Whilst I was writing up my notes from the trip I realised that it had left all sorts of impressions which didn’t really fit anywhere in particular; so here, by way of conclusion, are some of my favourite Hawaii memories…

The incredible banyan trees in Hilo:

Driving my Jeep – I would buy one of these in a heartbeat (even though it took me half the week to figure out that the reason I was struggling to park the thing was because it had rear wheel drive!):

The fact that the Union Jack appears on the Hawaiian flag, despite the islands never having been part of the British Empire:

Different wildlife than we usually encounter:

The beautiful tropical flowers and plants:

Ridiculously, straight-out-of-central-casting-ly, picturesque scenery:

Treating ourselves to fancy cocktails in our fancy beach resort (not our usual hotel choice, but I could certainly get used to this…!):

The Kilauea Iki Crater hike – of all the things from our trip which get me bouncing up and down like a hyperactive six year-old, this is the absolute best. Walking on rock younger than my parents, with fissures steaming gently, and the impression that the ground could crack underfoot at any time (which of course it wouldn’t, it’s all set and solid now) was just magical:

And, of course, the lava, in all its forms:

And just in case this wasn’t way more photos than you ever needed to see, my whole album from the trip is online too…!