Hawaii

When I go to the island of Hawaii, I often stay on the Kohala coast. It is how I imagine the moon to look—vast, dark, and a bit monstrous. The first time I visited the island the volcano was erupting, and we could see the lava flow into the ocean and form a new extension of the island. But just beyond the molten lava fields were the blue ocean and sky. Nothing compares to the black beaches or the sight of any color contrasted against the stark landscape.

Equally intriguing is that the same small island can harbor a separate, distinctly different environment; for on the opposite coast is Hilo, the rain forest. It is somewhat of an Eden, unbelievably formed from the flow of lava from the still active volcano. While I find Hilo soothing in contrast to the sizzling coasts of Kona and Kohala, it is the starkness that lures me back. I will return next spring for my fifth or sixth trip in ten years.

—Dawn Drew

Dawn Drew is Traveler’s publisher.