travel mi amor: The Whole Island Drive, Day 2

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Whole Island Drive, Day 2

On our second day we took a drive around the island to see EVERYTHING we possibly could. Our first stop was the Punalu'u Bake Shope (the southernmost bakery in the USA). After we got our treats we walked back to the car and nearby there was a mechanic working on a tour bus. Well for some reason the driver started backing up and ran over the guys leg! My husband ended up having to call 911; thank goodness the fire department was right across the street! After we were able to leave we headed on our way to Punalu'u Beach Park.

This park is famous for its black sands (much more accessible then Pololu) and for the sea turtles that come up on the sand to nap and sun bathe. While we were there we were able to see two turtles on the beach and many playing in the water bobbing their heads up and down. Next we headed to Volcano National Park and man was it cold! We drove around and saw some steam vents and saw lots of smoke coming from the crater. We walked through an old lava tube that was in the now rain forest which was pretty cool and then we drove all the way down to the end of Chain of Craters Road (which use to go all the way through but they stopped repairing it because lava kept covering it up!). While we were down there we saw a lava arch and some amazing cliffs. After this we left the park and headed to Mauna Loa Macadamia nut factory and Big Island Candies to get some treats. As we continued our was around the island we also stopped at Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls. After this we were ready to get back and we headed back to the hotel where we had the most beautiful sunset! what a day!