After a week on Kauai, we spent 5 days on the Big Island. My parents, David, Melanie, Cecilia, and Adelaide came, too. One of the main draws of the Big Island was the active volcanoes. We rented a great house in Kona and explored the island. One day we went to the other side of the island to explore and see Volcanoes National Park. We stopped at Rainbow Falls along the way.
These trees on the hike to the falls were spectacular!
When we got to the Volcanoes National Park, we were able to explore a lava tube.
Maggie was such a good sport!
Five out of six Kellys are happy! Actually, Jack was just hamming it up for the camera.
We drove along the Chain of Craters Road until the end, which is closed due to lava flow. It was pretty amazing to see the lava rock. We did not see any flowing lava on our visit.
The house we rented had an awesome pool! There was a sandy-bottom shallow area, a deeper swimming area, a swim-up bar, a hot tub, and a few small waterfalls.
This is the back of the house we rented.
We went swimming at Hapuna Beach one day. It may be the most beautiful beach I have ever visited.
I didn't get any pictures, but a girl I went to high school with lives on the Big Island. She came over for dinner one night. It was so nice to catch up with Natalie and hear first-hand about life on the island. She also gave us some advice for what we should do while we were there.
On Natalie's advice, we ventured south to Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. The black sand is formed when lava flows into the ocean and cools.
The black sand is coarser than regular sand.
We saw several sea turtles sunning themselves on the black sand.
Charlie wore his shirt with a sea turtle on the back.
On the way back, we stopped at a little outdoor market in Na'alehu, the southernmost town in the U.S.
Our last sunset on the Big Island...
We tried to get a few more pictures on the morning we left for Oahu.
Our crew walked around downtown Kona for a little sightseeing as we waited for our next flight.
We found a bar called Pancho and Lefty's!
Nana entertained Charlie with "Round and round the garden..." a game Charlie's Aussie cousins love.
The boys got a kendama toy for a souvenir. We were told by my friend that you can't get them on the mainland. I found them at Target shortly after we got home. :)
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