TravelStream™ news feed for member amadhatter on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/amadhatter en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:59:14 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245466685/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245466685/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245466685/tpod.html Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:59:14 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kukuihaele, Hawaii, United States

We got up around 5:30 in an attempt to see the sunrise over the ocean. However, Mother Nature decided to throw a storm our way. The sky and horizon were cloudy, so we couldn't see the sun come up. Oh well, so we went back to bed. We had aspirations of hiking down into Waipi`o Valley today. However, we decided to enjoy the Cliff House instead. The view was so stunning that we just couldn't pass up a day of relaxing and taking in the view. So, we layed around and read most of the day. I finally started "The Fossil Trail" by Ian Tattersall that I've had kicking around for a month now.

Around 3:30 we decided to check out the town of Waimea about a half an hour from the Cliff House. Waimea is the heart of cattle country on the Big Island and the guidebooks said good things about it. The drive to the town was neat. It was through rolling hills full of grazing cattle, of course. The trees in this area remind me more of a temperate forest than of a jungle. Waimea is over 2500 feet above sea level, so its climate is cooler than nearer to sea level.

Waimea is also home to various art galleries. We wanted to find a piece of art to take home, so we searched through several galleries. We came up bust until we stumbled on the Gallery of Great Things. This shop showcases art from the Pacific Islands and the Pacific Rim. The sheer quantity of stuff in the shop was mind boggling. The clerk said that the owners' house was equally stuffed to the gills. The shop had lots of works by local artists, too. We ended up buying a Hawaiian pounding stone that is carved into the shape of a fish.

We ate dinner in Waimea at a place called Charley's Thai, which obviously served Thai food. My dish of Pad Lao was good, but Sarah's Pad Thai was not. The rice noodles had a flavor that reminds one of hay.

Back at the Cliff House, we continued our plan of relaxation.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245310159/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245310159/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245310159/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:29:18 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kukuihaele, Hawaii, United States

I'm sitting on the deck overlooking the ocean. And when I say overlooking the ocean, I don't mean from a distance...I mean about 10 feet away from a sheer cliff that ends in the ocean. We have arrived at the Cliff House adjacent to Waipi`o Valley.

Our day started with us being really sore. That's what 14+ miles of trails will do to you. Once we worked the stiffness out we started packing up our stuff and cleaning the house. We had to wipe the counters (I can understand that), do the dishes (I can understand that too), and sweep the floors (that I can't understand...we paid a cleaning fee!). I took some pictures of the house and grounds and Sarah shot some video. One problem we've had is how to transport our food that needs to be kept cold. What we should have done is brought one of those foldable cloth coolers. Instead we used a combination of trash bags and old water containers that we filled with water and froze. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. Oh, have I mentioned that we had to haul our own garbage to the dump? Because the house is in the middle of a rain forest, there is an ant problem. In order to control the ants we had to store our garbage some where enclosed. The owners suggested the fridge, but we used the oven or the broken dishwasher. Needless to say we went to the dump often. Anyway, we made one last trip to the dump and then left Puna.

The highway (if you can call it that) that the house was off of forms one leg of a triangle of highways. We've been on most of two legs of the triangle, but hadn't been on the third because it was just out of the way. On our way into Hilo we opted to take the last leg that we hadn't been on yet. It was a very pretty drive. The trees on that highway were super tall compared to other trees we had seen in the area. It also took us by Lava Tree State Park, though we didn't stop (we saw better lava trees on the Napau Crater Trail).

For some reason I always liked Hilo. It is the rainiest city in the US with 200+ inches of rain a year. The climate is humid and warm, which means rain forest. So, it is this city surrounded by rain forest. It has a certain colonial charm to it, despite it being BUSY and the largest city on the island. Its downtown area is right on Hilo Bay. There is a major highway that separates the shops from the bay. The set up reminds me a lot of Traverse City. It is also way less touristy than the Kona Coast. The rain keeps the tourists away, though it usually rains during the night or only part of the day. Hilo is also the gateway to most of the best adventures on the island. Mauna Kea, the volcano, and waterfalls are all within easy striking distance of Hilo. Hilo (and this side of the island in general - except for Volcanoes National Park) has a higher ratio of locals to tourists. So, you get to rub elbows with and experience local culture.

Once in Hilo, we made a stop at Hilo Hatties to pick up some souveniers. Then we had lunch at a local favorite - Ken's House of Pancakes. It is sort of a Big Island take on Denny's. I had the corn beef hash with hash browns, eggs, and pancakes. The pancakes were awesome, but the passion fruit syrup was supreme. Sarah had a massive turkey club with piles of turkey and bacon. While waiting for our food we had a few minutes to check our phones. Down in lower Puna we had zero cell phone coverage. So we were bascially off the grid for 5 days. I had a voicemail from the deck builders. It seems they are starting a week earlier that they had originally told us. That's cool - we get the deck sooner!

After an aborted attempt to see Rainbow Falls (we had all our stuff in the car and the signs at the park and the guide book said not to leave valuables in the car), we went to downtown Hilo to look for some artwork. The first place we stopped at features works by an artist that showcased the Puna Coast. We saw paintings that were done right where the rental house driveway connected with the highway. We bought several reproductions there to remind us of that special place. We walked around downtown Hilo for a bit and even ventured into the farmers market. The farmers market was quite large, but surprisingly didn't have much in the way of produce. It was mostly knick-knacks and other small peddlers.

Around 2:30 the farmers market shut down and we left town. We drove along the Hamakua Coast, which is spectacular. There are great views of the ocean. The northern coast of the island gets a lot of rain and it has been around a while (unlike the Kona Coast, which doesn't get any rain, and the Puna Coast, which is very young). As a result there are rivers. The rivers have cut valleys and gorges into the landscape. This part of the Big Island looks more like older islands such as Oahu and Kauai.

We went to check into the Cliff house, but had neglected to read the fine print on the information they sent us. Credit cards are NOT accepted. They need one to hold the reservation, but only take cash, personal checks, or travelers checks. I'm not sure how that works, but it meant that we had to drive back to the town of Honoka`a where the nearest ATM was. Once back at where we check we paid in cash (not much else we could do). We have three nights left on our vacation. Two of those nights we are spending at the Cliff house. The last one we are spending at the Oceanview house, which is owned by the same people. However, they allowed us to pay for the Ocean view house with our credit card...I'm REALLY not sure how that works.

After getting checked in, we went directly to the house. The view is absolutely stunning. The house is about 10 feet from the cliff to the ocean. There is a huge deck on the ocean side and inside there is a giant window that looks out over the ocean. Looking at the ocean you feel as if you are adrift in the ocean. It is surreal.

We unloaded the car and then went back (again) to Honoka`a to get some dinner, water (the owner didn't recommend drinking it), and gas. We ate ate at Tex's Drive In & Restaurant. One of our guidebooks gave them the thumbs up. It was simple fare, but we weren't disappointed. Back at the Cliff house we had some wine and relaxed. We are planning on getting up early tomorrow to see the sunrise.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245306279/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245306279/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245306279/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:27:21 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kalapana, Hawaii, United States

Today we got up early. We planned to head into Volcanoes National Park to do a long hike. We wanted to do the Napau Crater Trail and take it as far as we could - 7 miles to the Napau Crater Overlook. So, yes that would make it 14 miles round trip (actually, it was probably more like 15 since we did a lot of detours). There were good views of the Pu`u `O`o vent - the heart of the current eruption. The trail actually goes closer to Pu`u `O`o, but it was closed due to unstable ground and poisonous volcanic gases. We had investigated doing a shorter trip from the north to Pu`u `O`o. The hike is through land controlled by the state through the DLNR. However, the DLNR has closed the area north of the vent and thus the trail. A very judgmental and mean spirited woman from the DLNR told me so over the phone.

We got to the park just after the visitor center opened. The trail we wanted to do required a permit, which we got. We had seen USGS reports of surface lava flows just inside the eastern boundary of the park. There are no trails to that part of the park (it is where the old Chain of Craters Road would have followed the shore to link up with Hwy 130), so we asked a ranger if we could hike the 6 miles to check it out. He said that we were more than welcome to try, but to be sure about the lava otherwise it would be a long hike for naught. It has been difficult to see lava or any part of the current eruption except for steam and smoke. For a while it seemed like there was no eruption and the State of Hawaii was conspiring to hide that fact to keep the tourist dollars rolling in. So, we were excited to get the go ahead to actually see lava if it is in the park. Since we had already decided to do the Napau Crater Trail today, we are going to keep that option in our back pocket.

We hit the trail by 9:00am after futzing around a bit. It was rainy and grey. However, it was a warm, light rain that was almost like a mist. The wind was warm and not too strong. The hike started along side a lava field that was formed in the 70s. Eventually, we turned into the lava field and began a 4 mile trek over it. The wind, rain, and landscape made for an almost surreal experience. It felt as if we were at the end of the Earth or on another planet.

We came to a short detour up Pu`u Huluhulu, which provided an overlook. We climbed up to what we thought was the top - turns out it wasn't. That's alright; it was only about 30 minutes into the hike and we wanted to get some miles under us. The trail in the lava field was marked with lava rock cairns. They almost looked like a line of people going into the distance. Actually, though we didn't see any people once we started the trail until we came back to Pu`u Huluhulu, 6.5 hours later. The trail took us by the crater Mauna Ulu, which we somehow missed on our way out (how did we miss a huge crater?). We also passed another, un-named crater, which we did see. It was pretty crazy to see a huge hole that looked like it was blown out of the rock. Somewhere around this crater the rain let up so we could take pictures. Another mile or so brought us to the even bigger Makaopuhi Crater. This monster is about a mile across and hundreds of feet deep. It was even steaming in areas.

The next part of the hike took us through forested terrain. It started in a rain forest and ended in a fern forest. We asked the ranger about the difference in the two sides of the forest. She told us that the lava had missed the rain forest portion and had destroyed the fern forest part. So, the fern forest was actually a newer forest and the trees hadn't had a chance to establish themselves. The rain forest that was spared was ancient and untouched. It was going to take a while for the fern forest to reach that state again.

The rain forest wasn't bad to walk in. The path was wide and the trees had leaves were above us. There were shorter grasses along the trail that got our legs wet, but that was easy compared to what was in store for us. The fern forest wasn't as tall as the rain forest. Worse, it was far thicker. The trail was almost to the point of getting grown over. The fern pressed in. The worst part was the dead or dried out ferns around our legs. They were sharp and scratched our legs to shreds. Mercifully, it was maybe a mile and a half of this special hell.

After about 6.5 miles, we came to some old wall that were the remains of a Pulu factory in the 1800s. Pulu is the red fuzz that grows around young fern plants. They harvested the red fuzz and made it into stuffing that was used for mattresses and pillows. It doesn't take long for the Pulu fuzz to break down into dust, so the idea tanked and all that remains are these old walls.

Another half a mile brought us to the Napau Crater Campsite and Overlook. No one was in the campsite, so we went to the overlook. We were rewarded for our 7 mile hike with a magnificent view of the gigantic Napau Crater (even bigger than Makaopuhi). The cherry on the top was the view of the Pu`u `O`o vent tower over the crater in the distance. The vent belched out tons of white smoke and ash. It was a sight I'll never forget. We were face to face with Madam Pele herself.

After taking lots of pictures, we sat down to eat lunch. Having lunch and a show courtesy of Pele was really cool. While eating lunch, we noticed that the wind shifted. Instead of blowing the volcanic smoke and ash to our right, the cloud was coming right for us. We were about 3 miles away from the vent, but the cloud moved fast. The smoke is laden with SO2, which could kill. When it got within 2 miles we packed our stuff up and left the area.

The hike back seemed to go by faster, as it almost always does. The rain had given way to scattered clouds and blue sky. The sun made the hike back hot. We were both wearing the type of hiking pant that has zip off legs. To prevent our legs from being ravaged by the ferns we put the legs back on. We wished we had thought of that sooner because the ferns were kept at bay. Past the fern forest, the rain forest was drier and we zipped through it. The rest of the trek over the lava field was uneventful. We both took advantage of the lack of rain and took pictures and shot video where we couldn't before.

By the time we got to Pu`u Huluhulu, we were both tired. Sarah's boots didn't fit right and were hurting her ankles and giving her blisters. My knees were aching and my feet hurt from the uneven lava field surface. The last 30 minutes took the longest. I guess it didn't help that we got off the trail a bit while looking at the lava trees that we missed on the way out. At last, after 7 hours we made it back to the trailhead. We made it 14 miles and got to see the famed Pu`u `O`o vent!

All in all it was a great hike. We were tired, but extremely happy. We went back to the visitor center and talked with the rangers and filled up on water (the drinking fountain is free!). Sarah bought some stamps for postcards, which we mailed from the Volcano House. Then we began the hour journey back to where we stayed. We stopped in Pahoa for water and band aids for Sarah's feet. There we saw the local Pahoans protesting big business (KFC, Long's, Walmart, Buger King, etc). They wanted the area to stay local. Oh those Pahoans.

Back at the house, we began packing up for the final stay on the Big Island. Our next stop is the Cliff House right next to Waipi'o Valley.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305961/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305961/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305961/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:24:08 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kalapana, Hawaii, United States

Today was an easy day. Hey, every once in a while you need a vacation from your vacation. It didn't rain during the night, so we slept pretty soundly the entire night. When it opens up at night, you definitely hear it. In fact, we woke up to blue skies that stayed with us until twilight. After putzing around, we decided on going to the tidal pools at Kapoho to do some snorkeling.

The drive to the tidal pools took us on part of Hwy 137 that we had not been on before. The area is a bit more built up and didn't quite have the backwoods feel of where we are staying. The wind was up and so we got to see some nice wave action on the cliffs along the way.

Our guidebook brought us into the tidal pools without any trouble. The tidal pools are a large complex of natural and what looked like man-made pools. Backed right up on to the pools were many houses. There was a little parking lot that allowed public access to the pools. When we got there, it looked like a few locals and some tourists were there. Heeding the warning in the guidebook, we didn't leave anything in the car that we couldn't live without. Unfortunately, there are some areas of the Big Island that have problems with car break ins. It seems counter intuitive since tourism is what keeps the island alive. Anyway, we worked our way along the lava walls separating the pools until we came to one of the larger ones furthest from the parking lot. The rocks making up the walls were super sharp, so we had to take care not to stumble.

Once at the pool, we noticed that the wave action was pretty intense. While there is a small barrier rock reef between the pools and the ocean, it wasn't high enough to keep all the wave energy out of the pool. Cautiously we entered the pool. It was surprisingly deep and there were corals and fish in the deeper sections. We snorkeled around for a bit. There was a rip current in the pool. Its strength varied on the wave action and we noticed that it was starting to pick up. We got out of the pool since we didn't think that getting smashed into sharp lava rocks or coral would be the highlight of the vacation.

We worked our way to another pool closer to the car. In the meantime, some of the tourists had moved to where we were. We got to see them sucked by the rip current through a narrows into a tidal pool inland. That is what we were trying to avoid, however, they didn't appear to be injured. We snorkeled around until we had seen it all. It was getting on toward lunch time and the area was getting busier, so we left to find a lunch spot.

We drove back the way we came to Issac Hale State Park. The state park is apparently where a lot of locals hang out. We were getting the stink eye from some of them, so we turned around and left. A bit further down the road we came to McKenzie State Park. This park was not as big, but more importantly it was nearly deserted. We ate lunch under a picnic shelter and watched the waves crash on to the cliffs.

After lunch we went back home and decided to lay low for the rest of the day. It was nice and sunny out, so Sarah sunbathed and I took a stroll to the shore across from the driveway to get some pictures of the waves. The waves were crashing so hard that I and my camera ended getting pretty wet from the spray. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and enjoying the weather.

This area of the Big Island is called the Puna District (we are staying in Lower Puna, right near the ocean). It is south of Hilo and north of Volcanoes National Park. Both of our guidebooks describe it as the back country and the "outlaw" region (if your house could be demolished at anytime by lava you wouldn't care as much either). It is far less touristy around here than near Kailua-Kona. The weather is rainy and not quite as warm as the other side of the island. This keeps a lot of the tourists away. The area seems poorer with worse roads and infrastructure. However, it makes up for it in sheer natural beauty. There area is covered in rain forests shot through with old lava flows. There are only a couple beaches and instead you have cliffs, which are interesting in their own right. There are a lot less people around so it is quieter and more secluded.

The place we are staying at, called Aloha Lani, is a very nice two bedroom house tucked away in the rain forest. I'm not kidding, it is surrounded by rain forest. Geckos cling to the walls at night and insects and frogs sing you to sleep. There are actually two houses on the 3 acre property. The owners live in one and a short distance away is the rental house that we are staying in. The rental house looks nicer than the owner's house. The rental has electricity, but no air conditioning. The water is from a catchment. Water coming off of the roof is collected, treated with chlorine, and stored in above ground tanks. The water is not drinkable, at least the owners say that we shouldn't drink it. So, we have to buy bottled water from Pahoa ($0.30 a gallon). It takes some getting used to - you have to plan how much water you're going to use for the day for things like CamelBaks and water bottles. Surprisingly, there is a washer and dryer here, though.

The house itself if very nice. It has large rooms and lots of windows. The bottom floor is fully tiled and the top floor has hardwood in most of the rooms. On the bottom floor is a large living/dining space, a kitchen with a little breakfast table, a bedroom, and a huge full bathroom. The top floor has a large living area with a TV and a larger bedroom. We are staying in the upper bedroom.

The owners seem nice. They've pretty much left us alone after a brief orientation on the first day. I'd call them hippies and it looks like they don't leave the property all that much. Next door is the Kalani Oceanside Retreat. This is where hippies vacation at. There is yoga (even nude yoga), massages, native dance lessons, alternative healing, and other "new age" activities. No wonder their shop carried lighters, but no matches - better to spark one up with.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305874/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305874/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305874/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:19:16 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kalapana, Hawaii, United States

Today we were going to head into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. One of the best hikes on the island, called Kilauea Iki is located there. I have learned that no one is in a rush around here, so the drive up (despite the traffic) was uneventful. We stopped at the visitor center there to see if there was any possibility of seeing flowing lava. We had noticed when we were at the "lava" viewing the other night that you could see it on the slope going down to the sea. We hoped that there was a way to get to it. Alas, we didn't see anything mentioning seeing the lava on the hill. Probably because it was out of the park's boundaries. We bought a few souvenirs, filled up our water bottles (free water), and made our way to the Kilauea Iki trail.

Kilauea Iki (Little Kilauea) is a smaller crater to the east of the main Halema'uma'u crater. The trail leads you along one of the rims and then down into the crater and across its surface. We bought a guide book that tells you about what you are seeing along the trail, which turned out to be an excellent $2 spent. The hike starts out on the rim and takes you though dense rain forest. The forest itself is worthy of a hiking trail. Then you descend down to the crater floor. Once near the floor, the path becomes jagged and jumbled rock. In 1959 the crater erupted and the floor was a lake of molten rock. It is amazing to think that 50 years ago the place where we were standing was a boiling cauldron of lava. The path takes you by the cinder cone that was created by the vent spewing lava, cinder, and ash. It is a huge hill of loose rock and is reddish to grey in color. At the base you can still see where the vent was. Along the way, we found some up turned slabs of lava that created a sort of shelter. We had lunch there in the middle of a once lava lake. Back on the trail after the vent were scores of steam vents. The vents are the result of the lava lake cooling. The vents stood out by billowing white steam over the black lava rock. Once on the other side of the crater, we began the long hot hike up the crater wall. Every so often you would pass by a crack in the rock, which put out cool air (possible lava tubes?) that felt so nice during the hike up.

After Kilauea Iki, we decided to check out the Thurston Lava Tube. The tube is lit for a large portion and there are stair leading down to it. As a result it was super busy. The ranger at the visitor center told us that there is a gate that we could go into where the tube is not lit. So, we donned our caving gear and headed in. The unlit portion went on for over 300 meters. There were a few small piles of break down. The break down exposed the rock under the surface, which was colored a brilliant yellow and red from the sulfur and iron. We came to one room that was at least 50 feet tall. It looked like there may have been another lava tube above the one we were in and the rock between the two had collapsed. We couldn't get up there to verify or even if we could have, the tube may have collapsed. We did see a rather large group of people in the tube. They were jealous of our headlamps. I guess even in a cave in Hawaii there are people. The tube ended rather abruptly. It was walking cave for the entire way until right at the end. It just pinched off with no signs of collapse.

Once we got back to the car, Sarah wanted to see the Volcano House. We checked it out quickly. There was a good view of the steaming Halema'uma'u crater. There is an even better view of the crater at the Jaggar Museum. We drove over and checked it out. They do indeed have a good view. However, the only thing you can see are gases rising from the crater. The lava is far down in a small vent. Because of the SO2 danger, the NPS has closed the southern portions of the park. So, the best view is from the museum. The museum itself has many interesting exhibits on all aspects of Hawaiian volcanoes.

After we had seen enough, we headed back down the mountain. We made a quick stop in Pahoa to pick up more water. It is hard to get used to not having virtually unlimited quantities of water. Then back to the house. We are supposed to have wifi at the house, but connecting to it only gives us local access. We saw signs for wifi in Kalapana, so we went to check it out. There was a small "bar" down there so we decided to have a beer and check out some info on lava and some hikes. The bar had red wine, white wine, Corona, and something called awa. We ordered two Coronas. The barkeep told us that they each were a $4 donation. When I asked why a donation, the guy said that he didn't have a liquor license. Awesome. We asked about the wifi and the barkeep went to find the guy. A drunk Hawaiian came out (with a beer in hand) and charged us $6 for an hour for each computer. He gave us the password, stammered drunkenly to us, and then wandered back into his house. I guess they trust everyone here. We were disappointed to find out that the trail we wanted to take to see the Pu'u 'O'o vent (the one currently erupting) was closed. Now we have to figure out what to do tomorrow.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305744/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305744/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305744/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:17:50 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kalapana, Hawaii, United States

It rained on and off all night. At times quite hard, though, only for maybe a minute at a time. This is the rainy side of the island.

We got going around 9:00am. Our destination was the summit of Mauna Kea. "Mauna Kea" means "white mountain" and stands 13,796 feet above sea level. Measured from its base on the sea floor, it is around 29,000 feet tall. That makes it the tallest mountain in the world. It is even taller than Mount Everest since Everest's base starts high on a plateau.

In order to even get to Mauna Kea, you have to take what is called the Saddle Road (Hwy 200). It runs along the valley between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. The Hilo side of the Saddle road is very winding and hilly. The curves are not banked and the speed limit is 35 MPH. I couldn't help but think of Andy while driving this stretch. He would love it. Eventually we came to an obviously newer portion of the highway that was straighter. Here the speed limit was 55 MPH.

While I'm on the subject of speed limits and driving, I'll touch on getting around the Big Island. Driving here is not like driving at home or anywhere else I've been in the United States. First, the island is indeed big. It is the largest island in the US. It can take upwards of 2-3 hours to get from one of the two population centers to the other (Kailua-Kona and Hilo). If you drive the southern route, it can take 4 or more hours. Second, the landscape is varying, but almost always mountainous. There are 5 mountains (Kohala, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Kilauea) that form the mountain. To get anywhere you are always going up or down one of these mountains. Third, there are very few (good) roads on the island and the main roads are mostly those that circumnavigate the island. So, just about all the towns are off of these roads. If you need to get from say Kea'au to Captain Cook there is only one road. All of this means that traffic can be an issue, surprisingly. Especially around the more touristy areas or population centers. High traffic areas that we have seen so far include Hwy 19 between the Waikoloa Beach area and Kailua-Kona (especially from KOA on down south), between Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Hilo, the area around Kailua-Kona, and the area around Hilo. Generally, the traffic flows, though. Tourists usually go the speed limit or up to 5-10 MPH above. The locals generally go from 5 MPH below up to the speed limit. This proves that when you're on an island there's not many places to get to.

Back to the naritive. The 35 MPH part of the road was through forest. When the road straightened out, the landscape was open lava fields and scrub plains owning to the higher altitude. Mauna Loa could easily be seen in to the south, while Mauna Kea was prominent to the north. We finally made it to the access road. It is not well marked and we almost missed it. We began to climb though gently sloping grass land used for cattle. There were pu'u (cinder cones) punctuating the landscape. After ascending a few thousand feet we arrived at the visitor center. There were numerous and ominous signs saying that we must stop and get information on the drive to the summit. Actually it is a good idea to stop period. The visitor center is at about 9200 feet above sea level. Altitude sickness really starts to affect people at 10,000 feet. So, it is a good idea to stop and acclimate to the altitude.

The visitor center is pretty nice. There are good restrooms and a drinking fountain (important since the place we are staying at does not have potable water). There are informational videos and other information. They even sell engine oil, transmission fluid, and brake fluid in the bookstore/gift shop. During the evening they even put out telescopes for the public. We hung out there for about an hour. We had lunch in the picnic area, stocked up on water, and bought some freeze dried ice cream.

We asked if any observatories were open to the public. Turns out that on the weekends none are unless you are with the guided tour that leaves from the visitor center in the afternoon. We didn't want to wait for them, but we got the OK to meet up with them at the Keck I observatory around 2:30pm. While we were getting ready to leave the visitor center, an English gentleman approached us and asked if we would give him a ride up to the summit. It seems that he had a regular car and "they" wouldn't let him go up unless he had a 4WD vehicle. That is false. You can go up in a 2WD vehicle. No one will stop you. However, "they" high recommend that you take a 4WD vehicle. The slopes are in excess of 17% grade and the road is unpaved for part of the way. We politely declined him, not wanting to be liable for some random guy.

Actually, the road wasn't that bad. Sure it is steep and there are hairpin turns and drop offs. What mountain road isn't? The road is plenty wide for 2 vehicles to pass, which was my concern. The unpaved portion of the road was a washboard and pretty rough, but that was the worst of it. Apparently, in the winter the road can get icy (I believe it), but since this was the summer that wasn't an issue. We put the Jeep in 4WD-Lo (as per what the staff at the visitor center recommended) and crept up at around 15 MPH.

We bought a guide book in the visitor center, which told us about what was on the road up to the summit. We stopped where it said there was access to a lake on the mountain. The lake, called Lake Wai'au, is at 13,020 feet. It is fed by melting permafrost left from the last ice age. A tropical lake fed by permafrost - neat! The short hike (about 20 minutes each way) took us through a moonscape. There is no vegetation up there, only loose rock left from eruptions. At 13,000 feet, though, the hike was a bit rougher than expected. The elevation really makes it difficult. On the way into the lake we stopped half a dozen times to catch our breaths. After cresting one final ridge we saw the lake. It isn't very big; most might call it a pond. The ancient Hawaiians believed it would bring good luck to place a baby's umbilical cord as an offering by the lake. I'm not sure if the practice is still followed, but there were offerings on the shore. We took some pictures and enjoyed the view for a while before heading back. The way back was much easier since it was mostly downhill.

Back at the Jeep, we made the finaly ascent to the summit area. It was really cool to see all the observatories spinkled about the summit area. There are 12 telescopes up there, including the famous Keck I & II. We drove around a bit and got some nice pictures of the telescopes with clouds below them. You could even see Haleakala on Maui. The telescopes are on a circular ridge and in the valley below we saw some genuine Hawaiian snow. In the winter they get several feet of snow. We saw the snow removing equipment down at the visitor center. It is crazy to think that warm, tropical Hawaii needs snowplows, but they do!

We met up with the tour group at the Keck I observatory. We got to go in and see the telescope. I guess most of the time they actually move the telescope, but they didn't this time for whatever reason. Oh well, I guess we'll have to come back. Inside the room where the telescope was, it was cold. It was the temperature of the outside air during the night time. The reason is to keep air turbulence to a minimum. You could see the large liquid nitrogen tanks that were keeping the room cold.

Back outside, the tour guide told us a bit about the other telescopes. About that time the wind kicked up and we decided that we had had enough. So, we began the trek back down the mountain. Going down is the most dangerous because of the danger of brakes overheating. The Jeep did extremely well. In first gear even on the steeps it would only get to around 25 MPH. I didn't have to use the brake much at all. Mauna Kea was a very cool trip and worth the effort to get to.

On the way back to the house, we stopped in Hilo for supplies. The people we were staying with recommended the KTA supermarket on Hwy 11 and Puainako St. Traffic was picking up and the market was really busy. I'm beginning to think that things like that are always busy on the island. There are just a limited amount of places where you can buy things like milk and cereal.

Once we got back to the house, we attempted to fire up the grill. The grill was charcoal and the charcoal was provided, as was lighter fluid. We could not, however, find any way to light the grill. There were no matches or lighters to be found. Next door is the Kalani Oceanside Retreat. They have a little shop, so we walked over in hopes of finding matches or a lighter. The shop smelled of patchouli, but at least they sold lighters. The burgers sure did taste good after going to the top of Mauna Kea!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305513/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305513/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305513/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:15:15 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Kalapana, Hawaii, United States

As soon as we got up, we began getting our remaining stuff together. We sure had a bunch - at least for now we didn't have to worry about weight restrictions on baggage. The bellhop would not let us borrow a lugguage cart. He claimed it was because their insurance wouldn't let them. So, we had to shlep all our stuff in multiple trips. To make it worse, it was another clear day - meaning it was HOT. After many grunts, groans, and gallons of sweat we packed the Jeep and checked out.

Our plan was to head around the southern portion of the island. Going north would have been faster, but since we were going to be staying in the Waipi'o Valley area we figured we would be able to see the north later. This would be our only chance to see the south. The drive through Kailua-Kona was trying. There was ridiculous amounts of traffic for an island in the middle of the Pacific. The guide on the tour yesterday said that 10 years ago Kailua-Kona had about 8000 people living in it. Now it has closer to 30,000. My guess is that the road infrastructure failed to keep up with the amount of people that use it.

We passed Kailua-Kona and gradually worked our way up in elevation. It began to get cooler and greener. We were leaving the dry area. The contrast between the two areas is sharp, indeed. North of Kailua-Kona and around the resorts, is the rain shadow of Mauna Kea and Kohala. It is super dry, which means no clouds, which means lots of sun. Just what a mega resort wants. The landscape was scrub and coarse yellow grass with old lava flows streaking through it. Very inhospitable and desolate. The rainy side of the island is basically a rain forest. There is green everywhere. It rains a lot. Most every day there is rain, but the rain showers do not last all that long. Hilo gets over 200 inches of rain a year. It is the rainiest city in the US.

South of Kailua-Kona, we stopped at a small fruit shop and picked up some fresh fruit. We wanted to have lunch at South Point and fruit sounded like a good addition to sandwiches. A while later we came to the turn off for South Point. The landscape changed from mountains to gently sloping grassland. Then the wind picked up...and didn't stop. There is a wind farm down there for a good reason. The road grandually went from a decent paved two lane road, to a paved one and a half lane road, to a barely paved one lane road, to a dirt one lane road, to a two track. Quite a few locals were in the area fishing and hanging out. One one side there are shear cliffs that they were jumping off of. It looked like fun, but I didn't have my swim suit on.

We went a little further and found the southern most point in the US. The ever present wind was howling - literally. The waves were crashing violently on the black lava rock shore. It was a surreal place. We had lunch sitting on the rocks by the shore. We took lots of pictures of the surf and the scenery. Looking back inland, it didn't look like tropical Hawaii. It looked like temperate Kansas with lots of flat land with green grass...and cows.

Our next destination was the green sand beach in Mahana Bay. Little did we know the adventure that awaited us. This little escapade was worth the price of the Jeep. There are two ways to get there: walk along the shore or drive over two tracks. It is 2.5 miles from where we were, so we went for the driving method. The trails were just wretched. It was a mix of extremely rocky old lava flows and sandy areas. There were quite a few vehicles and people walking so I wasn't worried about getting stranded. I was worried about damaging the Jeep, though. We took it slow, though, and came out unscathed. It was a super bumpy, but super fun ride. When we finally got there, it was worth it. There was a huge greenish rock formation that was being erroded away. The erroded cliff was what made up the green sand. Yes, the sand was green. There were a bunch of people there boogie boarding and just enjoying the unique beach. We climbed down the cliff and played in the sand a bit, and took it all in. The drive back along the two tracks didn't seem that long or dangerous. I guess it was the unknown factor that added to the drama. All in all, it was one of our favorite activities so far.

It had taken us longer to get to the green sand beach than we had anticipated. So, we decided to go straight for our guest house in Kalapana. The drive from South Point to Volcanoes National Park took us through some stunning country side. Everything was lush and green along the southern and eastern slopes of Mauna Loa. When we finally got to the park, we began our slow ascent up Kilauea. We topped out at just of 4000 feet. We could see the gas plume from the Pu'u 'O'o vent as we passed, but not the vent itself.

On the other side of the park, the traffic increased tenfold. I didn't remember this much traffic last time I was there. I guess everything has grown, not just Kailua-Kona. About an hour of agonizing traffic later and we were past the Pahoa area and out of the worst of it. We made it the rest of the way and even saw the steam from the lava hitting the ocean by Kaimu.

The Aloha Alani house in Kalapana was a very nice little place. It is on a secluded piece of land. Actually, this area of the island is rather backwoods. The house has two bedrooms, kitchen, large bathroom, a lower living area, an upper living area, and a nice patio area (with charcoal grill!). We met the proprietors: Chad and Sue. They were nice and showed us around and how everything worked. We unloaded the Jeep and settled in. Then we decided to see the lava, which was only 15 minutes away.

Because of where it is flowing now, you can't actually see the lava. You can see the steam where the lava meets the sea and you can sometimes see the orange glow reflected in the steam plumes. It was quite disappointing compared to the last time I was there and could actually touch the laval if I wanted to. That was on park land. This viewing area was on state land (I think). The state had a little operation there to keep people organized and to keep them from getting to the lava and potentially getting themselves killed (the viewing area is about 1/2 mile from the lava). We took some pictures and video and stayed until twilight.

We were both hungry, thristy, and tired so we left to hunt down some food and water. The nearest place was in Kalapana. It was a very local place. There was a little cafe that reminded me of the Tasty Treat in Fennville and a tiny convience store. Sarah and a TLT (a BLT, but with turkey) and I had a loco moco (a meat on rice with a sauce). Both of which were good. For future reference, they have ice cream, too. We got some water (the water at the house is cistern and not potable) and some lunch meat for tomorrow. Tomorrow we head to the summit of Mauna Kea!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305374/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305374/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245305374/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:11:50 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, United States

No rush in the morning. We had reservations with Captain Zodiac for a morning tour and snorkel. The day before, though, they called and offered to "upgrade" us to the longer tour that started later. We surmised that they had overbooked the earlier trip. The day was the clearest we had seen so far. In the tropics, clear means hot. And hot it was. Soon after we checked in we were on our way. We had about 12 passengers on the boat total. I guess they hold a maximum of 16, so we were "lucky". The tour started out kind of rough for me because the crew (Karl and Mitch) were a bit pushy. Hey, I'm on vacation...I don't want to be told what to do. The crew relaxed once we got underway and were better.

The ride out to the snorkel site was fun. It was an hour and a half of bouncing around. Sarah loved it. They punctuated the rough ride with short stops to point out things. It was a good way to get another view of Kailua-Kona. Eventually we made it to Kealakekua Bay. This is the site of Captain Cook's Monument. They tossed us in the water and told us to snorkel to our heart's content or until 45 minutes were up. The reef here was much better than the ones I saw while scuba diving. They were way less beat up. The reef here was a wall-type that dropped off almost immediately to 100+ feet. I practiced free diving and could get down to 40-45 feet without too much trouble. Sarah also practiced diving and clearing her ears.

After snorkeling time was over, we motored back to Honokohau Harbor. Along the way we stopped at some sea caves. These were actually old lava tubes at one time. There was also a formation that is said to be Madam Pele herself. The rocks look like a woman laying on her side.

Back in the harbor, we said our goodbyes and headed into Kailua to look for a camera shop (I wanted a cheap 50mm lens) and some souvenirs. We came across Hilo Hatties and bought a bunch of stuff for ourselves and family and friends. I picked up some Hawaiian shirts of $15. A far cry from the $70 Hawaiian shirts at the Waikoloa resort area. The camera shop was hard to find. I had the address, but the addresses here are odd. They usually start with a two digit number then have a longer number separated by a dash. Tomtom does not allow me to put a dash in the house number. So we drove around aimlessly for a while until we happened to stumble on it. Alas, they were charging much more for a 50mm prime than I could get online. So, I passed.

This night was to be our last at the Marriott. So, we began the process of gathering up our stuff. At this time, the downside of not staying at the same place for the entire time manifested itself. We had acquired more stuff (food and souvenirs) and now we had to move it all. But that was for tomorrow. For now, we just gathered it up.

We had made dinner reservations at Donatoni's in the Hilton. We were told that we *had* to see the Hilton, so we figured this would kill two birds with one stone - get something to eat and see the Hilton. The Hilton was something else. It is huge - 3 buildings all connected by both a tram and a boat service. Yes, they have a canal wide enough to accommodate two boat widths (the boats go in both directions). They main lobby area is massive. The ceilings must be 30 feet tall. All throughout the resort you can find countless pieces of art. Our guidebook says $7 million dollars worth. This place is like the Disney World of the Big Island (minus the rides, but they do offer daycare!).

We took the boat to Donatoni's. While we waited for our table, we ordered some awesome Sauvingon Blanc from Noblio in New Zealand. Mark the bartender helped us pick it out. He even knew some old MSU football players. Donatoni's had a great deal where you got all you could eat tapas plus a glass of wine for $29/person. That was one of the better deals we had come across, so we took them up on it. The food was really good. They had a thin slab of ahi with some kind of peanut sauce that was to die for. I had two. Because it was our honeymoon, they even gave us free glasses of champagne. It was the best dining experience we had so far.

On the way back to the lobby, we opted to walk. We passed by hundreds of pieces of art. We were a little tipsy and so took each others picture next to many of them. Once we made it back to the hotel, we didn't last long since we were trying to get an early start tomorrow. In the morning we would start our trek to the other side of the island!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245304754/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245304754/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1245304754/tpod.html Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:09:27 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, United States

We had a lazy morning and didn't get going until a bit later. We had the morning and afternoon free so we decided to head up the coast and check out some sites. We hit the Pu'ukohala Heiau, which is a religious structure built by Kamehameha the Great. We walked around quite a bit and took pictures and video. I tried out the 70-200m f/2.8 lens I rented. It was pretty cool to be able to zoom in so much and have image stabilizing. The f/2.8 let me shoot at 1/2000 in the sunlight.

Speaking of sunlight it was hot there. We were further north and away from the vog that settles around the Kailua-Kona area. So, it was clear. Clear enough that we could see Haleakala on Maui. It was pretty cool to see it over the ancient Hawaiian ruins.

For lunch we went a mile or so further north into the little port town of Kawaihae. We have the guidebook "Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed". It is an excellent guidebook when it comes to activities and sightseeing. We're finding that it is not so great at pointing out the best restaurants. Or at least we are not their target audience. Case in point: the Kawaihae Harbor Grill. After hiking around in the hot sun, we really craved a burger and a beer. So far, we've had a hard time finding a good burger...or any burger. So, we were delighted to find that The Kawaihae Harbor Grill did indeed serve burgers with a mound of fries. The burgers and fries were delicious. The staff was friendly and attentive, as well. The only thing this place lacked was a view. Kawaihae is a port town and so had large storage tanks along the shore. We got a good view of one of those tanks. That was OK, however, because we came for the food not the view. Oh, and the prices were way less than down in the resort area.

After lunch we poked around the few shops in Kawaihae. I wanted to get a Hawaiian shirt that didn't cost $70. Nothing really caught my eye. We did stop at a dive shop and finally got some anti-fog for our masks. The helpful sales clerk pointed out some good snorkeling beaches for us, too. Unfortunately we couldn't take advantage of them because we had to be back for the luau.

Back at the Marriott, we did go snorkeling for about a half an hour before getting ready for the luau. The luau was pretty cool. When we arrived we got our picture taken (which we could later buy for $40) and were given shell leis. When they opened the doors, we were seated right up front. We sat with a family from California and a military couple from Virginia. This particular luau had an open bar, which we took full advantage of (as did the miliatry couple). After an hour or so of sitting around and talking (and drinking) they served the meal. It was a huge buffett of salad, pasta salad, potato salad, vegetables, mahi mahi, teriyaki steak, tarot, poi, and of course roast pig. We basically stuffed ourselves.

After dinner the show began. They had dancers perform various dances from across Polynesia. At one point they picked men from the audience to come on stage and make fools of themselves. Of course, they singled me out and I had to go on stage. Of course, I made a fool of myself. They finished the show with fire twirling, which was pretty neat. The front row seat sure made that exciting.

At some point during the day, I looked into why my MP3 player was out of batteries they day I went diving. It turns out that it will not shut off. If I tried to turn it off, a second later it would turn itself back on again. If it turned itself off after not being used, it would turn itself back on again. I'm not sure what to do about it - it might be hosed. For now, I guess we enjoy the continuous music.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1244520000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1244520000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amadhatter/2/1244520000/tpod.html Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:30:24 -0400 Big Island Honeymoon

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Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, United States

I went for my first dive in Hawaii today. I met up with Steve and Bob, the operators of Wanna Dive? charters, at Honokohau Marina just south of KOA. They were easy on me with a meet up time of 9:00am. I hung out while they got the boat ready. Some of the other divers, Jake and Casey were there. Jake and Casey were originally from Seattle. Casey had moved to the Kona area recently. The other pair of divers, Steve and Gloria, arrived shortly there after. They were from Sierra Madre near Los Angeles.

We launched the boat and shoved off. We saw a pod of dolphins on our way out of the harbor. Our first stop was a place called Hoover's. It was named after a long gone moray eel. The reef was made of pinnacles and we stayed with Bob, the dive master, as one group. Bob pointed out various critters that inhabit the reef. I even picked out a spotted eel hiding in the reef. After an hour or so, we circled back to the boat, but I still had 1000 PSI left in my tank. I guess all those years diving with Dad, who sips air, paid off. So, Bob and I poked around a bit more. Bob even found a tiger moray in those last few minutes.

Back on the boat, we rested and ate sandwiches provided by the dive outfit. Since we were right off the airport we had good seats to see two military planes practice touch and go maneauvers over and over again. Tax dollars at work, I guess. Eventually, we turned the boat around and headed back toward the harbor.

Along the way we stopped at our second dive site. I can't remember the name of it, but it was just north of the harbor entrance. This area featured ancient lava flows. The remnants of lava tubes created arches where all but a small portion of the tube collapsed. There was far less coral, possible from Hurricane Iniki that hit in the 80s. This dive was deeper. We hit about 75 feet at the deepest. I managed to spot an eagle ray as it glided along a sand shoot and up on to the reef. Again, toward the end eveyone else went up to the boat as I burned the last of my tank. Nothing too exciting this time. Back on the boat, we packed up our stuff and motored back to the launch.

Those two dives were my first in almost 9 years. I used to dive quite a bit back in the day. College and then living in landlocked Lansing got me out of the sport. Dive certification doesn't ever expire. However, as you can imagine if you haven't done it in a while you get rusty. I found that it was just like riding a bike, though. I slipped back into the dive mode pretty easily. That's how I was able to stay down longer than most. It sure was nice to strap on a tank again.

Because I was able to stay 80+ minutes underwater, we were late getting to the launch and I was late getting back to the Marriott. I was too late to do anything else, so we took our time cleaning up and getting ready to go out to dinner.

I had made reservations at the Coast Grille in the Hapuna Price Resort a few miles up the road from the Marriott. We kind of got lost getting to the resort. You can see the resort between the highway and the shore, but you can't get to it by any road that runs toward the shore. No, you have to go past the resort and turn inland. There is an underpass that goes under the highway and back out to the resort. I guess they really want to keep the riff-raff away. While we were lost, we stumbled on Hapuna Beach State Park. We found a terrible two-track that led to a great vantage point to watch the sunset, which we did.

The Hapuna Resort was very nice. It is built into the hillside, so the lobby is on the top floor and the rest of the resort is below it. The lobby was absolutely huge and open to the ocean. It was impressive. The Coast Grille was nice, though not stellar. They made Sarah a drink called a lava flow that was tasty.

What we've found so far is that restaurants are super expensive compared to the mainland. I had a chicken dish at the Coast Grille that was $24. That was one of the cheapest dishes. A beef dish will run you anywhere from $32-$50 a plate. Drinks are pretty pricey, too, with beers running $7-$9 and drinks $10-$12. The area we are staying in is particularly expensive. We hope prices calm down a bit the further away from the resort district we get.

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