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If you're interested in astronomy, you can't visit Hawaii without going to Mauna Kea to see the big scopes. I went a few years ago. Was going to hire a car to drive to the summit, but hire car companies don't like you travelling along Saddle Rd as its so remote. Saddle Rd is the only road in and out. Instead I went on a tour with two professors. The summit is awesome. We arrived as the Sun was setting and the observatory domes began to open vents to commence cooling procedures. Standing beside these observatories make you feel insignificant, especially Gemini North with its 8 meter mirror cell. If anyone tells you it doesn't snow in Hawaii, they're lying. I took some pictures of snow slowly melting against some of the observatories. People have been known to snow board down some slopes. There's no astronomers to be seen, only engineers getting things ready for the night sessions. All the astronomers are at sea level. We returned to the visitors center and set up some scopes to check out some northern sky delights. Incredible seeing conditions. Highly recommended.
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