We had a 2 1/2 hour drive ahead of us on narrow, winding roads with five people and a lot of stuff crammed into a car so we knew we wanted to make a couple of stops along the way. Here is where research and careful planning pays off. Jenny and I both agreed that our first stop had to be the Punalu'u Bake Shop. (We've been waiting 16 months to try malasadas!) As soon as we got out of the car, we could smell that sweet cinnamony fragrance of fresh baked goods!
It was close to lunch time and we had a light breakfast so we ordered some sandwiches. The fresh-baked bread was deliciously sweet (Hawaiian rolls!). And the Maui Kettle Chips were good as well.
But the best part was the malasadas!!! A malasada is like a Krispie Kreme doughnut (without the hole). The traditional one is covered with cinnamon sugar but you can get creme and fruit filled ones as well. They had chocolate and vanilla filled or if you prefer fruit, you could get apple or strawberry filled. Then there was taro, guava, Mango, or lilikoi flavored. (Lilikoi is a tangy, lemony fruit that we are quickly becoming addicted to!) I had a Bismarck which is similar to a chocolate eclair. We bought a dozen to have for breakfast tomorrow, if they last that long!
After lunch we got back on the road to Hilo. Though the road is narrow and winding, the scenery along the way was breath-taking. We passed macadamia nut farms and scenic ocean views.
Shortly, we made it to our next stop - Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. Yes, sand in Hawaii comes in more than one color. There is even a green sand beach!
Of course we wanted to see a black sand beach, but we stopped here hoping to see sea turtles and.... yes! There he is!
There went another thing off my bucket list! After watching Mr Turtle for a while we got back in the car and headed for the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As we traveled we watched the temperature drop from 83 degrees at the beach to 63 degrees at the park. The vegetation is lush and a light rain was falling. This is the difference between Kona and Hilo. When we reached the park, our first stop was the Visitors Center. We watched a short film, gathered information and purchased souvenirs. Then we got in the car and started our tour on Crater Rim Road. We stopped at the Steam Vents.
Our next stop was the Jagger Museum. We went inside and checked out the exhibits. We learned about geological surveys, volcanic landforms, and seismic activity.
I particularly enjoyed the art of Herbert Kane. His interpretations of Pele, the Volcano Goddess were beautiful.
Next, we went outside to check out the main event - the caldera! Magnificent!
On the way back to the Visitor's Center, we checked out the Sulphur Banks. It was a smelly stop, but not as bad as I thought it might be.
Jenny and Bobby took the car, but the rest of us decided to walk back to the Visitor's Center. We had a pleasant, short hike and saw lots of bamboo orchids.
We still had about an hour until our dinner reservation so Jeff and Keith took a short hike while the rest of us chilled at Volcano House.
Finally it was dinner time and we sat down for our best meal yet at a table with the best view yet!
Our view
The meal
It was incredible! We were contemplating sharing some desserts but it was so hard to choose.
Our waitress says, "I can bring you a Sampler Platter for $20" so we went for it. Now we expected it to be small bites of each dessert, but it was one of everything! Unbelievably good!!
All during dinner we kept jumping up from the table to go see the glow from the caldera, but we wanted a closer look, so we crawled out to the car and headed back to the Jagger Museum Overlook. You remember the view from earlier in this post?
Well, this is what it looks like after dark!
It's not often you get to see the glow of an active volcano. After admiring the view we got in the car and headed to our rental house near Hilo. Now you never know what you'll get when you rent over the internet. Sometimes the photos don't give an accurate representation of what you'll see. You just have to read the reviews and hope for the best. We loved the Kona house, but when we saw the Hilo house our jaws dropped! Bobby said the Kona house "sucked" compared to the Hilo house!
The view in the front
The view in the back
As our Tuesday came to a close, we went to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. What will tomorrow hold?
Good-night Hawaii.
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