The Class of 2015 recently spent three days and two nights on the Big Island. They visited many interesting places, and they did a variety of exciting activities. The trip was a memorable experience.
On the first day, the group visited the Uchida coffee farm and Amy Greenwell botanical Garden. The coffee farm offered a glimpse at life of a Japanese family back in the early 1900s. The garden displayed many of the plants grown and used by Hawaiians long ago. The day ended with a self-guided tour at the Puu'honua O Honaunau, the place of refuge.
Day two included stops at the petroglyph field at Waikoloa, Pu'ukohola Luakini, and the 'Akaka Falls. Everyone searched the pahoehoe lava fields at Waikoloa for ancient Hawaiian stone carvings. Pu'ukohola was a sacred temple built by Kamehameha I before his conquest of the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. The magnificent view of the 420 feet 'Akaka Falls was breath taking.
The final day was spent in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. After a night at the Kilauea Military Camp, the group hiked along the edge of Kilauea caldera and learned about the volcano's geography, plants, and animals. They visited the Jaggar Museum and the Thurston lava tube, too. A highlight of the trip was searching the 1969 lava flow for Pele's tears and strands of Pele's hair
