which seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be a bit of a waste. We drove to the park with the top down and while it was a little chilly out it was fun. Once we got there though the air quality was low so we had to close the top. Then when it was time to leave it started to rain. I had a Mustang and I have to say I wasn't impressed with the thing, I wouldn't buy one for myself. I now know that Hilo is the rainy side of the island so it's not the best place to have a convertible in.But the park was nice and I'm glad I did it. We got great views of the steam/smoke coming up from the volcano and saw a lava tube, overall it was a nice place and the staff there was very helpful in deciding what to do and how to do it. It's a pretty place, too bad the weather wasn't a little better. If you want to see lava though it's a 6 mile hike each way over hard and sharp volcanic rock, not for the casual visitor.
On the way back we had extra time so we took a drive on Banyan Drive, which offered great views of our ship. After we found out we should have seen Rainbow falls, but I didn't realize it, I guess I have a reason to return one day.
Overall Hilo is a nice spot, but I'm not sure it's the best destination in Hawaii.
That night our ship sailed by flowing lava which was really cool even though it was really cloudy and a bit rainy out. But you'll need a good camera with a good zoom lens if you want pictures of this.
