On the next day in Hawaii, we just hung around our resort, the Fairmont Orchid, and relaxed in the morning. Here are a couple from the beach at the resort.
Then we went on a tour to the summit of Mauna Kea to watch the sunset. Mauna Kea is the tallest, although not highest, mountain (actually a dormant volcano) in the world. It is 33,000 feet, but only 13,796 feet above sea level. That is actually still really high. We were way above the clouds. These were taken at the base of the mountain, where we had to stop to acclimate and to put on our winter parkers to prepare for the freezing temperature at the summit.
These observatories are at the summit. We learned all sorts of interesting facts about them, but I forgot most of them. They look cool, though.
Doesn't this one remind you of R2D2?
We then watched the most amazing sunset.
Don't the clouds look like the ocean here?
You can see Saturn in this picture. We were able to see the rings around it through the telescope that the tour company brought.
You can see it in this photo too. Plus, I like how you can see everyone looking up at the sky in this photo.
After that, the tour company took us stargazing in an area that was completely pitch black so you could see thousands of stars. We also got to see Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. (I think we also saw Mars, but my husband doesn't think so. This is what happens when you wait 2 months to blog.) It was really amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of that because I dropped my camera and spent the rest of the night moping about it. Luckily, only my filter broke and not my camera. That's why filters are important.
I really enjoyed the tour, so if you are ever on the Big Island and want to go to Mauna Kea, you should check out Mauna Kea Summit Adventures.
Wow - these shots are amazing.
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