Chad and Jenn at Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii wasn’t a planned destination for 2008, but when Jenn was accepted into the 6th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, we decided to make a trip out of it. With the conference in Honolulu, we stayed three blocks in from Waikiki beach, at a hotel that had no available parking, but great access to everything else.
While on Oahu, we hiked up Diamondhead and through the rainforest to Manoa Falls, kayaked through 3ft seas, cruised on a catamaran to see whales and dolphins, and snorkeled in the murky waters of Hanauma Bay.
Oh, and spent a very lazy afternoon on the beach.
Not wanting to miss out on Hawaii’s greatest feature, we hopped over to the big island for some time at Volcanoes National Park. Having arrived mid-day, we made it to the park near nightfall and only reached our accomodations thanks to GPS navigation.
Situated within the rainforest and built upon an active volcano, rooms at the Hawaii Inn use large windows and exterior lighting to make for a Jurassic Park-like experience at night. If you ever visit the area, this type of room is the only way to go.
Our time at the park was equally fascinating. Geologic features of all sorts, temperatures ranging from 45 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and neverending views of lava flows from years past. The only thing we didn’t get to see was actual lava. That required a helicopter ride at night.
There’s an endless amount to see in Hawaii.
As Mark Twain puts in in “Roughing It” (start at “While we were …”, “There was not much to see” is obviously a facetious remark.):
