We got up and made our way into Volcano National Park. We stopped and made sure that Ranger John had us in his numbers and then went and saw the steam vents again, this time without fog. The difference in the views was “mesmerizing” according to Caroline. We then and went up to end of the road and took a look at the summit. It was very windy but really neat to see the crater from different view points. We then went back, met up with Ranger John and began our hike. The hike was amazing, we learned a lot about the history of the volcano, the various different types of plants, and the culture around the volcano. We learned about the evil Ginger and how they regularly have to come and chop it down otherwise it takes over everything, it is an evasive species that smells nice, looks cool, but is not nice to the volcano. We heard early about petting the pulu but really didn’t get the full experience until the end. All we can say is that petting the pulu was a life changing experience, just like Ranger John said. It was so soft and felt like animal fur. The pulu is from tree fern. We saw a lot of fiddle heads along the trail and they are really neat as they are the beginning of the ferns grow. Down on the crater floor we go to walk out further than is normally allowed and go to pick up pele’s hair which is really this strands of silica from the vulcanic bursts at the lava lake. It is names from the lava goddess Pele. We then walked back up the side of the crater and got to walk along and see the parts of the road that no longer exists and partially still exists due to collapses from the 1984 lava flows. We ended the hike by petting the pulu near the volcano hotel. We sat by the visitor and ate our lunch and then made our way back to the cabin to regroup and plan the afternoon. We showered and changed and got ready to go to a beach in Hilo. Having been told it was not a beach for swimming but for wading we were a little under prepared for the experience. The tide pools were more of a bay inlet but had a lot of creatures including small fish, turtles, and crabs. We got to see turtles swimming really close to us in the water. Ellie went in and eventually got her clothes fully wet. We then made our way to the coconut grille. Julie had the Hibachi Chicken, and it was sweet and delicious, Desi had the ribs with grilled corn bread (amazing!!!), Caroline had the Chicken Katsu, Ellie had a small pizza. Overall dinner was really great. On the way back to car we saw several turtles in a small canal snacking on some grass. After taking some exciting videos of them eating we got in and headed back to the cabin. We tried the macaroon that we put in the fridge from the night before, but they were not so great after being in the fridge.  

Tomorrow a ride across the island, snorkeling, and an evening in Kona