Where would you recommend to stay for that is an easy trip for volcanoes - i guess i haven't quite grown up yet eitehr
I don't know where to stay on the Big Island (the one with active volcanoes) that's convenient for both beaches and volcanoes. The volcanoes are on the east side of the island, and the sun & beaches on the west (Kona) side, and that's the biggest island (hence the name), so it's impractical to do a day trip from one to the other. There's a lodge in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but it may be full on short notice, but there are B&Bs and the like just outside the park. You can also stay in Hilo (the biggest town on the east side, and quite pretty), which has some beaches if I recall correctly, but that's the rainy side of the island so your wife might not be so happy with it; but Hilo *is* day-trippable to the volcanoes. You might compromise by staying a few days at Kona for beaches and a few days on the east side near the volcanoes. There are also some parks with lovely waterfalls in the vicinity of Hilo.
Maui also has a tall volcano (Haleakala), though it's extinct so it's less interesting, though still scenic. (A web search should bring up photos & info.) It's day-trippable from the west coast beaches with high-rise hotels & condos.
Still, I believe Kauai has the best scenery (though no active volcanoes) closest to the best beaches. You can drive from one end of the road ringing most of the island to the other in something like two to three hours, so nothing is too far from anything else. We were there for five days, and that was just about enough time to do everything we wanted to do, included long hikes and kayaking. If you have about a week, for a first trip, I'd probably spend about 2/3 on Kauai and about 1/3 at the volcanoes on the Big Island; unless you want a more relaxed pace, in which case either just do the Big Island (splitting your time between the west side beaches and the east side volcanoes) or just do Kauai.
if i recall correctly, you are from the bay area. The other option i haven't suggested to my wife is going to California. We did a 6 day trip to SF and Big Sur in June, but did not get a chance to go to yosemite or Mono lake. Do you know if end of October is a good time to consider Yosemite and Mono Lake???
I am also unsure if the road to Mono Lake is open from the yosemite side at that time of the year (if i recall correctly, it was closed when i was thre in Dec).
IMHO, this isn't a good time of year for Yosemite. The waterfalls and spring greenery are mostly gone, but, as you said, no pretty snow yet. (I don't know the state of fall colors, though the fall colors in Yosemite aren't that impressive compared to a lot of other places because so many of the trees are evergreens.) Late spring & early summer are much better, as is winter if they've had some recent snow and you like that sort of thing. The weather is typically mixed and unpredictable in late October. The road across the Sierras to the Mono Lake area might or might not be still open, depending on whether it has snowed at the higher elevations yet, but don't count on it - I would guess it would most likely *not* still be open, since we've started getting the first rainstorms in No. Cal. pretty early this year.
Hope this helps...
Lisa
