Big Island of Hawaii

Old Country Church

April 9, 2019 by 12 Comments

When we’re driving along backroads, which happens quite frequently here in Tennessee, I always enjoy snapping photos of old country churches, and whenever I see an old building, it blows my mind to think about the stories that it holds.

The photo to the left is of Station Camp Baptist Church, located in Cottontown, Tennessee (northeast of Nashville). One of the earliest frontier churches in America, Station Camp was established in 1796–the year Tennessee was admitted into the Union and the year John Adams, the second president of the United States, was elected into office.

I love this quote on the church’s website: “Just as the station camp (from which the church got its name) provided settlers and weary travelers a refuge from frontier dangers, Station Camp Baptist Church has provided a refuge for weary souls for over 200 years. May it continue to do so.”

While I have been to a couple churches that can trace their roots back to the 1800s, they have always been in more modern buildings. I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience attending service at an old country church. It happened one year ago, while Mr. Handsome and I were on vacation on the Big Island of Hawaii. …

A Unique Experience

March 12, 2019 by 74 Comments

Good afternoon, blog readers! I saw this discussion post on social media, and I thought it would be an interesting one to pose to all of you. This is your chance to talk about the time you uncovered a dinosaur bone while backpacking across the Sahara Desert. But if you haven’t experienced something quite as unique, don’t worry…I want to hear it anyways!

What is an experience you’ve had that is so unique that you don’t expect many (or any) of my other readers to have experienced the same thing?

Here’s mine: When I was eight years old, my family visited the Big Island of Hawaii (my dad traveled a lot for work, so we paid for most of the trip using his airline miles). We went hiking at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to a spot where we came within reach of red hot lava. The flow was slow enough that the park rangers determined that it was safe for visitors to walk right up to it.

Pololu Valley

January 15, 2019 by 4 Comments

Although it has been months since our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, I still have more photos to share. My goal has been to space out the posts so they don’t become overwhelming. Compared to the other Hawaiian islands, the Big Island is quite large (hence its name). In fact, if you combined Rhode Island and Delaware into one land mass, the Big Island would still be about 1,000 square miles bigger.

We stayed in Waikoloa Beach Resort on the west side of the island. If you drive an hour along the western coastal road up to the northern tip, the road dead ends at Pololu Valley. Although it’s a main highway, it’s also a residential street, and parking is limited, but the view from the lookout point is more than worth waiting for a spot. There are no large centers along the northern side of the island, but there are several small towns that are just darling. The nearby towns of Hawi and Kawaihae have great art galleries, ice cream and smoothie parlors, and coffee shops.

If you have your walking shoes or sandals, you can hike 20 minutes down to the black sand beach. The path was steep and a little muddy, but we took it slow and snapped lots of pictures along the way.

Pololu Valley is the first of seven valleys along the Big Island’s northern coast. The seventh is Waipi’o, which has a history even richer than its lush, green vegetation (photos of that one coming later). There is a long hiking trail that connects all seven valleys, but it is an overnight trail that is known for being treacherous.

The view along the shore is gorgeous, but the view behind the beach (towards the south) is even more breathtaking.

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The Massive Banyan Tree

October 7, 2018 by 16 Comments

Two years ago, Mr. Handsome and I visited the majestic redwoods along the West Coast and were blown away by their impressive height. Many were so tall that standing underneath them and looking up only provided a view of the bottom half of the tree. Earlier this spring, we came face-to-face with yet another unique tree: the banyan tree.

While redwoods are famous for their height, banyan trees are known for their massive canopies and their unique root systems. The largest ones can take up a space of a few acres! During our vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii, we walked along iconic Banyan Drive in Hilo (the east side of the island), which is lined with a handful of banyan trees….

CPR…on a Goat

September 3, 2018 by 8 Comments

This spring, I posted about our experience at goat yoga. If you didn’t see that post, I highly recommend checking it out for the photos alone. It was a hoot.

Speaking of goats, I have another goat experience to share with you. In April, Mr. Handsome and I traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii for a vacation. (We have been so sad to see all the destruction that the island has endured since our trip, between the volcanic eruptions and hurricanes. Our prayers go out to all who live there.)…

On Top of the World

July 5, 2018 by 8 Comments

During our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii earlier this year, we drove to the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. Nope, I’m not talking about Everest. What most folks don’t know is that Mauna Kea, one of the Big Island’s volcanoes, is actually taller from base to summit than Everest. The catch is that the base of Mauna Kea is almost 20,000 feet (6096 meters) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The entire mountain is about 33,500 feet (10,210 meters) tall, while Mount Everest is approximately 29,035 feet (8849 meters).

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4WD Adventure in Hawaii

May 3, 2018 by 13 Comments

In my post about visiting the Big Island of Hawaii’s Green Sand Beach, I promised that I would share the details of our terrifying 4WD (four-wheel-drive) excursion. From the main highway that loops around the island, we drove several miles on an old, paved road, which was slightly wider than a single lane but still not wide enough for two cars to pass without one pulling off into the grass.

Even on the main highway, we had been in the middle of nowhere. (Aside from a few large towns and vacation resorts, the majority of the Big Island is beautifully secluded.) We took a few turns and arrived at a dirt parking area. Folks without 4WD were leaving their cars to either hike 3 miles to the beach or pay for a shuttle. When I say shuttle, I don’t mean a fancy van or mini bus. These shuttles were muddy pickup trucks, and the passengers stood in the back, holding onto railings for dear life….

Active Lava Flow at Hawaii Volcano

April 27, 2018 by 17 Comments

After our visit to Green Sand Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii, Mr. Handsome and I spent a few hours at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, located on the east side of the island. The five volcanoes on the Big Island are Kilauea, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, and Kohala, and there are many others located on the other Hawaiian islands and in the ocean.

Of the volcanoes on the Big Island, only Kilauea is currently erupting and has been for more than 30 years. The current eruption has destroyed a significant number of rain forest, homes, and roads. The lava flow changes on a daily basis.

Sometimes it’s flowing in a location where folks can walk right up to it, which was the case when my family visited the island 15 years ago. See the red? That’s hot lava! Some of the black lava rock is fully hardened, while some is still soft.

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Green Sand Beach

April 24, 2018 by 38 Comments

Mr. Handsome and I just returned home from a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was a long journey (two, five-hour flights each way) but we had a blast. We booked our trip months in advance and were able to find some fabulous deals. (Stay tuned for a post with all the details of how we saved money during our travels.)Our first full day on the island was our busiest. We rose early because of the five-hour time change, ate a quick breakfast, and threw together sandwiches for lunch. From where we were staying at Waikoloa Beach Resort on the west side of the island, we drove south, past the town of Kona and around the southern tip of the island, which is also the southernmost point in the United States. It is appropriately named South Point (or Ka Lae, meaning “the point” in Hawaiian).

Although the area is extremely windy (you can see windmills in the distance in the photo below) and secluded, there are a decent number of cattle ranches.

Located near South Point is a beach, but not just any old beach. This beach has green sand! The mineral responsible for the color is olivine. Apparently it is one of only four green sand beaches in the entire world….