Seeing the beautiful places in the world is one of the most important things you should do in life.
LIFE LIST: THE MOST SOUTHERN POINT IN THE U.S.
When: August 2009
Where: The Big Island of Hawaii
Why I wanted to do this: I saw a picture of it in a travel book, I know my pictures do not nearly do this place justice, If you are in Hawaii, trust me it is worth the trip.
Cost: free---once you get yourself to Hawaii now that on the other hand is a little costly
How I paid for it? My husband received several very large bonuses that year.
What I would do differently: I would have planned on hiking to the nearby Green Sand Beach, also I saw people with horse trailers...what a majestic place to go riding. I also would have bought more jewelry, my favorite things I bought in Hawaii were from South Point.
Something I would recommend? YES!!!
Would I do it again? YES!
Was it life changing? I think every time you see a natural wonder it changes you, when you become familiar with these magical places you know more, you have a story, and you have beautiful memories.
My review of South Point:
There are not many places to stop between the Black Sand Beach and South Point but it is a spectacular drive. We kept saying that the southern route looked like Africa and the north looked like Ireland. We have never been to either of these locations. Side note, you will be in your convertible all day with the top down the sun will be beating down on you in areas you are not used to such as your scalp, ears, knees and the top of your feet. Luckily enough for you readers I learned the hard way and now have the ability to pass on my knowledge to you. You are welcome. I’m very serious about this, I am a very fair skinned person and I was constantly putting on sun lotion all day long and I even had a hat on and I still was hurting but something kinda cool did come from my sunburn that I will talk about later. It’s best to put on extra lotion when you visit South Point as it is the southern most tip of the United States because it is HOT. In your guidebooks it will be called Ka Lae- Hawaiians will not know what you are talking about- they simply refer to it as South Point and when you are there it will be mostly Hawaiians you will see who are taking advantage of the extreme fishing conditions. This is a must see, you will never in your life see anything quite like this again although it is not really a “touristy” destination. You will simply see an 8 by 10 inch plywood sign that is carved out ‘south point 12 miles’ with an arrow and that is all the directions you will need-there is nowhere else to go. This will be one of the most bizarre 12 mile drives you have ever taken. It is a dirt one lane road. Most of the people will pass will be in jeeps and they will pull aside for your tiny made for concrete rental car, and as long as you go slow you will not have any problems getting stuck. I almost don’t even want to describe it for you because it is something you can only understand when there but I will do my best. As you’re driving you will cattle and horses grazing and you will think ‘hhhmmm who feeds these animals? - there are no homes, no people around, in fact there is nothing at all around’. You will also see what looks like old military bunkers and old out of use wind farms. It will seem like this road will never end and you will be abducted by aliens and no one will ever know that you’re gone or that you were ever there. And then there it is, the ocean. This is when you will truly be able to comprehend the colossal, vast, infinite ocean. It is only here where you can really be aware of how tiny you really are on this epic planet. No matter who you are you will be impressed by the grandeur and the mysticism before you. If you are brave enough (like myself, although it’s more of a terrified courage) you can walk down the rocks and stand in the ocean. There are three reasons why this is frightening 1. the rocks are slippery, and jagged. 2. If there was a wave you would be taken prisoner by the ocean and then eaten by a whale. 3. You and you alone at this moment are the farthest away from anything else in the United States, you are entirely solo in a place called 70 percent of the entire Earth. It is a feeling only felt and it is especially awesome to take in once you reach safety. This is a magical place to take pictures, there is no gift shop only two porta potties and one or two ladies selling jewelry out of the back of there jeeps. This is the best time to buy souvenirs, they have authentic merchandise and they will sell it to you for whatever you want. Not to mention with each piece you buy you will have a stellar story to go along with rather than saying –here I got you this at the kmart by the airport. If you are not overheated or exhausted by this point, I highly suggest taking the one hour hike to the Green sand beach. At this time Joel and I were hot, hungry, tired and from Joel’s report I was not going anywhere near those porta potties- maybe next time.
LIFE LIST: SWIM WITH SEA TURTLES
Was it life changing? Moments like these always are....
