A Lodging Guide to the Big Island (2)

5th Street Ohana Bed & Breakfast (Volcano) (Nights 3-4)

Having just arrived in the islands, Red was happy to go along with my routine of spending the entire first day in a new place mostly sheltered in place in my room working. I've found that if I can do that, intensely for one day after landing or arriving, then it is fairly easy for me to keep up a regular work schedule while mixing in a requisite amount of fun as well. For Red it was a true vacation---a week off from med school, so her first day in the Kona Marriot was pure relaxation.

I'd almost wished we had booked longer than two nights in Kona, but I'd purposely made it short to force us to explore the island right out of the gate. We specifically planned to make a circuit of the island counterclockwise, first heading down the coast south from Kona. Just before checking out I went online to Booking.com and settled on our next locale, a little B&B in the litle town of Volcano aptly near Kilauea on the south end of the island.

The drive along the coast was beautiful. We detoured at my insistence to see historical relics, including large tikis, at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. I really love the historical Hawaiian artifacts. forty minutes was sufficient was a good walking tour.

Later we detoured again to reach South Point, where we walked down along the rock wall that aligns with the compass to temporarily become the Southernmost People in the United States.

In the late afternoon, after getting lost a little, we finally found the Ohana Fifth Street in a well-forested estate subdivision off the highway. It was essentially a secluded duplex with two units. The instructions on the door told us the key code. The fridge was stocked with a six eggs and a small selection of breakfast muffins.

We didn't see a soul the whole time we were there. Whoever was in the other unit came late and left early. We might as well have been all by ourselves in the middle of the rain forest. The silence was glorious.  It was a nice change of pace from the bustle of Kona, and well priced.

In the morning we headed right to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the entrance of which was only a few miles away. We took the walking tour of the rim of Kilauea with a haole national park ranger, who spent most of the tour making everyone bummed out about the native species that have been lost, and then spending the last part at the rim going through the Hawaiian mythology of Pele and her suitors in a way that seemed a tad politically correct. Curiously absent in his talk was almost anything about geology.

Nevertheless it was a grand visit to the park. We drove up the observatory for a better look, and then decided to come back in the evening when we could see the orange glow of the lava. To get the best view, we dined at the Volcano House right on the park grounds, which afforded not only a great view, but a selection of locally-inspired and locally-sourced cuisine with live music. It was hard not to feel like we'd really gotten the best out of the place.

But for both of us, it was the "Chain of Craters Drive," that winds down the long sloping volcanic face towards the ocean, that was the true high point. It's quite unlike any other drive. You feel like you're driving right off the edge of the world. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd come to the Big Island to experience.