{stateside} hawaii: day three - earth day

monday was earth day, and so we decided to go see some earth being born at hawaii volcanoes national park.  it was on the exact opposite side of the island from where we were staying, so we hopped into our little car and took a nice long scenic drive.  we stopped a couple of times: once to admire a particularly gorgeous view and once for snacks and gas in hilo.  the drive was worth it for sure - we saw the crater of an active volcano, and we hiked down through rain forest into the barren lava crater of a much less active one.  we went up the other side and then through a lava tube.  the whole experience was something straight out of fern gully.

we drove the rest of the way around the island to get back home, stopping at punaluu black sand beach {known for its sunbathing sea turtles} and south point {home of a green sand beach that didn't seem that green to us}.  in kona we stocked up on some groceries for the condo, and then we went home to cook dinner and relax on the patio with our new cat friend {we named him lloyd!}.