First day on The Big Island:

It was so hard to say goodbye to our sweet grandchildren this morning; even though we'll be back in two days, we'll also only have two days left with them. I'm thankful that Friday's flight is late, so we'll at least have the whole day with them.

The flight to Hilo was delayed, as were five of the other six flights from Go! airlines on the departure board. The other inter-island carriers seemed to all be running on time, by comparison. There was also an adventure with getting our bag once we landed: they announced the wrong baggage claim on the plane, sending us to the opposite end of the airport. By the time we realized it and got to the correct carousel there were no bags there; they had apparently removed our bag to the ticket counter, only there was no one manning the ticket counter either time I walked past it. But we finally got our bag, and our car, and made our way to our B&B, the Plumeria Hill Bed and Breakfast, near Pahoa in the Puna region.

The view from our room is wonderful!

On the owner's recommendation, we went to the local restaurant he called "the best on the island." It was indeed a very nice meal, but if it really is the best restaurant on the island then there is a dearth of fine eateries here and someone should plan on making a killing with a high-end bistro.

After lunch we returned to the room for a short nap before heading out to try to find the lava viewing area. First we stopped at the town of Kalapana, almost by mistake. We were looking for the lava viewing area, drove into town first, then backtracked to a road that was marked with signs indicating that access was restricted to those authorized to enter. So turning back around, we returned to Kalapana, where we were informed that it was about a fifteen minute walk to the beach, and that we would see the steam plume in the distance where the lava was flowing into the ocean.

Indeed we did, but I could tell we would never be able to see the actual flow into the ocean from here, as it was clearly too far away.

Still, the lava fields are incredibly striking, with the stark contrast of the vegetation growing in the midst of a sea of black rock.

I'd been lamenting how limited our time here on the island is going to be, fearing we weren't going to be able to see the famous unique beaches here. But soon the lava rock under our feet gave way to black sand . . .






. . . and cresting the last short rise in the path we beheld the world famous black sand beach.

We simply enjoyed some time in the presence of the crashing surf and each other's company before walking back in to Kalapana town.

On the way in, one of the tour guides saw me taking a picture of the smoldering lava flow off in the distance, and let us know that if we proceeded beyond the restricted access sign we'd previously encountered we would reach the lava flow viewing area. By the time we got there it was getting dark, and my lack of a camera tripod kept me from getting any decent shots of the glowing lava in the distance. Still, it was a very impressive sight.  We were standing on a two-year old lava flow, surrounded by a 23-year old lava field with vegetation sprouting all over it. The staff member at the viewing area told us that, prior to the 2011 lava flow, the viewing area had been significantly closer to where the lava enters the ocean. We could still only see the steam plume. There are paid excursions that would get us closer, but I doubt that will be on our agenda.

What an incredible day!!