One fun part of staying in AirBnB's is seeing what nice items they have. This shampoo and body wash was great.
I know that alligator; Lacoste pillows.
They had a mini fridge as well, although we didn't keep any food in it; just our leis.
The house had a huge deck.
With a great view of the sunrise.
They rent out multiple rooms.
More cats.
I ran back into the house because we had forgotten the leis. I didn't know Ogii let the cat into the car until I saw this picture.
They have these short triangles on the road to tell you to pay attention, such as for crosswalks.
And these very tall triangles for blind turns.
Beautiful sunrise.
Cool trees.
Royal Princess cruise ship. We can almost make out the movie.
Releasing tenders.
There were a ton of people out running and walking. They were almost all white.
Volleyball early in the morning.
We had breakfast at Tea-Licious Cafe.
They have picnic boxes; that's smart.
Cuckoo clocks.
German breakfast.
Our sea turtle shirts for the day.
Haha, the road is poopoo.
Pretty red flowers.
Neat gates.
Leis in a cooler by the side of the road for $8.
These plumeria leis are our favorite.
A big tree.
Flamingo creation.
Many mailboxes.
Wind turbines out on the peninsula.
A skinny road.
The leis make the car smell good.
Parking was just in the dirt by the side of the road.
This side had a few porta potties.
Some people fishing.
This was advertised as a cliff-diving location, although nobody was doing that today.
A rope you can use to climb back up.
This guy was a bit down the side of the cliff; I don't think I'd fish from there.
Someone looking over the edge.
One way to make sure your baby doesn't climb over the cliffs.
Some memorials.
Another one.
This road would be difficult to drive on.
A more open area.
That ends in a beach with lava rock around it.
Made of coral.
Some stacked up.
Us on the beach.
A coral memorial.
Kona love.
This is the southernmost point in the US. Unlike the continental one in Key West, there's no huge marker for it.
Just this old lighthouse back onto land a bit.
Very lifted pickup.
Someone bring a shaved ice shack in for the tourists that arrive later in the day.
The road to the right goes to the southernmost point; the road to the left goes to the green sand beach.
The road to the beach is very difficult, so you can either walk, take your own vehicle with very high clearance, or pay a local $20 to drive you in his lifted pickup.
It's about an hour hike, so we decided to pay someone for the ride.
Not too many people parked there yet.
Into the truck we go.
It was a beautiful drive, with the ocean on the side, but you really had to hold on tight.
There were only four of us in this truck.
A video of the ride there; it takes 20 minutes. You would definitely need a very lifted vehicle to make it, and even then, there were often different routes you could take, so you might not know the best one. I'm glad we got the ride.
If you don't want to watch for 20 minutes, here it is at 16x speed, so just over a minute long.
There were plenty of spots with water on the way, too; the truck was quite muddy afterwards.
Papakolea Green Sand Beach.
It's a pretty steep walk down; they had stairs here.
Halfway down.
Waiting for others.
Or you could take the skinny trail to the right.
Looking back up at Ogii.
Almost there.
And we're on the beach.
The sand was very bright.
Lava rocks.
From the side.
A panoramic view.
From farther up the side.
I can't read anything that this sign used to say.
It was windy there.
Another view from the top.
This rock looked like a croissant.
Ogii at the top.
For the ride back, we decided to sit inside the truck so we wouldn't have to hold on the entire way.
Occasionally a vehicle would come from the other direction, so someone would have to pull to the side.
These people drove a gator.
Hikers making way for the truck.
This part was very deep.
And this part was very rocky. I wonder if they have special tires to reduce the risk of getting a flat.
Another group headed out.
The parking lot is a bit more full now.
Cows and wind turbines.
A little shop.
Satellite dishes.
Bright blue on this house.
This hot dog shack is right where the road from the southernmost point and the green beach connect to teh main highway; great location.
I love these little food stands in Hawaii; they don't need some huge restaurant.
Just a grill.
Lots of toppings.
Enjoying our lunch.
As soon as we got into the car, we checked for our three cords: seat belt, lei, and charger.
A bakery a bit down the road.
It was very popular.
With long lines everywhere.
A very bright lizard.
Next we drove to Punalu'u Black Sand beach. There was a pond there with pretty flowers.
Are those muscovy ducks?
Tall palm trees.
I found a coconut.
The black sand beach.
Ogii in the sand.
Lots of families here.
It looks weird when someone is buried in the black sand.
This beach also has sea turtles.
A couple more over here.
And some swimming in the water.
A couple of heads sticking up.
A picture of Ogii petting a turtle.
Well, not quite; just a little forced perspective to make it look like that. We stayed outside the lines to give the turtles plenty of space.