Travel Tuesday: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park day 1, April 17, 2026

After a delicious açai bowl for breakfast at our yurt we set out for Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 

After a quick trip to the visitor center to get an eruption update (oooOOOOooooh) we explored the lava tube. 

note the crossed out former name on the sign; official name has returned to Nāhuku

Next we headed out along Chain of Craters road. Now, I love geology more than most people, I think, but all I really wanted to look at was weird lava flows. So after a few pullouts where to see evidence of past eruptions, we then only stopped for extra amazing spots like the Kealakomo Overlook, with a view of a flow that goes all the way to the sea:

Or this spot where lava went over the road: 

Some of the lava had iridescent glass spots: 

and some had a really cool "glug glug" sort of pattern: 

Our favorite stop was at the Pu'uloa Petroglyphs. We parked and walked out to the boardwalk look to see the petroglyphs. I'd never seen so many in one spot before. 

Finally we drove to the very end where lava poured into the sea. And Wil took the requisite silly picture. 

Back up at the crater rim, we parked and walked over to an "eruption viewing" point. 

Everyone wants to see a big fountain of lava, but -- spoiler alert -- we wouldn't see that. But it was cool to see any activity at all. 

In the afternoon we headed to our home for the next two nights: Nāmakanipaio Campground and Cabins. 

I would have loved to stay in the lodge, but staying in a camping cabin SUPPLIED WITH SHEETS AND TOWELS seemed perfect. The campground is operated by the Volcano House lodge, and you can book the cabins (and tent campsites) from them. 

We had stopped at a farmer's market in Volcano where we bought an avocado nearly the size of our head. That, plus some bread and tofu poke made for a great picnic. 

Later we walked to the crater rim from the campground -- not super well marked, but obvious in daylight (and we had our headlamps to get back). 

We followed the rim trail around for another view of the eruption site, and as it got darker we could see the "orange glow" -- which was still very cool. 

As a bonus, we found our way back to the campground in the dark and had a great night's sleep. 

Next up: Kilauea Iki Trail!

Travel Tuesday is a project to move memories and photos from my notebook and phone onto this blog. 

Starry Night Stitch-a-Long, part 12

The weeks keep rolling by -- always faster in the summer, methinks! Last time I had gotten a quarter of the way through Starry Night: 

And here's where I am now: 

That's another column, slowwwwly moving across the chart. I'm still quite a ways from the tops of the cypresses (I think they're cypresses?) but I'm looking forward to "seeing" those more closely as I stitch. 

Our next check in is in three weeks. Until then, join me and check out what my fellow stitchers -- Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Helen, and Cindy -- have been up to. 

Travel Tuesday: Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, Punalu'u, Paradise Yurts, April 16, 2025

 We loved our time in Kona, but were ready to move on. So after a short walk to spot the Ironman finish line (of course!) we drove south to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park. 

I didn't know what to expect, really -- all I knew was that it was "the place of refuge" for people who had broken kapu -- sacred laws. The area contains monumental architecture like the great well as well as several ki'i statues -- symbolic representations of the akua, the Hawaiian gods, deities, and venerated ancestors. 

These ki'i were carved in the 1960s and are periodically replaced -- I mean, it's wood. Of course it needs replacing. And they are beautiful. We went for a little walk to look at them: 

We also walked around the Royal Grounds. There were some great hands-on demonstrations (wooden stamps, for example), but my favorite part was just these views of black lava and bright green plants: 

We took a break in the picnic area and ate more amazing tofu poke (so good!), and then it was time to move on. 

We made a little detour to see the Painted Church -- a surprisingly delightful little church that was, indeed, painted on the inside. 

Another detour took us into the Ocean View Estate -- really a bunch of roads plotted with a handful of houses built on them. But perhaps we could move there and live on the corner of Tiki Lane and Aloha Boulevard?

Back on the main road we kept heading south... to the southernmost point of the US. Not much to see but... sea. 

Turning north we stopped at Punalu'u Bake Shop. I had hoped to pick up malasadas... but they were SOLD OUT and the place was packed. In the recent Hurricane Lala and flooding the bake shop was severely damaged and is currently closed. Here's hoping they can recover soon!

Next stop: Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park. 

It's verrrrry strange to see black sand ... 

But the real highlight was the turtles:

Our next stop was our home for the night: Paradise Yurts. 

The owners only rent to one party at a time, so we had the area to ourselves... apart from a friendly cat:

and this friendly gecko:

The owners were amazing, and even made us a fantastic breakfast the next morning. And may I highlight this astounding bathroom and shower that made me want to move to Hawaii?

We ate a picnic under the trees (accompanied by our feline friend) and just relaxed. A perfect place to stay -- if you're headed to the big island I cannot recommend them enough. We booked Paradise Yurts on Hipcamp and wished we had arranged to stay more nights. 

Next up: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Travel Tuesday is a project I'm working on to get old photos and memories out of notebooks and onto this blog.