Monday, March 7 – Hilo

I spent the morning getting caught up on the necessities of everyday life (email, finances, etc.) and working on a journal entry. In the afternoon I took a walk around the area near the hotel, and came across a nice little park on the waterfront.

Travel Note: I forgot to mention in yesterday’s entry that my flight to Kona was only about half full. That goes against what I encountered in my other two interisland flights – they were filled to capacity. Is the Big Island less popular? I’m guessing no; many other factors are in play (including my very small sample size!).

Tuesday, March 8 – Hilo

I’ve been looking forward to today’s excursion – a visit to Volcanoes National Park! The park covers over 500 square miles and includes two of the five volcanoes that formed the Big Island half a million years ago.

The VNP website includes detailed information about parking capacity at various spots throughout the park, as well as typical hourly occupancy at each location. They warn to have backup plans in case a lot is full. The trailhead for one of the hikes I’m interested in happens to be at a popular location. Mmmm…

…I therefore decided an early start was in order (the park is open 24 hours). I left the hotel around 6:30am; the drive to the park took about 40 minutes.

I’ll start the day off easy with a short hike to Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube), which is one of the most popular attractions in the park.

Adjacent to the Lava Tube is the trailhead for Kilauea Iki, which will be my next hike…

I spent the next part of my visit traveling by car to various viewing locations throughout the park via Crater Rim Drive.

I finished the day with a drive along Chain of Craters Road. This 20 mile (each way) out-and-back trek travels from the high elevation of Crater Rim Drive to the coastal region of the park.

A great day in the park!

Fuel Price Check: I topped up on the way back to the hotel.

Travel Note: When I woke up this morning I noticed there was a cockroach in my bathroom. Not a huge deal, but I mentioned it to reception on my way out, in case they use some type of pest control measures. They promised to do a thorough cleaning of my room, and I was happy with that. Well, when I was checking my email later in the day I noticed that the hotel had provided me with a $50 refund. I wasn’t sure why, so I checked with the front desk and was informed it was due to the cockroach incident. Unexpected, but nice!

Wednesday, March 9 – Hilo

Today’s mission is to explore the east side of the island to the north of Hilo.

My next destination was further up the coast, but along the way I noticed a sign pointing out a short scenic drive, so I decided to check it out.

On my way to the next stop I passed through the small town of Honoma…

About an hour’s drive north is my next destination – the Waipio Valley.

There is a hiking trail leading from the lookout area down to the beach. It’s only about a mile long, but has a 1,000 foot elevation change and is known to be treacherous. I was going to give it a shot, but unfortunately the trail was closed today. No clear reason why was givin, but others I talked to at the lookout speculated that the locals are not happy with the tourist hikers and have forced the closure. Apparently it’s been an ongoing battle for years. A shame…

Since my hiking plans were thwarted, I needed to come up with a Plan B.

Fortunately, not to far away is the Kalopa State Recreation Area.

It started raining just as I finished the hike! Close to the trailhead though was a shelter with picnic tables. So I made my way there, had a snack, and then began the drive back to Hilo.

Sidenote: Averted a disaster today! As I was meandering around the island, I noticed a message on my phone: No SIM. Not No Service, but No SIM! Did I forget to pay the bill?? No, I’m on autopay! I tried several restarts to alleviate the problem, but with no success. Fortunately though I was still able to use the phone’s navigator app to get me around. (I think I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but it’s worth repeating: Once a map is loaded into a phone’s nav app (either via a wireless or cell connection), it is stored there and a cell signal is NOT required to provide navigation, that is done by the phone’s GPS signal. This is an especially helpful tip when traveling overseas and facing expensive data fees.) When I got back to the hotel, I used the wireless connection there to (hopefully) find a local AT&T store. Yesss! There’s one just two miles away. After several failed attempts to correct the issue, the Tech Rep ultimately installed a new SIM card. Whew! Thankfully back on the network. The Rep mentioned that a failed SIM is a rare occurrence, but that mine is rather old! (iPhone 6, purchased fall of ’14) However, he also commented that he was impressed with the condition of my “old” phone (especially considering I don’t use a permanent protective case). Of course, he also tried to sell me a new phone! Thankfully I was close to an AT&T store when this happened. That’s not always the case though when I’m travelling; and it made me realize how dependent I am (we are) on our phones.

Travel Note: Hawaii announced that, as of March 26, masks will no longer be required while indoors, becoming the last state to drop the mandate. In addition, the directive that travelers from the mainland provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test will also expire on that date.