2023 Apr 01 | Big Island of Hawaii - temple, Volcanoes National Park, Hilo



Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling Wood Valley Temple.



I love the stairs with grass between the steps.



A shrine.



Started here in 1902.



Very colorful building.



Inside.



Ogii lighting an incense stick.



And using a singing bowl.



Beautiful stained glass.



Visitor's section.



With a visitor's book. It looks like they average around four people per day.



You can even stay in the guesthouse.



Words to live by.



Lots of leaves growing on this tree.



It looks like Midwest trees on the left and tropical trees on the right.



Uh oh, the chocolate-covered macadamia nuts are melted.



Well, we're surely not going to throw them away or wait to eat them after we put them in a fridge; just gotta lick them out.



Then we went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Be careful not to fall into any lava.



Random steam vents all around here.



Kilauea overlook.



It got much deeper after one eruption.



You can actually hike down in the crater.



There are some people now.



The parking lot by the lava tube was very busy. No open spaces, so we'd try to check it out on the way back.



The crater from another vantage point.



Ogii leaning over to get a good angle.



One of the eruptions was huge.



More walkers.



A couple of women had parked here and hiked to the lava tube but didn't want to hike back, so we gave them a ride. They said they'd never ridden in a convertible before.



I'm not sure I want to go somewhere called "Devastation," so we'll drive along the Chain of Craters road.



Another crater.



Geological survey marker.



Out by a lava field.



Both of us.



It's fun to see a few plants growing up through the old lava.



Farther south, you drive through big lava fields.



On both sides of the road.



Another viewpoint.



Better run to save time.



Looking down over the edge to the ocean below.



Deep cut through the rock.



You can see where the lava flowed down the hillside.



Driving through the lava fields.



I was hoping there would be some on the road, but they had cleared it all off.



It's fun to look at.



Lifted pickup.



Neon flowers.



Only native locals can fish here.



A clump of old lava.



You can see how it oozed along.



Holei Sea Arch.



Us with it.



Lined up with a little plant.



Palm trees growing out of the lava.



A new little bud.



More plants growing.



Driving back north.



The lava is very reflective.



I wonder what it would be like driving up this road as fast as possible if lava was on the way.



Slow for geese.



Didn't see any fresh lava like in the picture, but it was still neat.



Onto the lava tube.



About to go in.



It's rather long.



And fairly tall.



There were a few spots with puddles.



Farther along.



And back out the other side.



A very curly plant.



Pele, goddess of volcanoes.



There are no lotteries or casinos in Hawaii, but people still have to get their gamble on, so there are sweepstakes at the gas stations.



Maine is quite a long ways away from Hawaii.



The yellow tree stands out.



There is a retinal institute of Hawaii in Hilo.



Rainbows Falls.



With us.



You could walk up these stairs to the left.



Although you weren't supposed to go any farther.



These people ignored the rules.



A woman practicing with a stick.



The old Hilo Memorial Hospital, which is now a homeless shelter.



Lincoln Park had mosaics for every letter of the alphabet. The Hawaiian word for home is Hale, so maybe that's what this is.



Ladybug.



Nene.



Turtle (the Hawaiian word is honu, so some of the pictures are English, some are Hawaiian).



Volcano.



We ate at Antics Pizza. Cool mural outside.



And lots of videogames inside. They had these gaming chairs and newer consoles in the front.



And booths with older games in the back.



They have pizza and ramen.



This one even had an old Atari console (well, a new mini version with the old games).



We sat at a Super Nintendo.



Great pizza and garlic rolls.



A few more people showed up and sat at the other tables.



Nice to see wet naps at the tables. The controllers might get very dirty.



Funny bathroom sign.



Instead of business cards, they have stickers.



Our second AirBnB of the trip, in Honokaa, at the north side of the island.



A full kitchen.



And living room.



Bedroom.



And bathroom.



Pretty sunset picture.



A smaller balcony that the last place, but still very nice.



It's very noisy at night; there are non-stop animals sounds.



I enjoyed it, but if you don't, they have earplugs for guests.



Cool pillows.



Gotta find the tag.



And then order some on Amazon.