We awoke to a beautiful day in the Namakanipaio campground of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Since our morning routine slightly altered by the fact that we had forgotten to buy fuel for the stove, we snacked on what we could and packed up for a day of exploring the park. Heading east, we soon pedaled past a small sign that simply stated "Crest: 4200(ish) ft" (okay, it didn't have the ish part on the sign). And just like that, the sun had disappeared, a cold wind blew in our faces--and most significantly--precipitation was falling from the sky. 

By the time we rolled in to the visitor center a few miles later, we were soaked and shivering . But after a thorough reading of every panel of every exhibit, the collective body heat of all the other tourists crammed inside to avoid the rain had sufficiently dried and warmed us enough to make a game plan for the rest of the day. Our first priority was coffee. With apparently none to be found inside park boundaries, we ventured out to Volcano Village, this time donning all the rain gear we brought with us but failed to put on initially. We timed our arrival to the Lava Rock Cafe (ha ha, get it? As in Hard Rock Cafe...) perfectly between massive bus tours and got cozy with DA BEST coffee and french toast with lilikoi (passionfruit) syrup. 

With a rejuvenated outlook on life induced by hot liquid caffeine and real calories, we endeavored to "take a ride down memory lane" as we toured random residential roads in search of the house I lived in during the summer I was a research volunteer in the park. Given that that was somehow eleven years ago already, my memory was a little hazy and we never found it . The downpour was not letting up, but this was our one day here as determined by our fast-paced itinerary, so back into the park we went. Let's just say we got to see the rainforest in action, as well as some intriguing geologic formations, but as for sweeping views...not so much. 

When we could deal with soggy exploration no longer, we detoured to the Volcano Winery. Yes, you did read that correctly. There is a winery in Hawai'i. And as we learned while wine tasting, there are actually two, the other located on Maui. And after tasting the wine, I understand why there are only two. I surely give them props for a pioneering spirit and creativity, but we certainly only bought a bottle to drink back at the campground for the novelty of it. Coming upon the road sign that announced we had once again reached the crest, the sunshine warmed our faces, we peeled off our wet layers, and returned to a dry campsite that seemed part of another continent. All hail the power of topography in shaping microclimates! Later that night, we walked from the campground over to a viewpoint of the Halema'uma'u crater within the vastness of the Kilauea crater . What's notable about this crater is namely that it is filled with a lava lake, and while the observation point is at such an angle that one cannot actually see the lava, it's breathtaking just to see how the lava illuminates steam billowing up from it with a warm glow. This is Pele's home.

The next day, we again awoke to sunshine a blue skies above us, but now understood what the low-lying clouds in the direction of the crest were indicating. After packing up camp, and properly preparing ourselves for a wet ride ahead. We crested the crest, but the clouds were gone. Ironically, we only had a little time for a stunning ride along the rim of the huge Kilauea crater before leaving Hawai'i Volcanoes for Hilo. Well, at least we got to see the crater in the end.

The ride to Hilo was a real treat, about 25 miles, all downhill. Once in town, we caught up with our friends Will and Yuko at the Mehana Brewery for tasting the selection of their excellent brews . Then we ditched our bikes at Yuko's house, conveniently located right around the corner from the brewery, and packed up just what we needed for adventuring with some locals. The next stop was a festive farmer's market where our eyes were almost bigger than our stomachs, but not quite. Highlights of our feasting included "lau lau," which in my mind translates to "yum yum," and is pieces of pork, fish, purple sweet potato wrapped and steamed in ti and taro leaves. The biggest surprise was the deliciousness of deep fried poi balls, poi being taro corm (root?) mashed into a paste, and ball simply being the shape...but then again, what wouldn't taste good when deep fried?

As sunset approached, Will drove us out to the official lava flow viewing point. Unfortunately for us, the lava is currently flowing on private property many miles away from the nearest road. Being unwilling to pay a sanctioned guide a ridiculous fee to walk us any closer, as required by the property owners, we were content to watch reddish-orange dots in a roughly linear formation pop out from the contrasting hulking black slope cradling them . Distant but still powerful.

We felt like "insiders" as we listened to Will and Yuko deciding on which of their favored spots we should camp at that night. They chose well in our opinion. While it was lovely to fall asleep with the sound of waves crashing against bluffs literally just beyond our tent wall, it was even more inspiring to wake up and be mesmerized by that scenario in daylight. After a relaxing soak in one of Puna's (the region of the island we were in) famous spring-fed warm ponds adjacent to the ocean, we lunched at Will's favorite place maybe in the whole universe, a Mexican restaurant called Luquin's in Pahoa with awesome fish tacos. 

Back in Hilo once again, we took some time to set up camp at Hilo Tropical Gardens since I had prepaid a campsite there before I knew we would be hanging out with Will and Yuko. It was a really nice lush setting as promised, but our designated spot delineated by a lack of dense vegetation was, not exaggerating, only a few inches larger than the footprint of our tent, and the tent we brought on this trip was tiny. Between having nowhere to put our panniers or ourselves while setting up the tent in a humid drizzle, we had a full-on melt down. 

Luckily, we wouldn't be hanging out there much since we had evening plans to kayak around Hilo Bay with Will. It was so peaceful to be out on the calm water (once the initial rain shower passed) along with sea turtles coming up next to us to breath and little fish leaping out of the water. Then we pulled up to Hilo's landmark Coconut Island where Yuko walked over the bridge with an amazing picnic dinner in tow. It was the sweetest way possible to wrap up our whirlwind visit with them! Also, it was hard to believe this was only the end of our first week since we were already exhausted in the best of ways.