was a cute little city. We did not spend much time there because we were actually on that side of the island to visit the Volcanoes. We stopped in the Big Island Candy store and Two Ladies Kitchen. There were lots of people in both store. Big Island Candies had very interesting candies. They actually had potato chips and Macadamia nuts in chocolate. Two Ladies Kitchen had fabulous Mochi. We purchase several different types. So far we have eaten their strawberry mochi. It was delicious!!!! A fresh strawberry with mashed red bean filling is covered with mochi. If you are ever in Hilo you must go to Two Ladies Kitchen. It is a small store, but their service is fast. You can also call your order in ahead of time. This is the best mochi I have ever had!

Then it was off to the Volcanoes. We stopped in the Kilauea Visitor Center where we were treated with a presentation by one of the rangers. He gave us a map, told us where we could see the latest volcanic eruption at the Jaggar Museum. He explained that we could not get too close because of the dangerous sulfur dioxide gases it was putting out. He recommended that we stop at the Steam Vents to get follow the Hawaiian custom of getting purified. The ranger also recommended walking through the Thurston Lava Tube. The terrain was varied between rock and rain forrest. We could have spent two days at the volcanoes. There was more to see, but not enough time to see them.

We used our GPS to get us back to the condo. The GPS (Gabby) took us the shortest route which was clearly through the mountains. We saved time, but it was a challenging route. It was pitch black and there were some areas where the road was no longer paved, just gravel. At one point according to Gabby the car drove off the road and she kept telling us to take a left turn to get back on the road. We were actually still on the road, there was no place to turn left and if we had we would have gone off the road. Fortunately later our car and her road reconnected and we arrived back to the condo safe and sound.