The Big Island

I had last visited the Big Island, officially known as the Island of Hawai'i, almost 20 years prior. The major attraction of the island is the volcano which, until recently, frequently had active lava flows. There's still steam vents but as of November 2019 no active eruption. Volcanos National Park has an almost alien-looking landscape of prior lava flows.

Beyond the National Park, the island gives the feeling of a wild and sparsely inhabited place, at least when it doesn't look like a moonscape. Being the newest island, much of the landscape is old lava flows with little vegetation. The west side of the island is the touristy side and the drier side of the island. While there are some nice sand beaches and some very posh resorts, the Big Island never gave me the classic Hawaii experience I was looking for. Still, there's plenty to see and the size of the island means that one cannot (reasonably) circumnavigate it in a day.