We stayed  on Alii boulevard near Kailua-Kona for this trip.  Our condo was so close to the ocean that you could throw a stone from our lanai and hit the water (and I can't throw very far).  Ocean sounds every night to put you to sleep.    Turtles would gather in the ocean outside our window--quite a sight!  The condo was on leased land and the lease will be up in a few years.  At that point the land owner can basically tell the condo owners to move their building off his land.  Who knows what will happen.  I bet there will be some negotiations going on.

Volcanoes:  We toured Volcano National Park one day while taking a "circle trip" around the entire island.  While going through the lava tubes, we met a couple who were on their honeymoon.  He was from Australia and she was from Scotland.  The were "hitchhiking" their way from Scotland to Australia.  They would travel to a country or location and then hitchhike across that area.  As we left the park, we saw them along side of the road,  We stopped the car and offered them a ride back to their campground.  It is the first time I have picked up a hitchhiker in almost 40 years, but somehow I don't think it was a problem.  CLICK FOR LARGER PICTURES

Waterfalls: Both Rainbow Falls (left) and Akaka Falls (2nd and 3rd pictures) are near Hilo on the big island.  Akaka Falls drops for 420 feet. CLICK FOR LARGER PICTURES

And lots of beautiful flowers.  I am standing near an outgrowth of bamboo.

Waipio Valley: Our driver (above) had family living in the Waipio valley. As we traveled through rough terrain, he drove through a small stream where his brother's children were playing in the stream.  Wild donkeys still roam the island.  CLICK FOR LARGER PICTURES

A Place of Refuge:  Hundreds of years ago Pu'uhonua O Honaunau was a sacred place of refuge for people until they were purified through rites administered by the kahuna or Hawaiian priests. CLICK FOR LARGER PICTURES