Hawaiian Adventure Day 9 and Home

After the early starts the previous few days, it was almost pleasant to have a slower morning if it wouldn't have been the final day in Hawaii.  Some extra coffee and quiet time is good for reflection.  Looking at weather for travel home, it was humorous to note that it is actually colder in Hawaii than at home.  We also had a bit of morning rain; this is good, as it means we had some rain every day while in Hawaii.

We spent some time making the Hideaway clean and organized before we left.  We followed the notes and instructions, but once most of our stuff was packed, there wan't that much else to do.  We made sure to leave the sponge in the kitchen...  Checking and double checking everything, we headed away from the Hideaway for a final time.

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Company was just a short drive down the road so we stopped there for the tour.  Coming into the farm, we first saw many trees we later identified as papaya trees.  These fruits must grow prodigiously in Hawaii since they are nearly free at the grocery store.  Then we went past a couple miles of macadamia trees.
The tour at Mona Loa Macadamia Nut Company is short, looking through the window at the production area with a couple video monitors to give additional information.  It only takes a few minutes and was worth a stop on our way out.
The visitors center has free samples and they seduced us to buy some nuts.  That is probably the point of the tour for them.  The wasabi and teriyaki nuts were crazy good, but don't taste very much like wasabi or teriyaki.

We drove through Hilo and headed up Mauna Kea.  We've driven this road several times already, but this time we headed up to the Mauna Kea visitor's station.  The drive there from Saddle Road is narrow but paved and is one of the steeper roads I've ever been on.  I was expecting a information, pictures, and other interesting bits about the astronomy that goes on top of the unique observatory and there was a little bit of that, and they did have one telescope set up.  But the location appeared to be more of an outpost for hiking than anything to do with astronomy - which was a little disappointing.  We looked around for a few minutes before heading back down the steep road.
On the way back down, the wet side - dry side of the Big Island was evident as in the Hilo direction, the road descended into clouds.

While on the Kona side, it was quite clear by the standards of what we've seen for the last several days.

Hawaii is the only place in the United States that grows coffee and this was a rare opportunity to see how it is done.  We'd driven past several coffee growing operations in the trip, and we decided to stop for the free tour at the Hula Daddy Coffee Company.  The tour lasted about 20 minutes and was quite educational.  Having quite an interest in coffee, most of the information I knew, but seeing the artisan operation was fun and there were free tastings of several of the coffees available.  Most surprising was the tea that they make from the dried coffee cherries.  It was tannic and almost astringent, but a good use of something that is often discarded or used for animal feed or fertilizer.  The taste was uniquely good in its own way, but probably not my cup of tea (pun intended).

After a lunch at the Big Island Grill (good, but the Kalua Pork doesn't compare to Kuhio Grille), we headed up the coast a ways.  Traffic was totally bonkers at first, until we got about 10 miles or so away.  We stopped at a few parks on the way, one of which was a couple mile back one of the worst roads we'd been on so far (we didn't make it all the way back).
We stopped at the interpretive park we had previously been at when on the motorcycle, but it was to close a few minutes after we got there.
Our final stop was near the north point of the island at a gritty county park.  It looked like a former industrial dock that was recommissioned as a park.  The park had mostly locals in it and some impromptu campers.  We hiked around the area for a short while, but looking at the clock, we decided that given the traffic towards Kona and the airport, it made sense to head back to avoid rushing at the end.
I took one final picture - the last wave in Hawaii, before leaving.

Once back at the airport, the rental car was returned.  In total, we drove 1700 miles around the island which is a crazy amount for just over a week, but every mile was worth it as part of the adventure.
Getting to the airport, it felt like an encounter in a third world country.  No flights were scheduled to leave for a while and both the ticket counters and security checkpoints were closed.  People were sitting and standing all around just waiting.  Most of us just took it in stride and enjoyed a little island time.  Some people were unnecessarily grousing...

I had some issues getting through security as the reader wouldn't accept the bar code on my phone.  Still appearing like a third world country, none of the kiosks to print tickets were working either.  I politely asked TSA to try again and he allowed me through after verifying me with another scanner.  My guess is that would not have happened if I started screaming about it.  Being nice and early usually pays.

There was quite a wait in the airport, but eventually, we were up into the sky aboard a 757 headed back to the Mainland USA.  Switching planes in Phoenix, we ended our flying with all four flights going without incident.  Driving back from Detroit was painful as we were both tired and hungry from the travel and lack of real food for about 24 hours; getting home with a Little Ceaser's Pizza felt great.

The travel did allow a lot of time for reflection.  Before planning for the trip, I was worried Hawaii would be cheap grass skirts and plastic leis.  I expected white sand beaches and palm trees, yet I'm most definitely not a lay-around-the-beach kind of guy.
What I found was something totally different.  Drinks in plastic coconuts on cheap Formica with hula statues nearby may exist in Hawaii somewhere, but I think one would have to look for it.  If someone goes to the Big Island hoping for great beaches and palm trees, they will be disappointed - although both can be found.
Most of the trip was about volcanoes, hiking, mountains, jungles, stark lava flows, coqui frogs and awesome craggy shorelines.

Most importantly, the goal of riding a motorcycle through all 50 states has been completed.

I also thought about a question Sawyer had posed on the fishing trip, "So, do you guys think you'll be coming back next year?"
Almost certainly No.  Despite issue-free travel (with the exception of the ice-drive to Detroit), the pain and expense of getting to Hawaii is prohibitive.  I went, knowing that Hawaii would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  On further reflection, returning to the 50th state could happen.  The volcanic activity seems to be at a recent historical low.  Even Pu'u O'o was not very active as evidenced by the update from the National Park Service:  "Lava flows from the past few days were inactive within Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater."

But some time in the future, when Pele wakes up a little more and the volcano allows for an up close and personal encounter with lava, I may be back.  That would be a totally different adventure...

Hawaiian Adventure Day 8

A cold front blew through overnight.  This brought more rain - no surprise, but also brought a breeze with it.  This was OK since I was hoping the breeze might help dissipate some of the Hawaiian vog as we were going back to Volcanoes National Park to view the caldera in the Halemaumau Crater on Kilauea in the dark.  The morning coolness coupled with the wind made it downright cold at 4000 feet above sea level.
I can't say I was expecting much, but being still partially on home time, it was easy to get up early.  As we drove up to the Jagger viewing area, I saw a glow that originally I assumed was from lights in the parking lot.  As we got closer, I was stunned to see the glow was from the volcano.

Walking up to the viewing area, there were only two other people there, with one leaving shortly after we got there.  The view was absolutely amazing.  This is likely not only one of the best things we've seen on the trip, but likely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  Photography without a tripod was a bit challenging, but using the wall as a support, I was able to get many pictures that were at least decent.  I do not think they did the actual surreal scene justice.

I also took some video and was surprised this worked as well as it did.  I captured two videos, both of which show lava splatter.

Talking with the other awestruck individual, he said he was there the night before and there was about 150 people there making the viewing was difficult.  That would not have been the same experience.
As it started to approach the first traces of dawn, the view became even better since the entire horizon could be seen along with the incomprehensible glow from the caldera.

Trying to get some close-ups, it was even possible to get stills showing some lava splatter.

While there have been many high points of this Hawaiian Adventure, this was the most incredibly only-in-Hawaii thing we saw.

Once it got light, we headed down to the end of Chain of Craters road.  The wind at the lower elevation had picked up considerably - so much so that it was nerve wracking to get too close to the dramatic cliffs at the end of the road.

The Holei Sea Arch was interesting to see with the waves crashing all around.

We walked for a ways down the "Emergency Access Route" and saw more lava and some lava.  Almost as dramatic, were the vast fields of lava.  Some of these flows are from as recently as 2008 when the flow covered the paved road.  It must be a phenomenal amount of work to clear recent lava and recreate a road.

There remains one small copse of palm trees; I think I should build my tropical paradise hut here.  Hopefully the National Park Service won't object?

We headed back up Chain of Craters Road planning on stopping at a few more places while we worked our way north.  I was impressed to see two people on bikes who had ridden down, now working their way up.  I was baffled that on the flat, straight, vacant road, they were actively preventing me from passing.  As an avid bicyclist myself, I've never understood these sanctimonious pricks...  They just make everyone despise all bicyclists and it is much safer to let the cars get around for all to continue on merrily at their own pace.
We stopped at the Puu Loa Petroglyphs.  This was less than a mile hike from the road, but the trail is a bit hard to follow.  The wind blew black volcanic sand around as we worked our way to the ancient graphics.  The petroglyphs were scattered all over and there is a boardwalk to help prevent walking over them.

We stopped a few more places as we headed out, but to be honest, craters and overlooks were starting to all run together.  If my pictures didn't have time and date stamps, some of them might be hard to know exactly where they were.  I guess that is a frightful sign that we are on the tail end of a good, long adventure.

We also briefly stopped at the Jagger Museum to see the actual museum.  Our visit was very short lived however since the place was absolutely lousy with people and tour buses.  It was a slightly amusing to see the cruise folk shivering in their tropical shirts, shorts and sandals on top of the cool, blustery mountain.  Having had another very early start, there was no crime in letting the hoards have their time.  Early morning continues to be the best part of most adventures.

Dinner that night was back at Kuhio.  I had to try saimin and the teriyaki pork was nearly as good as the kalua pork.

Hawaiian Adventure Day 7

We were up and out the door extremely early.  The plan was to hike down to Kealakekua Bay at first light and it is a two hour drive from the Hideaway.  We wanted to go first thing in the morning to avoid the larger amounts of people there, and as the hike is 3.8 miles (not too bad) and 1400 feet elevation (up=ouch), it made sense to avoid the heat of the day.

We arrived at the trailhead shortly after it got light.  It is ambiguous whether this is an "official" trail, but they appear to be building some kind of parking area; it is sorely needed.  At the early hour, there were no other cars there so we happily started our way down the trail.  The top of the trail was mostly dusty dirt, and almost immediately I recognized pig tracks as well as places where wild hogs were running through the grassy bush.

We even got to see a pig briefly, but once it saw us, it high tailed it out of view and into the safety of the brush.
We did, however, get to see many goats along the trail.  One herd was probably approaching 20 animals.

With the silhouetted babies watching down from above.  Being early in the morning, the animals were moving.  Later in the day, due to people and heat, the goats and pigs are likely taking it easy in the shade.

The trail continues with grassy areas, lava, and some steep gravelly sections.  At several points along the way, the view is nothing short of stunning.

Going down was relatively easy and we reached the bay and the Captain Cook Memorial.  I was very interested in this since I recently reread Tony Horwitz's excellent book Blue Latitudes.  The land where the memorial sits on is technically deeded to the British Government, so crossing the chain means stepping into the UK.  Without my passport, I briefly crossed an international boundary.

The actual spot where Captain Cook was killed is a short ways away and is marked by a plaque in the water.  Actually, it is supposed to be marked by a plaque, but there was just the concrete pedestal for the plaque.  I figure it was either stolen for scrap by a very ambitious vagrant who wanted to hike up with it over 0.25 vertical miles.  Or it was vandalized by some hoodlum who wants to blame some historic Haole for his problems.  There was also evidence of past vandalism at the Captain Cook Memorial.

The hike up was still enjoyable, but probably not as much fun as down.  It was getting sunnier (with Hawaiian haze).  It was getting hotter and more humid.  It was up.
I stopped briefly at the site of the Puhina o Lono Heiau - or temple - where Captain Cook was cut up (or whatever) after he was killed.  I thought about this in terms of the vandalized memorial to Captain Cook.  I think it is appropriate to have frustration over the loss of much of the Hawaiian culture after Western contact.  It seems more appropriate to channel that into constructively learning and preserving that culture, or working toward a more interesting future, rather than pretending history is merely evil.  It is lunacy to think that Hawaii was going to stay remote in perpetuity, and the Hawaiians did already have the final ho'omake on Captain Cook.
We saw many people coming down as we worked our way up - this made us very glad we started early and had the place to ourselves for a while.

Once back at the car and rested, we went to the Painted Church.  The church was built in 1899 and Father John Velghe used pictures to teach the bible.  The painting is exquisite.

I found it interesting that all the paintings are in very good condition except the painting of hell, which has deteriorated considerably.

The church has a large cemetery with what appear to be above-ground graves.  I hadn't previously thought about it, but digging in lava is probably very challenging, and even more so without mechanized machinery.

After questioning the integrity of those who vandalized the Cook memorial, it was probably time to head to the City of Refuge.  This was a historic Hawaiian place where those who had wronged the gods or the chief could find refuge and absolution for any crimes, if they could reach there before they were caught.  I hope it also works for any driving transgressions I may have made in the last few days.

The City of Refuge is in Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park.  The park itself is quite small, but the area is very scenic, if a bit touristy.  There are many small tidal pools teaming with aquatic life.  Crabs, fish, sea urchins, hermit crabs, eels, and even a very large turtle.

There was an atypical strong southern breeze bringing waves crashing into the rocks at the shoreline of the park.  While trying to take pictures of the waves, an unusually large one came in faster than I expected and drenched me.  Thankfully, I stayed standing.  SO also got dunked crossing a small tidal flow.  We both went back to the car with soggy feet.

With sodden clothes, we went back a little early which gave us an opportunity to do some laundry.  Having been gone a week now, we were running low on the necessaries.

Dinner that night was another impossibly huge plate of fresh tuna on the breezy lanai.

Hawaiian Adventure Day 6

We were out the door well before daylight to head back over Saddle Road toward Kona.  Today was fishing day!

"Beware.  There ARE no fish."

-Note in the bottle, dropped in this same water, in The Curse of Lono by Hunter Thompson

We had originally booked a fishing trip with Hooked Up Sport Fishing, but Chuck was going to be in Oregon so Jim was going to be the one taking us out.  Then Jim was in Oregon, but the boat was broken and wasn't going to be fixed in time for Chuck to take us out.  These things happen.  So we rescheduled to go out with the Jim in his boat, but (recall) Jim is in Oregon.

Confused?  It was a bit confusing, but we were in the capable hands of Rocky and Sawyer on board the Go Get 'Em.

We easily found the boat and headed out after quick introductions.  Immediately out of the harbor the lines went out on the outriggers trolling for bill fish.  After we had been out for a short time, Rocky yelled out that one of the baits had a fish on it.  It didn't take the bait and Rocky said it wasn't an aggressive hit, but he had seen that it was a spearfish.

We continued trolling out to the buoys where we switched to lighter tackle and went after smaller fish.  Almost immediately we had a fish on and SO reeled it in.  It was a decent sized yellow fin tuna.  We continued trolling and had three more tuna landed with one more fish getting away.  The fish caught were three yellow fin and one skipjack.  

Light tackle fishing was a little slow and we had some in the boat so the rest of the day was spent trolling for the big ones.  Unfortunately, none of the big ones could be seduced by any of the five sexy lures spread out behind the boat.  Not even the My Little Pony lure could bring them up from the depths where they were surely hiding.

Even without sitting in the fighting chair, we still had a great time.  Rocky and Sawyer were fun to talk to.  We saw both pilot and humpback whales.  We also saw dolphins and the weather was perfect - hot but not too hot; sunny, but with the Hawaiian haze.

Sawyer cleaned the fish about a half hour before we were finished for the day and we tasted a bit of it.  All too soon, Sawyer started taking in the lures and we headed back to the harbor.  

We headed back over the Saddle Road and stopped at the grocery store in Hilo, picking up a few supplies for dinner.  We had copious amounts of fish; hopefully we can use it all before we head back to...  There is still have too much of this adventure left to think about that yet.

Dinner was probably the most expensive plate of tuna sushi I've ever had.  It was either expensive because of the cost of the fishing trip, or because with so much tuna, the amount of tuna that was eaten would have been prohibitive in any other situation.

Hawaiian Adventure Day 5

I woke up to torrential rain which was a little disturbing since it was the day of the helicopter tour.  A quick check of the radar showed it was a small shower that was moving slowly through the area.  This rain must have scoured out a lot of the vog since it ended up being one of the clearest and driest days so far.

There wasn't enough time to do much before the helicopter tour, so I had a brisk walk after the rain stopped.  I was hoping to run into a wall of hot lava, but it didn't happen.

Blue Hawaiian runs the Volcano and Waterfall Tour out of Hilo Airport so we headed that direction.  We stopped at Ken's Pancake house first for breakfast.  Trying to fit in with Hawaiians, I enjoyed the Loco with Spam.

Once at the airport, there was a few minutes to kill before sitting through a safety briefing, getting our emergency life preservers, and heading out to the helicopter pad.  I was a little concerned about the number of people in the group, but there were two copters headed up.  We were flying in the smaller A-Star helicopter which was a good thing as with only four of us, the seating meant nobody had to sit in a middle seat.  The tour would not have been near as good with limited visibility and movement if there had been more of us.  Even compared to the larger Eco-Star helicopter, I think we had the better situation.  Everyone got a window seat.

Being in a helicopter was on my bucket list so once we took off, I could scratch it off.  In addition to being in all 50 states and motorcycling in all 50 states, I may need some new goals after this Hawaiian adventure...

After takeoff, we headed toward the lava fields and toward the volcanic activity.  Driving in the car, and riding the motorcycle, for the last few days and seeing all the lava flows of various ages, I had started to get a sense of the size of the Big Island as well as the scope of the devastation that the volcano has caused while creating the island at the same time.  Seeing it form the helicopter made it that much more visibly real.

Even areas that weren't completely devastated, showed that the lava will go where it wants and there is nothing that can really stop it.

Flying over the active vent and crater was incredibly awesome.  This was the Pu'u O'o vent which is the most active volcanic spot in the islands.  I had wanted to do a hiking tour to see lava, but after doing the helicopter tour and seeing the distance and terrain I'm not sure I'll pursue that.  I've read various opinions on the legality of these tours as well, given where the lava is actively flowing.  However, if I was going to be here for a few more weeks, I could probably still talk myself into it.

From the helicopter, red hot lava was visible.  It is likely that the darker material is just a thin skin covering a lava lake.

There is additional evidence of lava flowing at the perimeter of the devastation field.  Trees are burning along with steam venting.  The pilot said the activity here, as well as anywhere withing the lava flow, can change hour by hour.

After the volcano viewing, we flew inland to view waterfalls.  This was less interesting than the lava, but it didn't cost that much more over the flight to see just the volcano.  Plus, it gave more air time.  The flight allowed additional views of some of the area as well.
The current El Nino has resulted in warmer, dryer weather on the Big Island and this results in lower water flow than is normal.  The waterfalls were still pretty, but there were areas that look like they may have usually had water flowing, but didn't.

Finally, we flew over Hilo Bay en route back to the Airport.
The Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour was expensive, but probably worth it.  No, we didn't get to see geysers of lava spewing out of the earth, but it was a safe and unique way to get personal with volcanic activity.

Back on terra firma, we went to the Kaumana Lava Tubes.  We weren't expecting much, but it was fairly close to the Hilo Airport.
The Kaumana Lava Tubes were far more fun than I expected.  A steep staircase leads down to a broken lava tube that goes in two directions, at least hundreds of feet.  Some areas are narrow, but most of it has a huge ceiling.  Some of it was rocky and difficult to traverse, while other was like walking on poor concrete.  Luckily we had a small LED flashlight since it would be impossible to go very far without it.  Once in the lava tube a ways, I shut off the light and it was total ... complete ... darkness.  Frankly, the Kaumana lava tube was much better than the Thurston Lava Tube in Volcanoes National Park.  And given the lack of the nanny-state, was more interesting than Mammoth Cave in Kentucky!

As we were also  close to Rainbow falls, we headed over there to view it as well.  There were quite a few people there, but with a non-walk from the parking area to the falls it was worth the short time investment.  It was also possible to go above the falls and get close to the edge.  Lots of people were swimming in the deep pools away back from the edge as well.  Like with Kaumana, without the nanny-state, it was neat to explore for a short while.

After shopping for some food supplies, we headed back to the Hideaway for a couple hours, then ventured out for dinner.  Kuhio Grille was a small unassuming place in a strip mall, but the food is almost always good when just about everyone there is local.  Health aspects aside, the Hawaiians cook some mean pig.

Hawaiian Adventure Day 4

Pahoa, HI to Kona, HI:  115 Miles

After a rainy evening and night, morning came quite soggy.
The bike was toweled off and I took some more pictures to commemorate 50 states.  This was probably excessive, but we had time in the morning and I wouldn't get a second shot at this.  It would shortly be time to return the bike.

I've said it before and I'll probably never stop saying it.  Early mornings are the best part of vacation.  Early mornings on vacation are even better when riding a motorcycle.  We headed out toward the national park to work our way back to Kona.  Traffic was very light and temperatures were cool - nearly perfect conditions to ride a motorcycle in Hawaii.

Even as we started to go north, traffic was almost nonexistent.

Eventually, as we got closer to Kona, traffic did pick up.  But at least for a while the speeds were very tolerable, making the very curvy roads extremely enjoyable.  We had a few miles of bumper to bumper traffic before we made it Big Island Harley Davidson.  I've got nothing bad and lots good to say about the people there.  They were helpful, friendly and had us in and out quickly.

We transferred all our stuff back into the Charger and headed back south.  We had seen (and smelled) some meat smoking at a roadside stand and stopped for lunch.  It was a fund raiser of some sort put on by Randy's Huli Chicken.  To say it was phenomenal would be an understatement.  Randy's Huli Chicken was a near life changing experience.
Back on the road, we continued south and stopped at the lava flows just off HI11.  I really like the bleak landscape and it is interesting to see the progression of plant life form as the lava flows age.

We continued south, as far south as it is possible to go in the United States.  Last year, we went to Key West, but South Point is even farther south.  Apparently there can be a scam where people try to charge for parking, but I didn't see any of that.  There were lots of people there, but very few made the mere 0.2 mile walk to the actual southern point.

The road to South Point is very narrow, perhaps not as narrow as Mauna Loa Road, but with much more traffic.  City folk didn't seem to understand that it is OK, and probably required, to get two wheels off the pavement to pass on these kinds of roads.
Headed back toward the Hideaway, we stopped at the Kau Desert Trail.  This is a trail head for several hikes, but we only went the approximately 0.75 miles to the 200 year old footprints.  It was cool and cloudy, which is great conditions for hiking.
I can't say much for the footprints, but once back off of the road, the combination of absolute quiet and unforgivably monotonous landscape was great.  For a short easy hike, it was definitely worth it.  Walking through lava flows that shows the abrupt end of an a'a flow while an older pahoehoe continues was interesting.

We ended up back at the Hideaway mid afternoon.  In contrast to other days, it was hot and almost humid.  We've done a lot over the last few days with several more adventures to look forward to.  It was time to slow down for a few hours.

We headed toward Hilo for dinner, eating at Honi Wai Cafe, and the food was great.  They also sold a dessert kind of poi - they gave me a taste of it and were surprised when I bought the package.  It tasted good; the texture was unusual in a good way.  And how could I go the Hawaii and not eat Poi?

Hawaiian Adventure Day 3

Kona, HI to Pahoa, HI:  179 miles.

It all started somewhere around 1993.  My first motorcycle was a very used Honda CB360T.  I think it was a 1976 model, but to be honest, I'm not totally sure anymore.  It was basic fun transportation in college until I wrecked it being over exuberant (read stupid) in an area where I should not have been.
I bought my Harley Davidson Sportster in 1997.  I bombed around the near-home counties on it and trailered it on a few vacations, but never did more than that.  Wanting to start to try touring, I bought a 2001 Harley Davidson Superglide T-Sport.  That is where this touring journey really started.  Other bikes followed, all with a touring bent:  Harley Electraglide, Honda ST1300, Honda Goldwing, Triumph Trophy.
And now I have ridden a motorcycle in all 50 states!  The previous 49 were all to and through on my own motorcycle, so Hawaii will always have an asterisk after it, but this has been a life goal for a long time.

We headed out to Kona in the morning.  There are two places that rent motorcycles on the Big Island and the "other" place has a very unfriendly cancellation policy so Harley Davidson it is; too many things can go wrong during travel.  Anyways, a Harley is what this whole touring adventure was started on so it is only fitting that the goal is completed on a Harley.

We dropped our car off at Big Island Harley Davidson and after a good breakfast down the street, we picked up a 2016 Electraglide to rent for the day.  We left and headed north out of Kona.  Riding through the vast barren lava fields north of KOA Airport was almost surreal.  We tried to get pictures, but they didn't do the vastness justice.

Once out of the Kona area, traffic thinned considerably and most cars kept the pace up near the speed limit.  We stopped a few times to take pictures of the bike and us with the bike to commemorate the 50-State milestone.

We rode about as far north on the island as we could.  We also stopped at the Lapakahi State Historic Park.  We only looked around for a short time.  The shoreline was craggy with higher waves than the previous day.  In addition to the black lava, there was considerable coral on the "beach" as well.

We looped around on HI250 going through verdant green ranch land into Wimea and on to Waipio Valley.  We were not planning on taking the rented Electraglide down the treacherous Waipio Valley Road, but even if we wanted to, it was closed due to the local dengue fever threat.  A police officer was even stationed there to prevent anyone from descending the 4wd road.  The valley itself was very picturesque, but the vog was considerable making the view and pictures less than ideal.  Perhaps we'll try to come back on a later day if it appears clearer.

Leaving Waipio Valley, we headed south.  This part of the island has many gulches that were spectacular to ride through.  Lush tropical foliage contrasts with the barren dryer western side of the island.  Many rivers and streams also push out into the Pacific Ocean.

One of the streams forms the 442 foot Akaka waterfall which is now a state park.  The park is done well, with about a half mile paved walking loop that brought us through what looked like a rain forest.  Plants with enormous leaves, otherworldly trees and impossibly sized bamboo surrounded us on the short walk.  Akaka Falls were spectacular, even if the volume of water is less than impressive.

We made our way down to Hilo and saw a sign for a scenic drive.  Not being pressed for time, we went through the approximately four mile route.  Again, the tropical foliage was impressive and was so thick that there was very little light in some places.

Getting through the rest of Hilo traffic was less fun, but eventually we stopped for gas, just as the rain started.  The rain didn't appear to be too heavy at the gas stop so the plan was to head back to the Hideaway before venturing out later and eating early in the evening.  But the rain continued and increased, the radar showing just a small shower directly over the southern part of the island.  We got back to the Hideaway just as it turned into a deluge and continued for over an hour.
It isn't a real motorcycle trip without some rain.

It rained until near dark and neither of us felt like getting wet again or suiting up in rain gear, so instead of going out to eat, we just ate what we had before turning in for the night.

Going to sleep, it felt great to know that we've achieved a motorcycling touring milestone.