Our Trip to the Big Island, Day 3

Our third day took us outside of the park.  We headed south along Volcano Highway to Black Sand Beach to look for sea turtles.  We had brought our snorkel gear with the intention of swimming with sea turtles, but forgot that the south side of the island is the most active wave-wise in the summer.  Needless to say, there was no snorkeling to be done.  We did see a sea turtle though.

Next we headed down to South Point, the southern-most point in the United States.  Before we got there, we made a stop at the Punaluu Bakery for malasadas and bread pudding.  We picked up a loaf of sweet bread too.

Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation for Eric without a hike, so then we hiked 2 1/2 miles to Green Sand Beach.

This is the view from the top of the cliff overlooking Green Sand Beach.  It's pretty treacherous getting down there, so we didn't actually go, but maybe next time when Marcus is bigger.

On the way back to the cottage, we stopped off at the Volcano Winery where we got to sample some tasty wines.  They had one made from Macadamia Nut Honey infused with green tea.  The honey is not actually made with macadamia nuts, but instead the bees collect the pollen from the macadamia nut trees.  This wine would go great with chinese food on a hot day when you don't want hot tea.