We grabbed muffins from Island Lava Java and coffee from Kona Haven Coffee and hit the road for our day-long road trip along the northern part of the island over to the east side.
Our first stop was Kua Bay (Manini'owali Beach) where we ate said muffins and coffee.
The beach was gorgeous. Sandy with jagged rocks, small, and lots of waves.
We also saw more goats on the side of the road.
We hit two lookouts that felt like we were in another world. The first was Hawi/Pololu Valley.
A lush, green valley ending with huge cliffs and a black sand beach.
Ate lunch at Gramma's Kitchen, a cute little diner with Portuguese home cooking, in Honokaa. We shared a lunch plate with 2 hamburgers, 2 eggs, and gravy served over rice.
A ton of food < $15.
The other lookout was Waipio Valley, which had a cinematic waterfall.
And other beautiful vistas along the way.
It was incredibly windy and spitting rain, but still glorious.
We continued south to Hilo and went to Rainbow Falls.
A bunch of kids were on a field trip.
The Hawaii version of Europe's lovers' locks is carving your name on a giant leaf. It's
Arrived at Volcano Mountain Haven, our home for the next few nights. The cottage is amazing. I want to live here.
Elevated, surrounded by tropical vegetation.
Open floor plan.
Tons of windows and natural light.
Ate curry for dinner at Thai Thai. Good enough. There aren't a lot of food options in volcano after 7pm.
After sunset, we went to Volcanoes National Park to the Kilauea for the first time. The park was packed. The lava was at its highest level since the '70s, so locals were coming to see the sights, as well. We were forced to park in an overflow parking lot, it was so crowded.
Normally, the lava level is much lower and only an orange glow can be seen at night from the viewpoint a mile away. The lava had risen so drastically, that the entire surface could be seen. It was a clear night. The stars were bright and plentiful.
The lava could easily be seen shooting up from the lava lake. With the binoculars, the spurts of orange looked like visions from hell. Pretty amazing.
There is a video of the volcano from that night here.
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