Taylor Family: Hawaii post 3

Mommy and Daddy took a helicopter tour when we got ton the city Hilo. I was unable to go since I am not big enough yet, but was lucky enough to hang out with cousin Sydney and Nana. So I asked Daddy if he could write the rest of this entry to tell you about the helicopter ride. Don't worry I'll proof read and spell check his writing. I don't want him messing up my blog.

Sara and I were excited about taking a helicopter ride around Hilo. We were going to head up the volcano, over by the ocean, and see some of the rain forests and waterfalls. Neither of us knew what to expect, we were told it was like riding a magic carpet. And since we all know what a magic carpet feels like, we could relate.

Our helicopter pilot took us first over the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut farm and then proceeded to the volcano. We flew up Kilauea Caldera and was able to look inside Kilauea as she was pouring out smoke. After that we headed out towards the ocean where we were told the lava was pouring out. As we headed that way, our pilot and tour guide flew us over a subdivision that was being wiped out by lava and fire. He told us the lava had been flowing that way for only a few weeks, but had done a lot of damage.

The subdivision was like a scene out of National Geographics. There were houses that were burnt, trees on fire, and lava flowing on the street. This was going on not too far from the ocean, which was where we were headed next. Lava was flowing into the ocean and smoke was filling the air. The beaches were black, you could see how far out the boiling water went into the ocean. It was truly the best part of the tour. Sara got a great picture of it which Jeremy has added below.

After a couple of passes around the ocean we went into the rain forest and the waterfalls. It was pretty spectacular to see all the waterfalls. There must have been hundreds in just the small stretch that we flew though. Pretty neat to go from a lava field to rain forest. One last interesting fact then I will turn it back over to Jeremy. Our tour guide told us that the next time there is a big eruption there is a good chance that the city of Hilo would be wiped out by the lava flow. People know this yet continue to live there and move there. Thanks for reading, here is Jeremy.

Thanks Daddy. That night we left port en route to our next stop and we passed by the lava flowing into the ocean like Daddy had talked about. It was pitch black so we were able to see the bright orange hitting the ocean water. You could see the steam raising up and at time it would block out the orange glow.

Enough for this entry, enjoy the pictures belows. The next one will be about Mommy and the ladies on their zip line fun though the jungle.

Love,
Jeremy

Mommy and Daddy and their site-seeing helicopter.