Hawai’i 2015 – Day 3

After a couple of days of lounging around the pool we decided that we were ready to do something different. It was time to find our sense of adventure and take a road trip around the island – and today was the day to do it. Since today was the day the cleaning crew arrived to clean the condo, we figured it was a good day to be away. We loaded up the car with cool weather clothes, iPads, headphones, a picnic lunch, pillows and some blankets and hit the road. Even Morton was ready for adventure!

The plan was to drive to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to see the Kilauea crater. I took one picture along the road and then we came to a dead stop. Right at the main intersection into the Kona airport there was a two car accident.

Once we got past the accident and were back on our way we stopped at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park.

I couldn’t help but notice that the weather was not exactly ideal on our road trip though. Throughout the day we hit quite a bit of rain but this was the calm before the storm:

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau was once considered a place of refuge. No matter what your crime if you made it within the boundaries of Pu’uhonua O Honaunau you were safe from all punishments, even death. The grounds were also a place of refuge during war times. It was a beautiful park. We walked around for about an hour and then ended with a little picnic here too. Here are some of the highlights (click on one of the pics to view larger images):

After our picnic we got back on the road and headed to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Once again we saw lots of grey skies. Oh, and someone apparently needed a nap.

Our first stop in the park was the Kilauea Visitor Center. Unfortunately we got there just after they closed (5:00 PM). We still looked around a bit and then drove up to see a few of the natural steam vents.

Next stop, the Kilauea crater! The difference between the day and night view were pretty incredible. Seeing the glow of the lava was pretty spectacular.