A group of me and some of the other girls in my DTS all wanted to rent a car and go to some of our bucket list places on the island. Do a few of us planned it out and my friend Lily rented the truck for us and was able to drive us. She and one of the leaders Jill woke up at 4 in the morning on Saturday October 15th and went and picked up the rental car and came back to campus to pick the rest of us up around 5. We filled the truck with 5 girls in the front and 8 in the bed of the truck.
Our first stop was Starbucks since we needed some caffeine to fuel us for an early morning day and one full of all we had planned. Our first main stop for our day was Southpoint/the end of the world, the southernmost point in that world, here we just spent a little bit of time and walked across the rocks and near the water and just explored this area a bit.
Our next stop where we spent a few hours was at green sands beach. The entrance to the walk to this beach was only a few minutes' drive from Southpoint where we were and when we got there, we did turn around a few times because we weren't 100% sure we were in the right spot. Once we knew we were in the right spot we got out and started our few miles walk to the beach. At the entrance were some locals that offered to drive us to the beach for $10 a person but we decided to walk. Luckily, we left early in the morning and started walking to the beach when we did because the walk was very dry and open and if it was hot out it would've been very hot on us, but it was still early enough that it was still a bit cool. We walked for about an hour and finally got to the entrance of the beach which looked like a big cliff but there was a path down and it was so beautiful! The water was this beautiful color, and the beach was just so open and seemed unreal. It felt so nice being able to run into the water after the long walk. There was a huge turtle that we were able to see as well, and it was so close to shore, so it was really cool being able to see that! We spent a bit of time here just swimming around and hanging out before we decided that we should head out and go to the next stop. At this point we were all out of water and we were tired, so we really didn't feel like walking back. The people that had offered to load us into a van and drive us to the entrance of the beach had a truck at the beach to bring people back so we asked if they would drive us back for a bit less than what they had originally said. They agreed but because there was so many of us and they just had the truck and there were already like 5 people there was almost 20 of us all loaded into one truck on a bumpy ride back to where our car was.
We got back to the car, and we were all hot and very thirsty, so our next stop was Punalu'u Bake Shop to get hydrated and get some food. We spent a small amount of time here and most of us just got some water and a sandwich and then we planned to head to our next stop.
Next stop was black sands beach which was also not very far from where we were. It started to get a bit cloudy at this point so when we got there, we didn't end up getting in the water or staying for super long. We walked around and found an abandoned restaurant which was really cool and just got to explore that beach which was also beautiful. We sat for most of the time here and just hung out and talked for a bit. This beach is known for the number of turtles here, so we were also able to see more turtles which was also amazing!
Our plan after this was to get some pizza and head up to the volcano but there wasn't a pizza place close by on our way to the volcano. We ended up stopping at a little cafe near the entrance of the volcano called Lava Rock Cafe. This cafe was so cute, and the food was really good. The servers were also so nice and patient with our group of 13. We all ordered our food and changed out of our swimsuits into warmer cloths and at this point it was pouring rain and in the 60s for temperature which is pretty cold for Hawaii haha.
We left this cafe and after a pretty short drive we stopped and parked at the entrance where we had about a mile walk to go see the lava at the volcano. We started our walk and after a point the road was broken and there was a lot of points, we had to go around and make sure we didn't trip or anything.
As we walked, we saw the red haze over the drop offs, and it was so cool! We finally got to the end of the road where we could see the lava and although I was a bit anxious from the walk and the drop offs because I am a bit scared of heights and the dark it was really an awesome experience! We all just hung out by the drop off where you could see the lava and took some pictures and just admired the beauty.
We walked back and all loaded back in the car for the 2-and-a-half-hour drive back to campus. It was a long and cold ride for us in the back, but we just talked about some of our experiences so far with God and got to share with each other and then some of us just fell asleep. It was a really fun day just getting to go out and get closer with the other girls in my DTS. There was another group of girls as well that also rented a car and had gone out and done some stuff as well and they also met up with us at the volcano, so it was so fun just being able to spend that time with each other. I really just want to share as many aspects of this time with you guys as I can so you can really get a look into what my life has been like being here. I am so grateful to get the opportunity to be here and experience these things I get to do, and I really want to reiterate the fact that I would not be able to be here doing what I am without the support I have gotten. I am so overwhelmed by the beauty of this Island I get to call home for now and I cant wait to keep exploring and sharing it with you all!
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