McIllece Aloha Adventures: Big Island

Z and the Awesome Big Banyan Tree at Rainbow Falls State Park

This year, in lieu of presents to each other, we decided to take a trip to the Big Island - Hawai'i. (A small side note of information: Hawaii is the state, Hawai'i (notice the break) is the Big Island) I've got way too many pictures, and we crammed way too much fun stuff into our 4 days so I'll break this into several posts. (patience requested)

Our first day we left at 9-ish AM, and arrived 45 minutes later in beautiful Hawai'i. We had previously tried to get a rental car, but were told by every and all car rental agency that they were all sold out. We had arranged to be picked up by the KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) shuttle and planned to just hang out at the camp and do a tour or two through the camp. My hero, Dave, decided to check anyway for rentals and pulled up a few minutes later in a mini-van. THANK YOU! Knowing what I know now, there is no way I would have enjoyed our trip just hanging around the camp. Ignorance is bliss, they say, but I'm happy - so very happy- fortune smiled on us, even though it was a Dodge.

We piled in the car, and opened our Hawaii The Big Island Revealed book that Stalker let me borrow. Despite being more than 6 years old, we credit this book for some of our greatest surprise finds, and plan on diving more deeply into our Oahu Revealed book. Enough book plugging...

Our first stop was FOOD! We grabbed some breakfast at Ken's House of Pancakes with delicious Coconut Syrup, and the fluffiest omelet ever, then worked our way to Rainbow Falls, famous for it's wishbone shape and the ability to see rainbows when the sun is behind you. The awesome cave beneath the falls is where Kamehameha reportedly buried the bones of his father. The kids favorite spot here was the amazingly ginormous Banyan Tree they got to climb. We made a stop further up road to see Pe'epe'e Falls and the Boiling Pots, but without hiking down to the river we couldn't see much. Don't get me wrong, everywhere we stopped or looked on the Big Island boasted amazing views and stunning scenery, this was no different; however, we didn't actually hike down to the actual falls.

We made another stop at the Kaumana Caves to see our first lava tube (where lava flows underground). This one was opened in the middle, and had we brought flashlights with us, we could have gone spelunking through either side. Instead, we piled back into the car and headed towards our destination -- Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. KMC is located inside the National Park and is only for members of the military and their families and guests. We arrived in the early afternoon and checked into our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cabin with fireplace. Fireplace? ... in Hawai'i? you may ask... Well, the park is located at 4000 ft, and temperatures dip into the 40s at night - downright COLD to those of us who have lived in warm places for the last several years. We had a fire every morning and evening... it was delightful!

After depositing our bags in the room, we headed straight for the Visitor's Center for the low down on what to do first, and opted for the Kilauea Iki hike - HIGHLY recommended. That will have to wait until tomorrow... (which is a guesstimation as to when I'll have more time)