1 Yep, we're not in Kansas (or Kauai) anymore. Time for a quick 24 hour hop over to Hilo and Volcano to check things out since it's been more than 20 years since we last visited.
2 Our base for the night was the SCP right on Hilo Bay, a funky eco-conscious hotel
3 Drive-in local-style at Verna's with their take on the classic Hawaiian pidgin philosophy "if can, can. If no can, no can" which loosely translates to "if I get to it then great, if not then no worries"
4 We didn't stop at Verna's since our lunch destination was across the street at the Hilo institution Ken's House of Pancakes. And yes, they serve pancakes 24/7, but oh so much more!
5 The front of Ken's menu looks somewhat benign with really affordable prices
6 It's the back of the menu that "slap u side a da head" with their answer to "super-size me" being "sumo-size me"! OMG, it is impossible to imagine a bowl of saimin with 1lb of noodles or a loco moco with 1lb of beef patties, 3 slices of spam, and 3 eggs all over 6 scoops of rice!
7 Just to emphasize the sumo-size portions was this guy leering over our table
8 After 3+ weeks in Hawaii, my deprivation was alleviated by Ken's awesome stack of mac-niut pancakes with a choice of coconuy and lilikoi (passionfruit) syrups. Maxine's chef salad was enough for a family of 6.
9 After lunch we drove to Volcano and our first stop was the Kilauea Overlook
10 Okay, I get that steam vents and cliffs = bad, but earth cracks are a danger I hadn't thought of before. And I hope the poor guy that posed for the unstable cliffs sign got hazard pay!
11 Now this diagram makes it clearer on what to look out for when it comes to "earth cracks". I'm surprised that the model had some unbroken bones left to pose for the second picture. OTOH, it kind of looks like they just copy-pasted him in.
12 A rainbow and the slight tinge of a second one greeted our first view of the crater. Most of what you see is an old lava lake, although you can see some puffs of sulfur vents here and there.
13 The floor of the old crater then descends into Halemaumau which is the currently active zone
14 The enormity of the crater is mind-blowing as you look down at the different levels that eruptions have occurred over millennia.
15 There are those earth cracks they warned us about, along with the sulfurous steam vents
16 A slightly higher viewpoint gives a better view into Halemaumau
17 Kilauea Overlook
18 The leis in this tree on the crater rim are for a man who didn't heed the warning signs, went off-piste, ended up falling 100 ft into the crater, and had to be rescued after breaking quite a few body parts.
19 The rain clouds moved in so we sought some shelter by hiking down to the 500 year old Thurston lava tube
20 The entrance to the lava tube
