Aloha from Hilo on the east coast of the big island of Hawaii. We experienced showers off and on throughout our stay here, normal for this area - temperatures were a very comfortable 28 to 30 degree range. Jeff had prearranged a car rental here (highly recommended), they provided a shuttle service to and from the car pick up spot at the airport. Easy, flexible and very reasonably priced, they upgraded our reservation to a mini van, very nice with lots of room. Our destinations today were the Volcanoes National Park and the Alaka Falls. The visitor centre at the park are second to none, there are many rangers on hand to guide and inform tourists as there are many options, from crater drives, to cycling around the crater to joining a guided walk over the lava bed (we did this in 2009, excellent). We drove around a good part of the crater finishing at the incredible Thurston Lava tube, a 200 meter tube carved out and encased in lava, amazing. Next was the hour drive to the Akaka Falls State Park which is the highest falls on the island. The loop trail is an easy walk through the tropical rainforest, and provides several viewing opportunities. Beautiful drive to and from and all points in between including a retail therapy stop at the local Hilo Hattie. Great day, back on board and we visit Honolulu tomorrow. Last night we had a Parrot shirt night with some friends we had met on previous cruises, we have included a few pictures of our Parrot night.
Quote of the day. Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey. - Pat Conroy
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