We were a little late getting out of Lahiana. We walked into the town a bit before leaving. When we got to the terminal at the main airport, we were told that our flight was going out of the commuter terminal and she said it was out behind the rental car area. We ran through the airport and found a small building/shack for the commuter flights. At the counter, they weighed our bags and us. We then boarded a small single prop, 9-seat plane to the Big Island. We simply walked from the shack to the plane without any security screening. There was only one pilot and the cockpit door was open. This is what air travel must have been like 60 years ago.
When we picked-up our rental car, I tried for a free upgrade to a Mustang convertible. It seemed to be the most common car on the road. Nope, no free upgrades! We again made a two-hour trip to our hotel. Kim was not happy about another long drive. The views along the drive were beautiful. It seemed that every five miles, the scenery changed. One section would be rainforest and the next would be barren lava flows.
When we arrived at the Volcano Rainforest Retreat, it was beautiful. Our cabin was set back into the property, with tress blocking us from the view of the other cabins. Inside was small, but very nicely appointed. The owners gave it an oriental theme. Our shower and hot tub were a few feet away and open on all sides. There are some shades for us to put down for more privacy. It reminded me of the treehouse in Maui, only nicer and with electricity. I like both of them and there were two totally different experiences.
After we unpacked and changed, we went to explore the Volcano National Park. We stopped at the visito’rs center to find out where we could see lava. Apparently there has not been any lava flow to the ocean in two months. The volcanic activity was low. We were told to go to the Jagger Museum to see the best views of the activity in the park. I was excited. A museum on Mick Jagger!
We stopped to see the steam vents. I found a trail that led to the crater’s edge. It had been misty and drizzling since we arrived at the park. We followed some trails out to the very edge, but could only get a few glimpses of things on the crater floor. Suddenly the clouds disappeared and we got sunny skies. The view was magnificent. The floor of the crater had several steam vents and the current volacnio was in view. It was a small section of the bigger caldera. We decided to go to the Jagger Museum before any more clouds came in.
It was a museum about the founder of the volcano observatory, not Mick! The outlook behind the museum had a good view of the current activity. All you could see was smoke. At sundown, you could see the orange glow of the lava in the smoke. It was almost dark, so we waited. The museum had some facts about volcanoes and history of the area. Both Kim a I were not prepared for the cold. We had been used to hot muggy days and nights on the other islands. In fact, the humidity in Hana in the evening was enough to make you sweat while you were standing still. To stay warm, we stayed in the museum. Once it was dark enough, you could see the orange glow. There must have been a hundred people waiting to see the orange glow. We were one of the few to have a tripod. One woman must have taken twenty pictures to get one good one.
Kim was freezing by the time we got back to the room. She had me turn on the gas heater and she closed all of the windows.
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