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| Macadamia nut pancakes |
No rush to get out the door this morning since our only plans were to go to the beach. Instead of breakfast at the hotel, we went to 808 Grindz Cafe. There was a bit of wait to get seated, but it was worth it! R was the only one who ordered something we hadn't already eaten on the island.
We heard that Two Step was a great spot for snorkeling, so that was our next stop. The "beach" sits just outside the boundary of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau NHP (where we visited a few days ago), so while swimming is not allowed within the park, there are no restrictions here. With our national park annual pass, we parked in their lot for free and just walked over.
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| Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau NHP is to the left |
R and the boys went in the water to snorkel, but I was happy just sitting in the shade. According to M, it was a little tricky getting in and out because of the drop-off from the lava shelf, hence the name "two step".
From here, we continued south, retracing the route we took towards Hawaiʻi Volcanoes NP, even stopping at Punaluʻu Bake Shop again for lunch and more malasadas. Yum!
Afterwards, we stopped at the Kahuku Unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes NP, which is about 50 miles away from the main part of the park. This area is located on the slopes of Mauna Loa and was once one of the largest cattle ranches in Hawaiʻi. But we didn't do any hiking here - everyone else stayed in the car while I hopped out to get my passport stamp.
About 15 miles farther down the road, we reached our final stop for the day - the black sands of Punaluʻu Beach. The ocean seemed pretty rough, so we didn't go in. But it was a beautiful place to sit and relax.
Based on our friend's recommendation, on our way back we made a pit stop at Gypsea Gelato in Kealakekua for our vacation staple...
We ended the day by walking over to TK Noodle House for dinner. Tomorrow we fly home!
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