more from Hawaii

I just realized that I never finished recapping the Hawaii trip waaaay back in June. It really was a great trip and deserved a better narrative - if not for my 20 readers, then at least for my poor old memory and my infamous Christmas newsletter. Chronicling my trips has always been something I enjoyed doing, so I don't know why I slacked off so poorly. I did a much better job on the Sailing Journal (if you care to read that, it starts here). Just to sum up a few things before I forget, while I was laying on the beach, I read Revolutionary Road, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Piano Tuner and some trashy Doris Roberts novel. All three of the "novels" end so sadly....Can't say I recommend any of them as nice light beach reading, but they have been on my list for a while and I am GLAD they are over.

On the summer equinox (Sunday June 21), I had a LOVELY day - it was Free Day at the national parks around the country, so even though I was a little worried everyone on Hawaii might show up, I headed down to Volcano National Park. On the way around the bottom of the island (which incidentally is where the cheapest gas on the island is! NOT Costco, as I had been led to believe!), I stopped at a TRUE black sand beach. One kind of sand beach happens when the black lava rocks erode away...there are several of these. But THIS black sand beach was formed when the hot lave flew up in the air, and then crystallized into glass pebbles as it hit the water. Then as it was dashed to BITS on the rocks, it creates instant black "sand." Eventually this one will erode away, or people will take it away...I had sand stuck in my shoes and socks when I got back to the car, so imagine that multiplied by hundreds every day...i wonder how long it will be there?? Then I got back in my little red car and headed off to the Park. It was a pretty nondescript approach - a very gentle sloping mountain to the left and the azure blue of the pacific to the right (OK, not so nondescript - the ocean was friggin' gorgeous!). I could tell I was going uphill by the huffing and puffing my little car was making, and then all of a sudden, the bright clear day gave way to swirls of fog and mist! I was at the visitor's center. They explained that the crater was giving off tons of noxious fumes which mixed with water vapor were causing the fog, and for some people it caused problems. When I first got out of the car i was a little light headed for a moment, but that soon passed and I enjoyed a few hours wandering around. As we got closer to the actual crater, the fog gave way to a really nice day and you could see very clearly the plume of water vapor, as well as the curtain of gas exuding from the crack in the earth! For a while we could see a rainbow.

We couldn't drive all the way around, due to the recent eruptions, but I did walk all the way through the Jagger Museum, and took a little guided tour. Our guide taught us about the island and the volcano - such as how they did away with the mosquitoes in the area by doing away with the wild pigs! HUH, you ask? well, the pigs felled trees to get at the succulent roots...and the big hole made when a tree feel over made a nice holding place for standing water...so it rained and the water became a nice little breeding ground for mosquitoes....so...get rid of the pigs and get rid of the mosquitoes. And not just cuz mosquitoes suck, but they were somehow killing off a certain species of bird as well....so nuke the pests, and save the birds - sounds good to me!

The guide also taught us about the birds and other flora and fauna unique to the Hawaiian Islands, and how it all got started - if you don't believe in evolution, you should take the tour at Volcano National Park, and I betcha you'd change your mind. It was fascinating learning about some of the successful attempts to rescue extinct species...

I walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, but didn't go into the unlit parts...and then through some of the most Jurassic Park looking places I'd ever seen! I walked along Devastation Trail a way, which was kinda cool - all trees and flowers and foresty and then BAM, it looks like you are on the moon! It was lovely with the birds and the wind...of course, then it was truly devastated when a car load of obnoxious kids arrived and I could hear them yelling and sniping at each other, even though they were clear at the other end of the trail.

The volcano was erupting while I was there...but not like you'd imagine...just kinda flowing out, and I didn't drive all the way down to see it - they say it is most visible at night, and I am not the best night driver, so I headed out. besides, that damn bird needed his cage cleaned...god 4 months later and I can STILL smell that!!

I did head down to the beach later that evening to watch the sun set...and I had my camera take a nice picture of me...yes, it is posed, and it was uncomfortable, but you get the idea :-) More on Hawaii to come.