My Hawaiian vacation didn’t start off exactly as I was anticipating. At about 8 AM my phone and all phones around me starting blaring an emergency alert about an incoming ballistic missile. I absolutely went into panic mode. 38 minutes later a second message was sent out saying that it was a mistake. Stressful way to start the day.

We left around 9, about an hour late thanks to the ballistic missile, and headed to The Coffee Shack. The location is stunning, on a hillside overlooking the ocean. And they set out little pots of jelly so the geckos can eat breakfast with you.

After breakfast, we made our way down to Pu’uhonua Honaunau national Historic Park. This was once a sacred place for the ancient Hawaiians, and it was a beautiful place to visit! Today, it’s one of the most famous spots on the island for snorkeling. We didn’t have gear, but we were able to see two turtles from the shore.

Our next stop was the green-sand beach. We drove to the very southern point of the island, and the landscape changed dramatically as we did. At the parking lot, there is an option to walk to the beach (2.5 miles) or take the shuttle. In the interest of time, we took the shuttle.

The shuttle consists of standing in the bed of a beat up truck as it attempts to navigate the roads. An adventure itself! We got to the green sand beach, and it really wasn’t that green ? also, I had read that the green sand beach was not a swimming beach. It is. And a I wish I had worn a swimsuit.

On the shuttle back, we were treated to some whale performances. At one point two whale jumped out of the ocean in unison. It was pretty spectacular. We got back in the car and started making our way to Punaluu Black Sand Beach.

At the black sand beach we didn’t stay too long. We snapped some photos of the turtles that were laying out in the sand and then left to make it to our Airbnb before dark.

The last leg of the drive was through volcanoes National Park. Both the landscape and the weather changed dramatically here! For about 20 minutes we were driving through fog so dense you could only see 5 feet ahead. Finally the fog cleared to rain, but at least we could see.

We arrived at the Airbnb and I asked the host for dinner recommendations. She said her recommendation changes if we are doing the hike. “What hike?” I ask. “Oh, most people stay here to do the night hike to the lava”. She offered to share her dinner with us and then we head off.

At the end of the road, we parked our car, and rented some bikes and headlamps. We biked 2.5 miles down the road, stashed our bikes and head out onto the lava field. Supposedly it was a 1.5 mile walk to the lava flow. There was no path, you could see the bright red glow ahead but that was the only direction.

It took an hour, but eventually we were quite close. At this point the ground had gotten hot and you could see the glowing red in the cracks of the earth beneath your feet. We pushed right up to some active lava. Standing in the dark watching the red lava ooze through the earth, rebuilding as it went, was truly one of the most unforgettable moments of my life.

After we felt like we had our fill, we headed back to the bikes. If route finding was difficult on the way up, it was much more so on the way down. Only the occasional glimpse at a light in the distance, the rest was all guessing. We got back to our bikes, biked back to the car, drove back to the Airbnb and went to sleep. ?