The last few days of Hawaii ran together a little for me. Perhaps it was exhaustion, perhaps it was dreading the end of our trip, perhaps it was the fact that we went back and forth to many of these sites multiple times. So I don't know what day this was...somewhere in the last 3 or 4 days of our trip, but it was a good day.
We explored Puna, the most eastern point of the island. We stood there and took a deep breath. Since the winds come from the east, this part of the island (the easternmost point) is said to have "virgin air" as it has drifted over the landless Pacific Ocean for weeks. This air is considered pristine and is analyzed by many countries and used as a benchmark.
After a few good long deep breaths, we set off (in the wrong direction) looking for a natural lava swimming pool called Champagne Pond. After a L.O.N.G. walk on this black lava terrain, we decided to head back and move on to our next spot. It was a beautiful "stroll" down the coastline.
The next stop was to discover the vast inter-connected tidal pools. Some of the Kapoho Tidepools are volcanically heated and serve as the east coast's beach. It's a far stretch from the NC beaches but fun to walk through to discover many beautiful fishes.
We soaked our feet in Ahalanui, a large volcanically heated pool. This pool has a man-made wall and an inlet separating it from the ocean but allowing the ocean to feed it. The Kapoho eruptions of 1955 and 1960 reworked the plumbing so that this pool is volcanically heated to a toasty 91-95 degrees. It felt soooo good.
We hung out for a while at Isaac Hale State Park and watched the locals surf. We found a tiny (about 8' x 14') warm water pool set in the vine-covered jungle just a few feet offshore, but passed it by as it was occupied by 5 locals.
Then we visited this spot on the shoreline that is know for it's spectacular display of waves hitting the cliff. As large waves hit the cliff, spray would travel down the coastline like dominoes. It was amazing but terrified me. Christopher will tell you that I am freaked out by rogue waves. I remember watching this special on TV years ago about a very young couple on their honeymoon. The girl was posing for a picture when a rogue wave came up behind her and swept her away into the ocean. On our trip, I would walk yards off the shoreline and was always keeping an eye out. Christopher teased me very badly. This spot we were at was known for huge rogue waves. See that huge boulder that McFatty is hugging (yeah, he's an idiot)? A wave tossed that up onto the cliff. I took this picture from VERY far away with my amazing zoom lens. There was NO WAY that I was getting close. This man stressed me out to much that I had to go back to the car after a few pictures.
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