We visited Hawaii for our 2018 summer family vacation and we started on the Big Island…read more We started our last full day with a lava boat tour that started at 4am in Hilo and returned to the dock at 7am. We enjoyed a relaxed ride back to Kona via Highway 19. Before the trip, and once we arrived, I thought about visiting the telescopes atop Manua Kea, but realized that there were too many clouds, too few hours in the day, and sadly too little interest among the other three family family members, so he was OK not going. Then, as we drove home, we passed the Keck Observatory Visitor Center, in Waimea, and I quickly made a u-turn. I asked my wife and sone to let our daughter and me go in for just 5-7 minutes. Somehow that turned into 40 minutes, because it is pretty awesome! The docents are fun and engaging and insightful. We learned how they use adaptive optics to help ground-based see better, to see with clarity approaching that of the Hubble Space Telescope... they use a laser to measure distortions of the optics by the air in the sky and then apply that same math to "un-do" the distortion and make images of deep space objects more clear (this wording is all mine, not a quote from Keck). We also learned that the Keck Observatory has: ⁃ discovered over 100 exoplanets and has recently helped to classify different types of exoplanets ⁃ seen through the gas cloud at the center of our Milky Way and see the stars swirling around the black hole - http://www.keckobservatory.org/g-objects/ ⁃ helped discover dark matter ⁃ discovered the moon Dysnomia, around Eris, which is further from the sun than Pluto and bigger than Pluto, and which helped change the class of planet for Pluto (note... Pluto is still a type of a planet and deserving of that status; planets come in different kinds, just like stars do, and the demotion in 2006 was in part due to someone having personal dislike of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto) ⁃ the Keck I and Keck II telescopes, which have 36 6-foot hexagonal mirrors and sit atop Mauna Kea, make two 10-meter (30-foot) telescopes We had great visit and hope we can have more time to visit on our next trip!

We noticed the Keck Observatory Visitor Center as we were making a u-turn to get back onto highway…read more19. We went in, me just hoping for a restroom, that need satisfied we ended up spending over an hour learning about the Keck Observatory and their mirrors up on Mauna Kea. Jane was a wealth of knowledge and very enthusiastic about the work done up on the mountain. Usually one can look out from the glass front doors and see the observatories on top of Mauna Kea but it was very overcast while we were there, possibly due to the volcanic activity down south at Kilauea. I got the coolest souvenir there, a beach towel of the observatory and stars. I'll be the envy of all the ladies in the locker room at my gym.

We brought warm clothes, chairs,flashlight,blanket and hot chocolate with us. We hiked up the…read moremountain to see the sunset and the stars. It was a beautiful view and experience.

We fully planned to hit the visitors center and go no further (rental car, no 4x4). We came prepped…read morewith hoodies (it hit maybe 50°? A little chilly for the Midwest, but I loved it so much!) Catching sundown on the way up was absolutely beautiful. Some conversations heard inside: "You can pay someone $20 per person to go up, up to $200. But you get what you pay for, and the more expensive ones will drive, clothe, and feed you, and it's totally worth the price." Chilling at the visitor center - the staff was crazy knowledgeable about the stars, the area, their books - and made great recommendations (and prevented me from buying the wrong star chart for the wrong location and the wrong language!) - so be sure to ask them questions if you have them! Managed to catch some constellation discussion outside (he used a green laser pointer which made it easy to follow along!) But for the love of Superman - please don't turn in your BRIGHT LED LIGHTS at night when people are trying to enjoy the darkness and look up. They have red light flashlights there, or maybe let your eyes adjust and go slow - there's no reason to run!

This was a great way to spend a couple of hours. The owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. Plan…read moreon being educated about the plants around you before you start your self guided tour. We had no mosquitos during our visit. There are a lot of beautiful statues to see. Peacocks and wild turkeys were fun to visit. There is also a large tortoise. The place is a bit overgrown. Make sure you wear good walking shoes. There are several semi steep hills and some areas are rocky. We bought water but you can buy some there. Cost $13.00 per person, worth the time and money.

A nice little diversion. Gardens are well put together and maintained even though they are on the…read moredriest part of the island. Owner was there to greet us and provided a great overview of the flora and fauna of the garden and of the area. There are other bigger gardens on the island, but the 1x1 education from the owner was worth the price of admission. You can tell she loves her gardens and is passionate about what she does. Excellent views of the west coast from the guest center and interesting sculptures enhance the grounds. The stone circle was a nice touch too, especially since the day we went was the equanox. Overall a nice place to go spend a relaxing morning and learn something new.

Such a fun and unique activity if you're staying in the Waikoloa area. We came in and my 3 year old…read morespent time running around the different sections. A little pricey, but would recommend.

If you're kamaaina, beware of their "kamaaina price". I paid $28 to come on Friday for kamaaina…read moreprice. I came back within 7 days to bring my kids again since we're visiting from Oahu. I had to pay another $28 for today. If I didn't have kamaaina price on Friday we would have been free today. So a total of $56 for two visits. If I paid regular price I wouldn't have had to pay for today's visit and I would have only paid $45 on Friday. So who's actually getting the deal? If she told me that on Friday I would've just paid the regular price.

My son really enjoyed the Train Museum. He is a train maniac so even the smallest sight of trains…read moreexcites him. That's a good thing because the train museum is small. It's essentially one building with lots of newspaper clippings and older items related to the train history on the big island. If you're interested in the history there's a lot of things to read and old photos to enjoy. If your children don't have a good attention span and just want to see little trains it might be a quick visit. They have one older layout that doesn't run and they have a wooden table outside on the patio for kids to play with. The gift shop is tiny but my son still found a small train and shirt that he loved. You can go inside their caboose to check it out. It's been refurbished although not in the most authentic way. Still, my kiddos enjoyed it tremendously. Nice 30 minute stop, especially for train lovers.

Driving up and down route 19 to several other activities, we passed the train museum multiple times…read moreduring our week on the island. Sadly, we did not get to go inside to look at any of their collection as the hours here are very short at Mon-Sat 10am-2pm. The closest we got was on a Monday at 1:50pm but there were no cars in the lot, and everything was closed. I got out to take a look at the caboose and the switcher which both seemed decent enough. I don't see this as a destination stop unless you're a hard core foamer but it would be nice to learn something about the railroads historical impact on the sugar cane harvest on the island. Maybe next time. thetrainmuseum.com/coming-soon/

It's worth every bump you hit! In our last visit we were…read moreunaware we needed four wheel drive and didn't attempt with 2 wheel. This time we made sure to take 4 wheel drive up to the observatory. Please bring warm clothes including earmuffs and mitts. You will be thankful to yourself for getting it. It may be cloudy when you drive up with ring of clouds around both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa but many a times sky above at 13k is clear. You would also see Haleakala in west in distance if its clear. - BONUS! At 9k visitor center there is a restroom and then there are porta potties where observatories are. The road is 25% grade so be kind to your breaks and use 4L with m2 to drive up and 4L +drive while coming down. The rangers checked tank plus if the car is 4wheel and have instructions. Mind you! They also checked break after we reached down. That's good for you and your car! Now up at the summit you might be lucky to see the observatories rotating and opening for their nightly duties. They used to allow admissions in the past and sky gazing program at visitor center but not anymore. So you might have to check with them. No drones allowed - fyi! The rangers will also be everywhere and make everyone leave 10 minutes after sunset. Key point- bring enough water for all the members with you. Water has oxygen which helps you breathe and keeps you hydrated. Coming back to experience... The views are ethereal. This was one of the topmost points in my list ( pun intended) in big island. Sunset hues are out of the world. If you go on moonless nights and clear days you might get to see more stars and planets.

I don't like cold. I don't like snow. It was not my idea to come here. I could only be out of the…read morecar for 3 min. Being in Hawaii on the tallest mountain in frigid conditions is not what I want in a Hawaiian vacation. You have been warned, come prepared. It was pretty but if you're not prepared you will not like it. Bring snow pants and a parka with thick gloves. I could have skipped this excursion entirely but my husband wanted to go and he can wear shorts in a blizzard. The drive up and drive down is tedious. I had no idea that this would take 5 to 6 hours. You can only go up in all wheel drive or four wheel drive. If your brakes are too hot on the way down you have to pull over at the visitors center and wait over 30 minutes to leave. It was one of the worst times I've had on vacation. I may have a bad attitude but people should know the reality of it. I'm a big fan of looking at pictures of this place rather than actually going.