Big Island Day 1

This past weekend we went to the Big Island to kick off Kainoa's birthday and have a little mini vacation. We also got to see my cousin Tishanna. It's been years since I was there; I used to live in Volcano Village when I went to UH-Hilo, and then in Waikoloa when I worked at Roys. We stayed on the Hilo side, and it was so nice to see and recognize all the places I had been before. I couldn't remember where I used to live in Volcano. It was an off the grid cabin with a catchment tank for water and way out in the boonies; and was one of those places where we had to get propane for hot water. I'm shocked that I even survived that ordeal. hehe. Anyway, the first day we went to check out the Kilauea Volcano. Unfortunately, some of the roads were closed off due to increased volcanic activity.

Going up to see the steam vents.

Overlooking Kilauea Caldera.

After that we went to check out the Thurston Lava Tube. It was a short hike and the kids had a blast going through that.

At the end of the lava tube.

After lunch, we decided to check out the Volcano Winery. Tishanna and Jamie did the wine tasting. ( I'm not a big wine drinker.)

When we got back to Hilo, we went to check out Liliuokalani Gardens and had a picnic dinner at Coconut Island.