Sorry about that ... I spelled the link wrong. It should be:

Picasaweb.google.com/mjneenan

Thanx for sharing. Grat pics. I like the mix of scenery and personal photos. I love frisbee too, even at 55!

I spent quite awhile enjoying reading your travelog & viewing your photos! Thank you so much for posting them!

You're welcome, to both of you! It's certainly a beautiful island!

What great photos! Thanks for sharing

Thank you for sharing. I am currently planning my own trip to the Big Island (end of October-beginning of November) and your images and captions are helpful and informative. I will be sure to revisit them before my trip.

great perspective, thank you for sharing

I'm just topping this because I really enjoyed the pictures and captions.

What wonderful photos (and captions)!! We love the island of Hawaii and your pictures make me so homesick. You went to many of our favorite places and a few we haven't been to. I've added Fuka-Bonsai Cultural Center and the chocolate farm to our list of places to visit in the future. And I was pleased to see you went to the Wood Valley Temple, which is one of our very favorite places on the the east side--so green and cool and peaceful--captured perfectly in your photo.

I'd like to make a small suggestion--if you ever return to the island and go back to Kapoho and since you love snorkeling so much --I hope you might reconsider snorkeling in the pools at the Wai'opae Tidepools Marine Conservation District http://tinyurl.com/bpbbzfm I know they look like greasy spots of water in the lava but my husband (he's the snorkeler and had snorkeled Two-step and the Bay and spots in between)says they have the most colorful, fabulous coral on the island. And I've heard the pools closer to the open ocean are less likely to have any contamination. Just a thought--

Beautiful pictures Mike, thank you for sharing! Could I have some directions please? We will be staying in Kona for a month in Feb but would like to take some day trips into the Volcano/Hilo area. The picture you have of Thurston Lava Tube, this is someplace we want to visit and you say it is a few min walk from the rd. What road?
Also, we want to see the Sea Arch on Chain of Craters Rd. Directions will be appreciated so much.
Thanks again!

Lookin-glass, thanks for your kind words and bump
Martym, I was very tempted to snorkel at Kapaho, but I knew we would be snorkeling often later on.
Cd, the lava tube is right across from the trailhead for Kiluea Iki hike- once in the park, it's easy to find ... And the sea arch is at the very end of the Chain of Craters road, where you turn around.

Thank you Mike

What a wonderful trip report with fabulous photos! We are off to the BI next week, so I loved the preview and the ideas for hikes and tours. We are right in line with your travel preferences- we like to rent houses and not see tons of people when we travel.

We are avid divers who have decided we will only snorkel on this trip because of an injury that will make carrying our gear a problem. Your snorkeling shots are gorgeous! We can't wait.

One story about the crown of thorns starfish: when we were diving in Maui a few years ago, we saw tons of them all over the reefs. They eat the coral polyps and apparently can be really destructive when the population booms. We heard from dive guides that people on Maui attempted to control them by dismembering them but they can regenerate so they ended up with more than they started with! Not sure if this is apocryphal or true....but they are fascinating to see even if they aren't good for the reefs.

Hi Mike,

I was looking forward to your photos of BI, Hawaii and I'm glad you've posted them on Fodors (I post on Tripadvisor, too as butterfly63).

Great photos!

Note: check out the rest of Mike's galleries (Arches photos are stunning)

I was just on the BI with my family in June...we had an amazing time and it's great to relive them through your pictures. We stayed in Waikoloa at the Hali'i Kai. I love seeing different condos as it gives us an idea of where to stay during our next visit.

Your photos are just amazing. Thank you so so so much for sharing!!!
i'2

Read your report and now I want to return to BI to stare at those beautiful sunsets.
Thanks for including your photography tips and all the wonderful shots of fish, turtles, plants, waterfalls, etc.
The Japanese anemone seed head was intriguing and I also liked the helmet urchin (I've only seen a dead one before).

Your high school students are very lucky if your teaching ability is anywhere near as good as your photography and from your report I suspect it is. You know how to tell a story.

@BlueSwimmer, the snorkeling on the BI is great! Don't miss Two Step! Your crown of thorns story sounds true to me. Have a great trip!

@sassy-cat, there were dozens of those helmet urchins at black sand beach ... Maybe we got lucky with a low tide. Thanks for your comments about teaching - much of what I do is indeed telling stories. So doing these long trip reports seems like a natural extension for me. Years ago I went to the Galapagos and since then, I have shared my slides and stories of evolution and the unique animals there at least a hundred times ... Since then, I have realized that I love sharing in this way. I was trained to be an attorney in my twenties ... Telling stories and sharing photos is a far better fit for me.

Fantastic photo report. Your photography is beautiful. There are things you've seen on one trip that I haven't seen in several. Looking forward to scoping them out my next time there.

Thanks, sdtravels ... well, yes, I do tend to have a pretty high motor on trips, but we build in plenty of beach/snorkel time, where we happily lose track of time. Enjoy your next trip to the BI ... there were plenty of spots left unexplored, especially some of the more secluded beaches. I am envious of you getting to go several times!

I haven't gotten to your Big Island photos yet (the Big Island is on our bucket list) because I saw those Canadian Rockies photos and so enjoyed those--and your wonderful notes with each photo. We have been there 3 times and it is one of the few places I long to go to every year (we don't, but I would love to). We also stayed at Paradise Lodge and Patricia Lake.

Thanks for sharing your albums.

Linda, I have traveled pretty widely ... and I think the Canadian Rockies are the most beautiful place I have seen yet. Every single spot seems to have jaw dropping views - so I completely understand your desire to return there as often as possible. It's just amazing there ... glad you enjoyed my photos and commentary.

Mike

Dear Mjneenan, I have booked the tickets to KONA, but there is only 1 hour and 35mins left for me to transfer from international to intraisland terminal at Honolulu airport. I doubt if the time is too tight as I booked the two tickets separately and I will have to take my check-in luggages, pass the Customs first and then check in again..
Do you have any suggestion for me? Maybe I should change to a later flight at once with no hesitate (additional $30 will be charged)? Thanks.

Hi, Mike, I am not getting your second link to load...is it still open for viewing?

I'd love to see it just because my inlaws are proposing taking us somewhere next year and if I get any say I'm thinking of Hawaii. They've only been to Maui but I think they'd like a change. When they mentioned this a while ago, I thought the Big Island would be great so the kids could also see the volcano. I know they'd all love the snorkeling. On the other hand, I have two high schoolers and a 12-year-old. And we probably WOULD want to go to a property with a pool and other teens, and a beach with more people than ourselves. If you are a high school teacher, you know well what I mean. So is the BI going to be too slow a scene?

Canaryxl, I am not quite sure what you are asking me. That one hour and 25 minutes isn't of course time enough to actually do anything on the island. But I am not quite sure why you booked into Kona, if you are leaving immediately for Honolulu.

5alive, The link is working fine, as far as I can tell. I was loading up some other photos from another recent trip yesterday evening, but it was a pretty narrow period of time. Try it again. I do know what you mean with teenagers. There are plenty of resorts in the Kona and South Kohala area that will have nice pools and plenty of other teen agers ... but there's no doubt that there would be far more people to interact with on either O'ahu or Maui ... more shops, restaurants, etc. ... All that being said, the snorkeling on the BI is superior to what you would find on the other islands ... and the volcano has a lot to offer. ... Always tradeoffs to consider!

Mjneenan- I LOVE your pictures! I went to your gallery and looked at the Kauai, Ireland, Big Island, Canadian Rockies, and Estes Park pictures. My favorite island is Kauai! My DH & I have been three times and on Sept 22 we are going for our fourth trip. We also go to Estes Park once a year and have been the last five years.
Have you decided on your next destination?

I think canaryxl is asking about transfer times from international to intraisland terminal at HNL.

I think one hour and 25 minutes might be OK to transfer.
It's a small airport so provided your flight arrives on time you should be able to collect your bags, go through customs and drop your checked luggage off at the recheck bag drop area.

For peace of mind you could either travel with carry on luggage only OR pay the $30 for a later connection to Kona but first call your intraisland flight airline and ask their advice!

Okay, Mike, the link worked and I am sold on the BI! Those are amazing pictures. Really love them all. You could start a hobby business selling them on greeting cards or matted and sell them on a craft website like etsy. (No, I don't work for etsy...but my Girl Scouts have sold stuff on there.) Then again, that may take some of the joy out of it.

I appreciate the detailed captions. We will be studying this for the future, possibly next summer. Would it matter, June versus July or early August?

Louistraveler5, thanks for the kind words (same to 5alive) ... I also love Kauai, probably my favorite of the three Hawaii islands I have been to. ... Next destination is right now on hold since my son is starting at University of Chicago this fall and we are paying full costs, so $$ will be tight for a while. Once we figure out how to pay for the first year, we'll see how it goes and start dreaming of travel again.

Thanks, sassy_cat for handling that.

5alive, thanks for the suggestions, but I think you're right - selling my photos would likely take some of the fun out of it for me, unless someone wanted to pay to go to a country and write/take photos, as a free lancer, ha, ha. ... Hope you make it to the BI next summer. My understanding of the seasons is that ocean currents and hence conditions of the surf can alter from season to season somewhat, but I don't think those sorts of noticeable changes would be seen between two contiguous months. So any of those summer months would pretty much be the same, except August might be a tad hotter than June. If anybody knows differently, please correct me.

Mike

Wow, congrats on University of Chicago. Don't get lost for a few days at the science museum nearby. It's one of the best. And there's so much you can do in that city...

Huge Mahalo for the incredible photos and accompanying/informative/humorous narratives. Again, thanks so much and will come back with a few more comments later but first: Congrads on your son going to U of Chicago.

My dad finished Med School there back in the 40's - and then we moved West to Oregon. However, have been back to Chicago several times - and many of my undergrad classmates still live around the area - and love the Art Museum and also the Science and Industry? museum, where they actually have a full WWII U Boat in the basement. A very sinister looking killer - but almost a work of art in a mechanical sense.

Hey - we tried to hike down to snorkel at Captain Cook's Bay/Monument during our honeymoon back in '86 - but only got part way as the Elephant Grass that year was head high - and razor sharp. Have snorkeled or dove most other places on the Islands but missed that and really appreciated your great photos and tips, and also the one about the Canon D10 underwater camera. Worked great it appears.

And I dove with 22 foot Manna Rays off Flamingo Beach in Costa Rica and loved it. Didn't know you could also snorkel with them off BI. We were going to go for a nighttime dive with them off the old Hilton on Ali Drive - a quarter mile or so south of the pier where the Tri-Athletes start - and they used to turn on the lights to draw them in, but that night - nada big guys - so we dove elsewhere and saw an octopus jet away.

Thanks again for all the photos - as it reminded moil/us so much of our Honeymoon and other trips to the Big Island - a very close second to our favorite isle - Kauai, where we spend the second week of our honeymoon and my wife was scuba certified in Hanalei Bay.

That reminds me - during our BI week - we also hiked down into and across - Ke Iki Hale as they used to call it back then - and when the steam vents hiss - one picks up their step a bit, no? Sure - it hasn't gone off/exploded/erupted since 1959 - but just in case - I am still keeping moving.

Will come back and have a few more comments about specific photos/tips - and we loved our Helicopter trip on the BI (as well as the one on Kauai). You probably know that in addition to the very nice waterfall pic you took, three of the six longest free falling waterfalls in the world are located in the mountains by the fabled Waipio Valley.

5alive, Well, we already live in the Chicago area, so we are quite familiar with Chicago's sights ... we do love our museums here!

Tomsd, The Canon D10 worked out quite well for me - it was my first time using it and I was impressed with how easy it was to use ... about $240 if you buy online, like via Amazon. I didn't know you could have that sort of experience with mantas off the coast of Costa Rica - I've been to CR twice, so I learned something I would like to do if I return there .. thanks! Yeah no doubt as you are in Hawaii Volcanos NP, you can't help but think the whole time you're there, "what if it became a lot more active while we're here" - adds to the fun of it, I guess! Yeah, those Waipio Valley waterfalls are amazing and only a few are really easily seen without serious hiking. ... Thanks for the detailed thoughts. I look forward to any more you might have ... always fun to compare notes on a special place.

Mike

You do love nature and color! Excellent photos. A bit different having less detail as to IDing locations...refering to Ireland e.g. We explored Hawaii first time recently with Road Scholar (Elderhostel), four islands mostly studying volcanoes, lava beds, rain forests, history.

May your teaching year go well. And a good year for son at UC (my birth city).
Bill in Boston

Bill, thanks. Yeah, when I first began doing these web albums with captions, I tried to cap myself at 60 or 80 photos per trip, no matter how long it was for, thinking I would bore people with many more ... same thinking for how much I wrote, as in keep it short and simple. But as I began to include more - in number of photos and amount of detail in captions (for benefit of detailed planning), I got appreciative feedback, so since then, I have erred on the side of more, rather than less. But now, ha, ha ... it is quite a lot of writing. If you add up all the Big Island captions, it's probably equivalent to at least a 30-40 page paper. In fact, I just came back from a solo photography trip to South Dakota's Badlands and Black Hills. I have all the photos processed and chosen, but I am procrastinating a bit on the writing of the captions. Look for it soon, if you're interested.

Leaving Sunday - LOVED every bit of your "trip"...I've taken pages of notes of places we must explore..we'll be there two weeks......thank you so much.

Two weeks is plenty of time to really get around the island and explore at a pretty relaxed pace ... have a blast! I'm glad the captions were helpful to you. Let me know if you have any specific questions about some of the things we did. ... Mike

I an enjoying the pictures and the captions... it's neat that you have been to many of the same places that we have been--BI, Canadian Rockies, Utah, Kauai (ditto the sentiments on Polihale) ...and Dakotas. Ready to go back.

great pics of BI snorkelling. My wife and I will be in the same area (Mauna Lani Bay) in Jan. for 5 nights. We plan to do a lot of snorkelling and we hope to start scuba diving there as well.
Which beach had the best snorkelling in your opinion.