Our first day on the Big Island was dedicated solely to snorkeling (with a dash of cultural history thrown in), and our first stop was Nopo’opo’o Beach Park. This spot is located at the southern end of Kealakekua Bay, where Captain James Cook initiated European contact with the Big Island when he landed here in 1779. Across the bay is the Captain Cook monument, which marks where Cook was killed a month later after he and his crew exploited the Hawaiians’ reverence of the Europeans (possibly even believing that Cook was the Hawaiian god Lono) and eventually murdered over 30 Hawaiians. Still remaining here are the ruins of Hiki'au Heiau (an ancient Hawaiian temple site), a temple dedicated to Lono, the god of agriculture and fertility of the land.
Read MoreRyan and I began our second day in the park with a hike up Stony Man. This is the second highest peak in the park, and the most northerly of the Blue Ridge Mountains, at 4,000 feet. This hike was marked by a ton of great vistas along the trail, culminating in a rocky lookout point from which you could get a stunning view of the mountains. The morning mist was clinging to the valleys, but it was clear enough to get a stunning view of the town as well.
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