The home is located only 5.9 miles from the nearest beach the famous Isaac Hale Beach Park also known as Pohoiki. On the way to Isaac Hale Beach Park you can also find Lava Tree State Park. Here, you can see how the molten lava interacted with the natural rain forest hundreds of years ago. Madame Pele always wins; however, the Ohia trees can leave a lasting impression. There is a lovely public hot spring lagoon right on the ocean at Pohoiki Bay, where locals surf, boogie board, fish and watch spectacular tropical sun sets. Just a couple of miles from Pohoiki are the world famous Wai’opae Tide Pools a marine sanctuary with some of the best snorkeling on all the islands. A 15-minute drive will take you to Ahalnui Beach Park, with its amazing 90 plus degree, geothermal-heated tide pool. This is a safe and gorgeous place for anyone to swim and is also an inspiring place to be during sunsets, where you can watch for rainbows and whales. All of these activities are just minutes of the house!

I highly recommend you pay a respectful visit to the continuous lava flow on the coast--just 10 or 15 minutes from the house! The molten lava spews into the hissing ocean and is spectacular at night. Don’t forget to bring your flashlight. Trust me, you don't want to miss this. You can also visit during the day but it is a much more spectacular show in the evening.

There is the picturesque Kehena Black Sand Beach, a clothing optional beach, with serious surf for the strong swimmer. This bay is where the spinner dolphins come in to rest. If you get there in the early morning, there is an excellent chance of seeing the babies leap and play with each other. Pahoa, our nearest town is just a few miles away. It was a sugar cane village dating back 100 years ago, with Old-West style buildings and wooden sidewalks. No tourist trappings here, either, but we do have some very good restaurants from Thai, Tuscan, natural-foods, an Internet café, and bueno Mexican.

The colorful Sunday Makuu Crafts and Farmer's Market features live music, and just the people watching is worth the trip! It is as much a social event as a marketplace. Of course, you can also find about every kind of local veggie and fruit, plus a lot of prepared offerings, too. Just in case you are in the mood, how about an open-air Lomi Lomi massage?

In about 40 minutes, you can be in Volcano National Park, home to the active goddess Pele. There are several fabulous hikes into the craters, lava tubes and steam vents, a fine art gallery and a Visitor's Center with free educational films. Take the time to drive down “Chain of Craters” lane. You will see several craters on the trip down to the coastline. If it is whale season, you can witness the beautiful creatures as they breach out of the water. This is a site to behold. Take the time to walk back and see the ancient Hawaiian Petroglyphs that have been carved into the lava.

If you need a bit of city life, drive to quaint Hilo on one of the farmer's market days on Wednesdays and Sundays. Buy a basket full of exotic produce and goodies like mango tapioca pudding and Hawaiian sea salt rub for fish. Treat yourself to lunch at Ocean Sushi or Miyo above the lagoon (tempura & sashimi) and then flip a coin — do you go to the 50-cent movies (they show feature films!) or head over to Richardson Bay Park for some excellent snorkeling and count the colorful parrotfish as they cruise by? Or perhaps there is enough time to do both?

The Puna region has yet to be discovered by the big corporations. There are no resorts and no condos. Best of all, due to the trade winds there is none of that nasty vog that I am sure you have heard about. On a very rare occasion, the trade winds can change and bring the vog to the Hilo side of the island but it is a rare occurrence.