Mauna Loa & The Lili House Farm

Back in June, Not Jersey and I babysat the McNephew. The Lili House Farm had a petting zoo so we loaded into the Rogue and took off. The McNephew fell asleep a few minutes before the farm, so we decided to drive up Mauna Loa road.

Mauna Loa is one of Big Island's volcanoes. I have never driven on Mauna Loa road. Not Jersey warned me that it turns into a one way road. One way roads on Big Island are not fun. When pulling aside to allow vehicles to pass there are the following dangers: scratching your car on brush, bottoming out on lava rock, and driving off a cliff. Dangers aside, I had never seen this part of the island and the McNephew needs his naps, so up we went.

Much like western Nebraska, there was no cell phone service and no radio on this road. It had lovely views. We passed four cars and one bicycle on our assent. At the Mauna Loa lookout there is a bathroom (it's like an indoor port-a-pot), a gazebo lookout, and a short trail to a rare plant: the Mauna Loa Silversword. These plants bloom for 30 years, flower, and then die.

On a clear day you can see into the Kilauea caldera from the lookout. It was a cloudy, rainy day down below, so I could not see into the caldera. I did find a driver's license on the ground, so we spent our descent trying to contact the owner of the license. I was able to tune into Hawaii Public Radio, so we listened to an Italian opera.

Turns out the McNephew was scared of all the farm animals, and I'll give it to him, the tortoises are kind of freaky looking, so we had to hold him.

He weighs forty pounds, so this is no easy feat. When attempting to put him down, he clamped his legs around us like he was on bareback going for 8 seconds. Needless to say, we didn't stay in the animal pen too long. He did enjoy eating snacks in the outdoor pavillion.

All in all, it was a lovely day on Big Island.