Day three in Hawaii was road trip day. My friend took us to the other side of the island which is called Hilo. The Hilo side of The Big Island looks more Hawaiian to me then the Kona side. The first picture is leaving Kona. As you can tell, there is lava rock everywhere. Where there was vegetation it just reminded me of California. I love the grass in this photo. The color of the grass is very beautiful against the black lava rock.

Then as the road trip continued we hit the cattle country and it is starting to get greener!

Our first stop was to have lunch At the Vanilla Bean Plantation. This place was simply amazing. It was my first time experiencing a lunch like this. First, it is by reservation only. Second, it has a set menu. They bring everyone in at the same time and serve everyone at the same time. All of the food had vanilla in it and tasted so good. My favorite item was the vanilla lemonade. It was the best lemonade I have ever had. Then when everyone was done eating you could take a tour of the greenhouse. If you ever go to the Big Island defiantly make a reservation.

 

Then we continued on our little road trip and ended up in Hilo. I love these trees!

The next stop was to Akaka Falls. Very beautiful and the most Hawaiian vegetation I saw on the whole trip.

There was an old Hawaiian lady at the beginning of the trail to the waterfall selling art.

The next stop was to the Waipio Valley – valley of the kings. Only a select few farmers still live down there because of the danger of tsunamis (lol, I had no idea that tsunami was spelled with a “T”). You can’t really tell from this picture the impressiveness of this valley but it was breath taking.

Our last stop of the day was dinner at a tiny little local restaurant. It had dim lighting, Christmas lights, and parasols hanging from the ceiling.

And here is a pic of my worn out tour guide