Big Island Boredom

Our arrival onto the Big Island felt refreshing, it was warm and humid when we landed in Hilo. We originally had planned to come in on a later flight so we were lucky that Hertz actually got our message that we would be there over four hours earlier than planned and we only had to wait an extra half an hour for our car. Brandon still felt crappy and attempted to nap on the concrete bench as I started flipping through info on Big Island activities. Hmm. Most things seemed to be on the Kona side… and we are staying on the Hilo side…

It was getting dusky when we finally got into our Jeep and took off on our 40 minute drive to our AirBnB south of Hilo. As we drove, the sun sank deeper and, well what do you know, the rain started. Ugh, no luck escaping it when we left Kauai. It was dinner time but we decided to find our AirBnB first while there was still light out and then we would figure out food. That plan would have worked but by the time we turned into Leilani Estates, in the town of Pahoa, it was already pitch dark out. I was confused when the AirBnB host had elaborated on directions by telling the turns in relation to barricades in the road but now I got it. Sure enough, barricades announced, “RESIDENTS ONLY. NO ACTIVE LAVA.” I did recall Leilani Estates being affected by the eruption in 2018, and I did know that we were staying close to where lava had flowed, but I had no idea the exact details of where.

Our AirBnB is really charming with a wraparound lanai and ocean views we would have to wait to see in the morning. The lot is very large and very private. Loud frogs chirped constantly. It felt like a velociraptor would jump out of the dense foliage at any moment. When it was time to leave for dinner, Brandon asked if I would open the gate and close it behind us so he could drive through. No way, I’m not getting out of the car alone in the pitch dark waiting for a raptor to eat me. Or a leprechaun for that matter. The loft master bedroom in our AirBnB has two super creepy tiny little closets that are the perfect leprechaun hideouts. Do I care that I don’t sound rational? Nope.

Leaving our AirBnB, Brandon turned too soon and a couple hundred feet away we encountered a road block. And holy crap. Lava. Like straight up, giant flow of lava that had eaten away the terrain and homes. Holy crap. We really were staying right there. Right where the fissure opened and lava snaked its away across a neighborhood and down to the sea. My lava loving heart was on fire with excitement. I couldn’t wait to see it all in the next day’s light.

Brandon still hadn’t eaten much since being sick the night before and trying to figure out where to eat was a challenge. But we did know that we needed to go to the grocery store for bottled water and breakfast snacks. Maybe we’d just find something there. The little grocery store in Pahoa didn’t have much but we got our essentials and ended up at Mighty Sushi for dinner. Though definitely previously frozen, and oh so slow, the sushi was decent and I wasn’t mad at it. I was also STARVING and so that helped the Red Flower and Island rolls earn my approval.

Sleep did not come easy at our AirBnB that night. Those frogs? They NEVER SHUT UP. They chirp ALL NIGHT LONG. And our cozy little home here has no insulation and shuttered windows that don’t close all the way. And no ceiling fan or AC! A blasphemy! The sound of torrential downpours throughout the night added another layover of loud.

There are also no window coverings in the bedroom; not a single one. So by about 7am we were welcomed to the day by the bright sun. But at least there was sun. And sure enough, we could see our beautiful unobstructed ocean views. With the white clouds it doesn’t photograph very well though…

We enjoyed a light breakfast spread on our lanai before heading out to venture into Volcanoes National Park; the main attraction for this trip that excited me the most. Needing more food on our way we stopped at the general store in the town of Volcano. They were kind enough to direct us around the corner to the Eagle’s Lighthouse Cafe for a good sandwich when we inquired about the ones they had on their own menu. Talk about self aware, sending customers away so they wouldn’t be disappointed. The macaroni salad at Eagle’s left much to be desired but the sandwiches themselves were large and delicious.

Entering Volcanoes National Park, I was giddy. First stop was the visitor center for updated information on which parts of the park were open, and which were still closed since the 2018 eruption. Unfortunately, much of the good stuff and best hikes were still closed. I excitedly changed into my hiking shoes but really, we just took a walk. The sulphur banks were less than half a mile from the visitor center. My heart swooned as I smelled the pungent sulphur. As we walked the short path to the crater, steam vents warmed the way for us. I was eager and excited to see the actual crater of Kilauea. But it was pretty underwhelming. I’ve hiked some pretty amazing volcanoes and well, while massive, this one wasn’t particularly interesting. There was another walk (I can’t even call it a hike cause it was so short) we were going to get lower but the path was muddy from all the recent rains and, quite frankly, this volcano just isn’t very interesting.

Through the park there is a long, 20ish mile, scenic drive with assorted stops along the way so we climbed back into our Jeep and hit the road. And you know what? I’m going to sound like a volcano snob here, but while there were some cool old lava flows to see it just wasn’t that spectacular. Yes, there were many lava flows, some picturesque scenic views, and crashing waves against lava cliffs when we made it down to the water, but there was no geothermal activity, no interesting colors, no real change in scenery. Each stop basically looked like the last. I had an inkling of a thought that I’d want to come back to really hike when more of the park is open again someday but given the landscape I don’t see myself finding that too enticing after all.

Driving back from the park we considered finding the newest black sand beach, but the rain started up yet again. As we got back to Pahoa, we grocery store hopped until we could find suitable protein and fixings to make dinner for the next couple nights. The restaurant scene around here is expensive and lacking so we decided we’d be better off taking advantage of the full kitchen in our AirBnB. Groceries are also crazy expensive around here. At the local market, a regular foster farms chicken was over $20. We ended up finding the hippie natural foods market and getting fresh ahi and marlin for the night’s dinner and local grass-fed filet mignon for the next night. It was a quiet evening in our AirBnB, complete with a game of scrabble on the lanai and a home-cooked meal. The marlin is interesting, it doesn’t have much flavor itself so is a good carrier for seasoning. The ahi was delicious, Brandon was able to sear it just just right after crusting it in the furikake seasoning we had bought. I was not familiar with furikake before but now I am obsessed with it.

Sleep was a little bit easier the second night. We found fans in the house for either side of the bed. The cool air made the room temperature more tolerable and the noise somewhat drowned out the annoying frogs and other creatures that yelled at us all night. Sleeping pills also helped.

But alas, once again the bright sun ensured we were up by 7am. After we spent some time in bed whining about the rude awakening, Brandon prepared us a Valentine’s Day breakfast on the lanai. We had a special little green guest who crawled their way right onto the table by our plates and then happily ate crumbs that fell to the ground. A beautiful sunny morning is a thing to enjoy while eating breakfast on the lanai, not while trying to sleep in.

After breakfast I worked while Brandon tried to figure out what the heck we were going to do with our day. The forecast called for clearer skies so we actually loaded up our beach towels and swimsuits and drove back to Hilo proper to check out their beaches. We stopped for lunch on the way and again were pretty disappointed. My meal was greasy and just ok. Honestly, I was feeling pretty over Hawaii by this point. The weather has largely been a disappointment, Volcanoes National Park was a disappointment, sleep has been hard to come by, all sorts of things that made me miss home. In fact, over lunch we decided to change our flight and come home a day early, we were just bored with the Hilo area and with driving around.

After lunch Brandon was ready to hit up the beaches. The weather was nice but the beach was about the size of a postage stamp. So tiny. And quite frankly, I am not in the best shape right now; couple that with the fact that we had just ate and the LAST thing I wanted to do was put on a bikini. But alas, I changed in the back of the Jeep and laid very self consciously and uncomfortably on the beach while Brandon cooled off in the cold water and sunbathed beside me.

The sun was intense and the beach was crowded so after a couple Zima-esque cans we drove down to the next beach park. Though this one had no sand on shore, but it had shallow little pools all around and was prettier. We hung out for a bit before moving on.

The next beach park entrance had a sign for an ice-cream truck. If I was going to be feeling fat and self-conscious, I might as well deserve to feel that way. Ice cream sundaes it was! The sundaes were massive and delicious. Rocky road and mint chip with hot fudge, whipped cream, and nuts. We finished off our sweet treats in the car as we embarked on an hour drive back down south to find the Pohoiki Beach.

Pohoiki Beach was the one black sand beach I had read about that I really wanted to see as it is the island’s newest beach; created by the 2018 eruption. It was fascinating to drive through the McKenzie State Park as the view from our AirBnB was over this park and the drive took us down the back side of the new lava flow; the lava that flowed down to the water from exactly where we were staying. The drive was lush before turning barren where the lava overtook the lushness and instead replaced the landscape with hard black rock.

The beach was interesting but not overly special. There was also a thermal pool but it was stagnant water and we did not resist heeding the warnings of flourishing bacteria. No thanks. We sat on the beach enjoying a cocktail and watching the waves crash before heading back to our AirBnB for the night.

We finished off our Valentine’s Day evening, and now last night in Hawaii, with a home-cooked filet mignon dinner a la chef Brandon and a game of Scrabble out on our lanai. I am officially the reigning scrabble champ of our family. Our trip may not be as enjoyable as we’d hoped but we had each other’s company and love so that’s what mattered.

The morning sun was once again a rude awakening our final morning; blinding us into the daylight at 7am. They really need to get some damn blinds in that house. We had the morning to kill before it was time to head back to the airport in Hilo. One of the highest recommended local activities from our AirBnB host was Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar and Farmers Market, conveniently open on Saturday mornings. It promised a large assortment of stands and Hawaiian hospitality. And was only 20 minutes away. I should have known better than to have expectations by this point in the trip. The Farmers Market was, well, a few stands with a lot of potheads. It was underwhelming. And felt a little trashy. And we are not ones to discriminate against potheads. Then again, I don’t think they were just potheads; it seemed as though many of these folks liked their drugs a little harder. We stayed long enough to walk around the little hippie market and then very carefully leave, taking our sweet time backing out of the parking spot so as to not run over any of the numerous dogs roaming idly and unattended behind our Jeep.

We weren’t terribly sad to load up our car and say goodbye to our AirBnB. It was a cute home but really hard to get past the terrible sleeping environment. Leaving Leilani Estates we finally took some time to further check-out the lava flows of 2018. The residents really hate folks ogling over it so we hadn’t really looked around the immediate neighborhood too much before. It was fascinating to smell the sulfur and see large heaps still smoldering; literally right in people’s backyards and walking distance to where we were staying. Fissures that caused massive devastation were less than 50-100 feet from front doors, and residents were still living there today. It was eerie seeing the remnants of homes, trees, power poles, all intertwined in the now hardened lava.

Getting back to the little Hilo airport was hassle-free; but word of wisdom, they have virtually no food options there so if you ever need to fly from there; bring your own food if needed! Thankfully on our layover in Honolulu we were able to grab a couple sandwiches for our five-hour flight to Sacramento. Said flight would have been really easy to miss as the friendly folks of Southwest never actually called for passengers to line-up and announced they were boarding a different flight first, all of a sudden announcing, “Now boarding A 1-30 for flight 199 to Sacramento,” a solid twenty minutes before the planned boarding time. We were lucky we had grabbed our food quickly and were back at the gate! Our week in Hawaii wasn’t as magical as we’d have liked but it was still an experience; though we are very excited to be getting back home to our fur babies and their cuddle puddles!