DAY 5 - Today we are driving on Highway 11 towards the Big Island's southern tip...and the southern-most point of the United States of America
From this vista point, you can barely see Ka Lae (South Point) through the haze
While I am happy that the rain has stopped, the sun is now in the wrong place for taking photographs
According to an ad campaign for California cheese, "Happy cows come from California"...
... I suspect they are happier in Hawaii!
Wind power in the fields off of South Point Road
We can see the Pacific Ocean as we approach Ka Lae
Unfortunately, we do not know exactly where Ka Lae is...nor do we know how far we must hike to reach the mysterious green sand beach. The paved road ends, a few dirt trails branch in multiple directions, and there is no signage denoting where we are or where we are supposed to go
We park our car on a patch of grass and walk down one of the trails towards the coast
We have know way of knowing if those lava rocks mark the southern tip...
...and we wonder if this is the southern most port-a-pottie in the United States?
After asking some other tourists which road to take to find the green sand beach, we head northeast on the dirt road that flows closest the coastline
The wind churned sea...
...crashes against the rocks
Valerie reminds me that I should not spend too much time taking pictures from any one spot because we may have quite a bit of hiking ahead of us
In other words, she is telling me to "move it!" At least I am not taking as long as Henri...he has fallen behind because he is using a tripod
I hear birds singing in a nearby bush and I somehow manage to snap a decent picture of one
The road crosses what appears to be a wall made of lava rock
Someone attempting the drive has second thoughts about which road to take
We continue along the coast...no green sand here
Yet again I haul my 20lbs camera backpack along with us
Note that I have been using my GPS-enabled running watch to record all of our hikes on this trip
The sun is hitting hard now
There's still no sign of green sand, but there is a rainbow
