Island Time: Hawaii's Big Island: It's Bigger than you think!

When Laura and I made plans to island hop, we made our plane reservations first. I decided we would fly in and out of Hilo because my friends were moving to this area and it seemed familiar to me because of that. But soon we realized that we should have done a little bit of research first.

First of all, the big island is bigger than all the other islands, and even though it seems so small out there in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it is actually about the size of Connecticut. Second, it is (as the other islands) mountainous, so if you have to drive across (as we do) it’s going to take awhile. As a matter of fact, it takes awhile to get anywhere on this island. But, hey “no worries” right? We are in Hawaii!!

We arrived in Hilo in the morning and had about an hour to kill before our first big adventure---a helicopter ride! I wanted to see some lava flow and instead of hiking out six hours, we were able to fly out and see it from the air. Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tours took us out to lava flow and fields and I was amazed at how vast the area is. It looks like one big asphalt parking lot--desolate and sad. There was devastation everywhere. The pilot took us over areas that used to be housing developments but were now vast lava fields.

Red is lava flow!

He then took us over to view some waterfalls from the air. Hawaii--even the big island is just full of beauty and wonder. I hate that we only have a few days here too!

Lava Field

I will say that I liked riding in the helicopter better than an airplane. The ride was smoother and it was almost as though you were just floating in the air.

Once we hit the ground again, we connected with some friends that had been on the island for a few days. Mishi and Tim had been staying in Volcano at a wonderful little cabin, and Candance was in town “house hunting” for their move in June. We were able to get some drinks and dinner and then the bright idea of riding out to see the lava flow in the dark. After a few beers, this seems like the best idea ever!

We packed into the jeep and stopped at the Walgreens for flashlights and headed in to the dark of Volcano to see the lava. Unfortunately, we were thwarted. The park allows people to come in until 8pm but anytime after that you are not allowed in. I even tried to give the nice lady my sad face since we had driven 45 minutes out there, but she would not be moved. She did suggest that we check out a small festival going on in Kalapana. They were having live music crafts and there was a trail that lead out to the beach where we could possibly see the lava from there. So we said “why the hell not!” and backtracked a few miles.

Kalapana is my kind of town! Live music, crafts, food, the people were incredibly nice and the “smoke” from the special herb they were smoking was everywhere! Hippie village! We walked around and checked out the local faire and even met someone from NC! We also found a nice lady that agreed to lead us out to the path so we could see the lava. Unfortunately, she did not tell us it was a 30 minute hike to the beach. We decided the party was more fun.

She also told us there was a road that ran up to a noni farm that could lead us closer to the lava. We got so far until we were bombarded with no tresspassing signs and decided to call it a night.

Hilo Bay

Now Laura and I had reservations on the other side of the island in Kona, and that was a 2 1/2 hour drive from where we were. It was already late, so Tim and Mishi offered their couch and floor (and hot tub) for the night and we decided to stay there. So we ended the evening with a dip in the hot tub and a slumber party.