One Year Ago - Part 9b

Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was really cool! Of course, according to the sign, some of this happened millions and millions ago. Really, really dark in there! The above picture was even taken with a flash.

Wall of the lava tube.

Black sand beach, it felt more like little stones instead of sand. I guess it's actually from the lava rock. While there, we saw this sea turtle. It didn't want to raise it's head or come out of the water. They are protected, so technically you can't be within so many feet of them.

The Royal Kona Coffee Mill and Museum. We sampled lots of coffee and learned about the coffee industry as pictured above.

We spent two nights here at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa on the Big Island. Fabulous accommodations, two pools, long water slide, two restaurants, snack bar, and the list could go on. The above picture is of the inner part of the the hotel. The rooms surrounded the pools. The hotel sat out near the water and was built on/near the lava rocks. Also known for the manta rays that come in near the rocks at night. They have a platform that sticks out over the rocks/water and lights shining on the water at night to view the manta rays. We went out to look, but didn't see any.

They had this area, separated by a wall from the main pools, that was at the end of one of the pools. It wasn't sand, just tiny stones. Great place for kids to play since there was no sand beach in the immediate area.

Two water bugs that enjoyed the pools.