A trip to the southernmost point of the US

Our day trip this time took us to the southernmost point of the US which is located at the very southern tip of the big island of Hawaii.  On our way we stopped off at The Painted Church - a very small Catholic church with an incredibly beautiful setting.

Afterwards we were off to the actual southern point to watch those brave enough to test that bravery with a jump from the cliffs while the islanders set up shop to do a little fishing.  We were lucky enough to spy some turtles in the waters below while waiting for our jumper to say his final prayers.  Gerry got some great photos of the result of his efforts!

 

 

Marne had heard about the famous Green Sand Beach Hawaii which was not too far away so we headed off to see what we could find.  What we found was a grass parking lot, a rutted out road (if you could really call it that) and a guy in a large, yet incredibly beat up pick up truck who was offering rides to/from the beach for $10/person.  Since it was very hot that day (with absolutely no protection from the sun for us albino types) and nearly three miles to the beach, we gladly took him up on his offer!  Apparently our predecessors did not always choose as wisely.  (The day we were snorkeling the weather here at the beach was pouring rain - they wound up pulling four rental jeeps from the mud and muck to the tune of $600 each.  Quite a family business they've got there!)

The conclusion of our rough-riding was a spectacular view of a small cove/beach with sand which was indeed slightly green in hue (I'll admit I was really hoping for something a bit more emerald in color).  The climb down was not an easy one but Marne excitedly scampered down and despite the warning signs did, in fact, come away with a tiny bit of green sand souvenir. 

Farther down the road we found the Punalu'u Black Sand Park with lots of families, swimmers and more than a few turtles enjoying the day.


After enjoying some of their world famous malasadas at the Punalu'u Bake Shop, we checked out The Big Island's Volcano Winery.  Not terribly easy to find, if you find yourself short of time (or you're really into fine wines), this is one sightseeing option I would probably drop.  Fun to wander about but let's just say that I don't really groove on Guava and jaboticaba berry blended wines.

By this time (through not fault of our own), we found ourselves once again near Hilo and so we opted to take the quicker new highway that cuts the island across and allows people to get from one side to the other in a few hours rather than an entire day.

later, tw