Road Trip!

Today we didn’t have work because of the 4th of July weekend, but we decided to still go on an outing together and it was great!! We went to South Point, which (as the name implies) is on the south point of the island. But interestingly enough, it’s also the most southern point of the US! Excluding territories, anyways.

One the way to the beach, we passed a windfarm and there were tons of cows chillin on pastures along the road. I actually saw a bird sitting on a cow’s back! Like in cartoons! But REAL!!! I wish I’d had a camera…

We first went to the Green Sand beach and splashed in these HUGE waves. The shore is pretty steep so we didn’t have to go far out into the ocean for it get pretty deep, and I was definitely throw up up and away by some 10+ foot waves. The undertow was crazy!! The beach is green because an olivine cindercone was once located where the bay is now, and there are tons of little green crystals in the sand. It was gorgeous. We had to hike about 2 miles to get there over these crazy 4 wheel drive roads and it was worth it! Plus it was a huge incentive to jump straight into the water since we got a lil toasty from hiking.

When we first arrived at the Green Sand beach around 11, it was empty – but by the time we left at 2:30, there were tons of Dutch and Korean (I think) tourists. It was fun playing the waves, and also fun watching other people get thrown up on the shore when they misjudged waves. Teehee!

After the green sand beach, we drove about a mile back towards Ka Lea point, which is where there are 40+ foot cliffs where you can jump straight into the ocean. Below were some gorgeous corals, so we jumped into the ocean off those platforms in the photo and swam around for a bit. Jumping in was scary, but climbing up the rusty ladder was WAY scarier. Some of the rungs were half-way rusted through, and while we were snorkeling we could see segments of ladder on the ocean floor where they’d been thrown during storms or fallen off from too much rust. Freaky!!

I actually ended up jumping 3 times – the first time was just so I could go snorkeling. The second and third time were because other people wouldn’t jump until someone went first (plus I wanted to jump again). A girl from Oahu was too afraid to go until I had gone; she watched Jake jump and still wasn’t convinced until a girl did it. So I jumped! And gave a piercing shriek. It was AWESOME! The third time I jumped, a guy and his dad were both too afraid to go. His dad said that his son (who was probably like 24 years old) would jump if I did – I think he was trying to be a wingman for his son. Awkward, but funny. So I gave it one more jump, and then the guy and his dad both gave it a whirl. The cliffs were gorgeous, the water was super warm and the snorkeling was crazy cool! There were also lots of caves you could go into and explore.

On the way home, we stopped by 7-11 and I got a Slurpee. SO DELICIOUS! All in all, today was really really fun and totally worth getting water in both ears and once again losing the ability to hear. I think I should get earplugs or something – but given the mad water adventures I’ve been having, I think they’d probably fall out! My watch actually fell off when I did my 2nd cliff jump, but luckily Jake was nearby with a snorkel mask and snagged it before it sank to the bottom. PHEW!

Tomorrow Tad and I are going to Ken’s House of Pancakes! Jake is going to sleep in, but I’ve been consistently waking up around 7 AM naturally and can’t sleep in any later so waking up for breakfast on the 4th of July is no big deal. Plus, it’s the infamous Ken’s House of Pancakes! Hilo has a huge bbq and fireworks celebration so that should be fun too. Happy early 4th everyone!!