Hawaiian Lap

I made the short flight from Honolulu to Kona yesterday, and checked into the friendly surroundings of the Kona Tiki hotel. Not a bad place for less than $100 a night.

I got up early this morning to make my way down to Volcanoes National Park, about a two hour drive from Kona. On the way, I decided to stop off at South Point (a.k.a. Ka Lae), the southernmost point of the entire United States, even further south than Key West. This place has been a great fishing spot over the years, and there are old boat moors on the cliffs as evidence. The wind blows just a tad here, too, as can be witnessed by the windmills and lopsided trees.

After soaking up the sights of South Point, I made the rest of my journeyed to Volcanoes National Park, home of Kilauea Volcano. As I approached the park entrance, I learned from the local radio broadcast that part of Crate Rim Drive that circles the Kilauea Crater was closed due to a high presence of noxious sulfur dioxide gas escaping from the vents inside Halema'uma'u Crater. I still explored, and saw some amazing sights.

After getting my fill of the crater, I made my way down the Chain of Craters Road to see where the lava meets the sea. The road ends where a lava flowed across the road a few years ago, and off in the distance I could see steam from where the current lava flow meets the ocean. After hiking along the coast, I headed back up the volcano, grabbed lunch and went to my next destination.