Hawaii, Apr. 8th - My Last Day in Hawaii

My first order of business was to see when I needed to leave Hawaii, so I could be sure to be packed and ready. Then the logistics of getting to Hilo for a 6:24 am flight, while needing to return a rental car and staying about 2.5 hours away occurred to me. So I decided to see if I could change my flight. I'd tried before I left, but it was very expensive to do so. But trying again wouldn't hurt. I figured if I could leave at 3 pm instead of 3 am, but get home about 12 hours earlier also, it would make more sense. The original reason for picking 6 am flight was Graham's objection to both flying on his birthday and taking the overnight flight. I didn't have any such objections, so I changed the flight and only had to pay the change fee.

This meant I was leaving Sunday afternoon, and there were still a few things I wanted to do before I left. The first thing was to snorkel at "Two Step" where I'd visited the previous afternoon. This time it was low tide, there were a bunch of people around and in the water, and it was great. Not as many fish as the other beach, but it was good to challenge myself at a deeper spot.

The view across Keoneele Cove. Much better with some sun!

It's called Two Step because it is literally two steps down, and you're into somewhat deep surf, right over a coral reef. You can see the fish immediately, and swim all around the cove. There were even some scuba divers there. I didn't see any dolphins, though.

Another view of  Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, from Two-Step

Then it was back to the rental to pack, before loading up the car and taking off. I had to return the snorkeling equipment, and drop off the 2nd necklace at the jewelry store. While I forgot to take a picture of the 2nd, black and white necklace, I did take a picture of the green one.

Green necklace, ready for a buyer

 I took a wrong turn on my way to the saddle road, but it worked out okay. I'm not sure why people make such a big fuss over that road - it wasn't that much of a challenge to drive. I think the belt road around the island, especially the curvy sections by Captain Cook, are much worse. But it was fun to drive between the volcanoes. I don't have any pictures, because stopping the car at the active military installation is discouraged.

After I arrived in Hilo, I still had a couple of hours to spare. So first I stopped at a cave. It was actually a lava tube. Very different than Thurston! This one barely had a path into the opening - it did not have lights at all. Not wanting to get lost in a mile-long lava tube, I didn't venture far. But it was neat to see a more natural lava tube than the highly sanitized one at the park.

The view down into the lava tube.

Next I found a waterfall! Rainbow falls, to be precise. That was also pretty - even on a rainy afternoon. You get to see the rainbows in the morning, while the sun is behind you, so no rainbows today.

Rainbow Falls, without a rainbow

I did hike around a bit, and got a little muddy. 

It was a wonderful trip, but I think I'm ready to head home. I miss stuff at home, and am ready to talk to friends. But I'd love to go back to the Big Island. There's so much more to see and do, including whole sections of the island to explore. I'd also like to re-visit some of my favorite places.

I'm also glad to know that traveling alone, while it has its ups and downs, can be an enjoyable experience. It was a lonely, depressing experience the last time I did it, but that was northern Scotland. It's hard to say whether it was the location, the time in my life, my attitude, or any combination of other factors, but this time felt completely different. It was also nice to challenge myself to have new adventures.

I'm also getting better at self-portraits!