Thirty-three of the estate's 64 acres have been planted to vineyards, including twenty-one acres of Symphony grapes, five of Pinot Noir and seven are in a mix of varietals, such as Charonnnay. The winery appears close to bottling its first Pinot Noir varietal wine, with a Chardonnay wine in the planning stages. The tasting room is beautifully done in light wood with lots of windows to take in the beauty of these vineyards in the woods. In addition to the wines, there are some wonderful, upscale, Hawaiian items offered in the gift shop. Tasting is free and offered from 10:00 to 5:30 daily.

The next stop is Volcano National Park. As you arrive at the Park you will have to pay a small fee to enter the visitors area, but it is well worth it. Where else can you drive up to an erupting volcano for $10. As you arrive at the park make sure to stop at the Visitors Center. There is a wealth of information about the volcano and the natural history of the area. They generally have the best, most up-to-date eruption information, as well as the best access points to see the action. When you leave the Center, take a drive on the scenic Crater Rim Drive that circles the Kilauea caldera and offers an increbile opportunity to view very recent lava flows, visit active sulfur banks and steam vents upclose, walk through a massive lava tunnel, and hike through a crater that was filled with a lava lake as late as the 1950s. Drive down Chain of Craters Road to see the impacts lava has had on the local roads and topography, and watch the battle between the sea and the new landalong the incredible sea cliffs. Depending on where the volcanic action is you may be able to walk to the lava or watch it enter the ocean from a distance. But the real jewel in the crown is the Jaggar Museum, which sits on the rim of the Halema'uma'u Crater, home to the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, Pele.

The Halema'uma'u Crater is 3,000 feet across and 300 feet deep. It was a giant lava lake as recently as the 1920s and had erupted last in 1982. However, that all changed on March 12th when a glowing red vent opened into the side of the crater. This was followed by an explosive eruption of old rocks on March 19th, and very small lava erpution on March 23rd. There have been two more explosive erputions since, and gas and ash continue to blow from the newly created vent on the crater wall. The amazing part of all this is that the Jaggar Museum and Visitors Center are locatred not more than a half of a mile from the new vent. Each day interested tourists from around the world arrive at the Museum to see the most recent volcanic activity. Although the view during the day is fascinating, the view after dark is worth waiting around for. As the sun drops below the horizon and the sky dims, the red crater seems to come to life. It appears like an opening to the bowels of the Earth herself, but the Museum staff assured us it was just the walls of the vent being heated by the hot gasses. We couldn't be sure, but we were thought we saw a face in the gas cloud more than once. It appeared to be snarling at us. A trick of the gas cloud, I'm sure. The vent continues to spew ash and gas on a daily while local scientists watch with excitement to see if a new period of volcanic activity is in the wings. Only time will tell.