Volcano National Park..... Respect Madame Pele please!

Volcano National Park is a great place to take the kids. It's full of science and history that enhances their experiential background. Important note: Bring layers of clothing! Volcano National Park has an altitude of about 4,000 ft so it can get cold especially as the sun sets (windbreakers, sweatshirts, long pants to go over their shorts, and proper shoes if you decide to hike a little past the end of the Chain of Craters road, oh, and little flashlights).

Please give yourself a whole day for this adventure if you are coming from the Kona side. We took our rental car and drove south and around from the Kona side to the Hilo side. To make our long drive (it took a few hours) more exciting, we made little stops whenever we saw something of interest to any of us. We stopped at local farmer markets where they had some arts and crafts stands, coffee bean farms (some of the tours are free, but we didn't stop since we knew we had a long drive), fruit stands and other interesting sites of nature. We did take a longer stop near the South Point (Ka Lae). This is the most southern tip of the United States. It was very windy there, but the kids enjoyed knowing we were at the most southern tip of the US. We didn't go the the Green Sand beach since it was not a paved road and our car rental company had stipulations about driving on unpaved roads. I think if you had a 4WD, one would be okay.

By the time we arrived at Volcano National Park, it was lunch time. Entering the park was $10 (12/2008). We went to the Visitor Center and that was a great place to start (bathroom breaks, ate lunch that we packed, read up on the history and science of the park). Walk across the street and visit the Volcano House. There you can see the Kilauea Caldera. It's typically our first view (we've been there twice and it's still exciting). The Volcano House is a fun place as well. The artwork is beautiful and the historical pictures hung along the hallways are fun to view. There is a snack bar and restaurant there as well as the store for souvenirs. The snack bar was okay (expensive for typical snacks i.e. bag of chips). We never went to the restaurant there. We always had food with us and really wanted to get out to hike the park.

The first time we were there, we were able to take the Crater Rim Dr. all the way around. This time we were not able to drive completely around due to dangerous gases coming through the vents at certain places. There is a radio station 530AM that gives you updates on the park. However, there was plenty here to see and we were able to drive part of Crater Rim Dr. Near the Volcano House was a steam vent that was fenced, but the kids were still able to see it. They were fascinated by it.

We hopped into the car and drove southeast on Crater Rim Dr. to the Thurston Lava Tube. This was a great little hike for the kids. Some of the paths are paved and some are not, but they are all clearly marked. We had so much fun hiking and discussing the trees, ferns, changes in climate, stories of the Menehune and the lava tubes.

Then we got back into our car and drove further on Crater Rim Dr. to the Chain of Craters Rd. This road is 19 miles down to the shore and ends where the lava flow has cut it off. This is quite a spectacular drive. We timed it so that we could drive down there during daylight and drive back at night. Just to forewarn you, the old lava is dark. Very, very dark and at night it's pretty cool and creepy for some kids. This is why we had our flashlights. This kept the kids feeling pretty safe and they enjoyed the hike. We wanted the night sky so the kids could see the glow of the lava.

We were pretty hungry by the time we were heading out of the park. The first time we were here, we stayed in Volcano Village at this really nice bed and breakfast place (this was before children and if interested, I'll try to find that information). This time we weren't going to stay overnight, but we wanted to have dinner. So, we went back to the place where we ate the first time and it was still there. This place is called Thai Thai. Our children love rice so this was the perfect place to go. It seemed like they expanded a little. It was definitely more popular than the first time we were there. The food was delicious and make sure they know to eliminate the spice for children if your children don't like spicy food. Their mild spicy level can still be spicy for children. Their curry is very good. We never had a bad experience there, but according to some other reviews it was quite bad regarding service. So, one never knows. All I can say is that we never experienced bad service or food there. ***Note: Volcano Village Restaurants close around 7 or 8pm. Make sure you are out of the park early enough to get to a restaurant or bring your own food.

We drove home and it was a full day!!!

I wanted to add a note to my previous blog about Sunlight on Water, not only did we swim with the dolphins, but we were able to see the "mommy" whales with their babies. I had forgotten to mention it because during that whole week we were there, we saw whales all the time. We looked out into the ocean and there they were. Amazing creatures!