At the end of our fun Saturday spent with the Tai-Hooks, we got on the ship, and so when we awoke Sunday morning, we were Hilo. We were thrilled to have been upgraded to a stateroom with a window, which was even better than I imagined! Waking up to a Hawaiian sunrise right on the water was fantastic.
After enjoying a room service breakfast, we dressed and left the ship to catch a shuttle that would take us to the car rental shop. While waiting for our shuttle, a shuttle driver from a different company and asked us if we were going to sacrament meeting. Derek didn't hear him at first and said, "No, we're waiting for Thrifty." When we realized what he had said, we laughed (and figured Derek's white shirt and tie gave us away) and found out that he was also a member of the the church--he gave us directions to church.
Church in other parts of the world is always fun, because of course we share the most important parts in common, but little local differences, like the Bishop beginning the meeting with "Brothers and Sisters, Aloha", (to which everyone responds, "Aloha!") or the beautiful white leis that the bishopric wore, make it interesting.
After church we drove to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The most interesting thing about it was the variety of landscapes that we passed through in such a small area-- from black charred earth to lush rain forests.
Looking in the crater of a volcano
Steam vents
In the Thurston Lava Tube
Looking out of the Thurston Lava Tube at the surrounding rain forest
Rain forest
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