Today we changed from the west side of the big island to the east side, which is much more lush and green. We had a fantastic pizza lunch at Black Rock pizza, and got our rental car from the aiport.

We had downloaded an audio guide (Guide Along, formerly Gypsy Guide- thanks Stan and Christie!) that we used to keep us up on the sights we were passing and information about Hawaii. Today we drove the roads on the north side of the island, taking the side jaunt up to Pololu Valley overlook. It was a beautiful drive, and we passed thru multiple types of terrain, starting in dry volcanic rock and going thru lush rainy tropical areas as well. Such diverse landscapes! We stopped at some local markets, and then went up near our previous resort to see the King’s Trail.

Our next historic stop was Pu’ukohola Heiau, which was the fortress that King Kamehameha was foretold that if he built it, he would become a ruler and unify the Hawaiian islands (which he later did). Lots of sad stories of sacrifices and sharks and sunken fortresses on this site, but an interesting and pretty walk, nevertheless.

From the fortress, we traveled up to the birthplace of King Kamehameha, the tiny town of Kohala. They have a statue of him at the center of town, and a few small shops and restaurants.

From Kohala we took the winding, dead-end road up to the Pololu Valley overlook. It is a gorgeous spot high up on a cliff. There is a winding path that you can hike down to a black sand beach but it has a steep and difficult return, and they also advise that no one swim there due to rocks and strong currents. For today we were content to just look.

Our route also took us through the ranching town of Waimea, where the chickens roam free (as they do in much of Hawaii)

Although we boogied, we didn’t quite make it to our last sightseeing stop, the Waipi’o Valley overlook, before sunset as we’d hoped. But we still got a feel for the beauty here, and got a few nice shots of the last sliver of sun.

We ended our day of sightseeing with a fantastic meal at Pineapples cafe in Hilo. Their teriyaki flank steak will definitely have me returning again before we leave Hilo. We have checked in to our Air B&B studio, and are ready to plot our shenanigans for tomorrow and crash. Thanks for adventuring with us!