Em's Adventure in Paradise - Big Island of Hawaii

Thanks to a lot of frequent flier miles, I managed a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii this fall.  It was a truly amazing place - a bit of many different places all rolled into one magical experience. My trip encompassed the entire island - and there was not a place I saw that I didn't love (even the barren volcanic flats were lovely in their own way.  I don't know that I'll make the painfully long trip again anytime soon - but I think I've found my dream retirement spot.

Watching land being born at Kilauea was an amazing experience for me - I was overwhelmed by the wonder of it all. Although you couldn't walk out to the lava flow itself, there was a viewing station a couple of miles away, and once it got dark you could see the glow of the flows entering the ocean as well as some points of light (skylights) as the lava flowed down the mountain.

South Point is the southernmost point in the United States (Key West is the "continental" US). From this point, it is thousands of miles to the next landfall...which makes it even more amazing that the Polynesians discovered and settled these islands.

Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth, rising almost 14000 ft above sea level.  More than half of its height is below sea level.  This view is taken from the Visitors Center at Mauna Kea, which is about 9000 ft above sea level.

Hawaii is known for its many beautiful beaches.  One of the most unusual features of the island are the black sand beaches - this one is Punaluu - also known as Turtle Beach.

You can see a slideshow of my Hawaiian vacation here