Volcanoes National Park

It is thrilling to come up to Kilauea iki crater. The sheer scale and depth of it seems totally surreal. Kaya was a bit skeptical about the safety of walking into the crater.

 Here is the cinder cone from the old eruption.

 Our dear friends Pat and Leslie joined us and Mom and Dad for the hike.

 Unless you actually walk into the crater it is difficult to appreciate how the lava dwarfs you.

We had a picnic lunch next to the eruption site. In 1950 it spewed lava 350m into the air. The fissures and Pele's hair (strings of fine glass that look like spiderwebs) still evidence the power of nature's creative force.

 Patrick leaps with Kaya over a steam vent.

 The thurston lava tube.

 Halemaumau crater and lots of VOG.

Back in Pahoa I took a sunset stroll.

Champagne pond and a long walk over lava

 Watching the sunrise on Kahena beach.

 My favorite photo.

 The trees on the red road form a canopy through which the sun slants and the trees glow.

 We parked our rental car at the Easternmost tip of the island and started walking on black lava.

 If you look carefully you can see the heiau.

After getting rather lost we finally made it to the snorkeling spot and it was crystal clear and warm and shallow - perfect for the kids' first long snorkeling experience.

Pahoa

We had been carefully watching the lava reports for months and were rather worried that Madame Pele might close off the highway with the flow that is headed right for Pahoa town. While the advancing lava is only a block away, it was moving very slowly. The power lines had been bunkered to try to save them.

 There is a black sand beach right across the street from our rental.

 Patrick bravely swam in the ocean. It was far too cold for me but I am a cold water wimp.

Hawaii bound

 We slept overnight in Maui and watched a beautiful sunrise over Haleakala.

We arrived on the Big Island and took a long drive Northwards all around the Island, stopping at a stunning beach along the way.

 We had a great lunch along the Old Railway Road on the East side of the Island and saw avocados growing on the trees.

 Hawaii Botanical Garden was home to neon geckos and many exotic plants.