Cathryn, You only live once. Not only should you see the volcano, but if open you should go just before sunset and from the National Park side, walk out with the 100s of other people onto the lava flows if there are any reaching the sea within walking distance. Take flash lights and heavy shoes or, better boots. What can be a dullish steaming slope is full of glow at night, and when I was there a couple of years ago with HD, you could walk right up to active lava flows. This is all at your own risk, of course, and I don't recommend any titanium canoes (The Maurice Kraft dream, "the volcano watchers", Nature; Maurice and Katia killed themselves and 40 other people including Harry Glicken of UCSB on Mt. Unzen in 1992).

Google Hawaian volcano observatory and see what is going on. It is the pit Halemaumau (sp?) that has been added to the mix...it is within Kilauea caldera, the opposite side from Volcano House hotel (where you should stay once in your life, if the wind is blowing correct ways). I assume that by the time you get towards summer the NE trades should be set up better and blow the Vog away from Volcano House and away from Hilo, kind of away from Kona, and far away from the other islands.

One caution: besides paying attention to wind direction and where the Vog is coming from, watch out for low areas, meaning not the coast, but hollows in the topography. I think there has been a fatality or 2 that way (but driving in Hawaii is probably more dangerous). We walked around the edge of Kilauea crater/caldera back in 1989 and I started choking a little in such an area...just from the local fumeroles.

HD and I walked out on the lava flows at night. I taught her to fear everything so when the rocks started getting a bit hot on the shoes, and you could feel the heat just radiating at you, she did not want to go farther. Other people were walking right up to the edge of open flows and peering in. I was going to do this, it was only a few hundred meters, but decided not to leave HD alone in dark (although she was perfectly safe), and wanted something to not do, to have a reason to come back.

Have fun! Watch those hollows.
Chris