Getting the Routine Down

I've been scolded for going 10 days with no blog. Mostly I've been working. **Clients reading this will be pleased. I found an old desk in the garage and dragged it onto the back porch and set my computer up so I could keep an eye on the dog while she roams the backyard.

We're still in explore mode on the weekends. We haven't gone more than 30 miles East or West of our house. On Saturday, we drove about 6 miles west to the Ka'u Desert trailhead. We hiked about 2 miles in. At first the trail is very obvious-it's a well-maintained gravel path leading to a building that preserves footprints in the hardened ash of a warrior party that died when Kilauea erupted 150 or so years ago. Then the path ends and the trail is marked with lava rock cairns that look alot like all the rest of the piled up lava rocks. On the way back we met a couple who had moved here about 7 months ago-they were walking their rather large Irish Setter. We exchanged air cargo horror stories.

Sunday (Father's Day) we had hula dancers at church, and a big lunch afterwards. This is not trashy touristy hula, more like a group of people doing very rhythmic sign language with ukelele accompaniment. Dean and Dash went home and I did my weekly Hilo trip. I discovered Home Depot. I had the strangest feeling that I'd walk out and be on Capital Circle instead of Puainiko St.

We went to dinner at some friends Dean made when he first got here. There's a group of about 15 people that seem to all know eachother from the park service, or the neighborhood. I met a woman who invited me to the Volcano Rotary Club-it meets at 6:45am at the Volcano House in the park. I think it will be a good way to get involved in the community.

This weekend I want to go to Kona (about 100 miles away) but I think I'll save it for a rainy week. We are going to see a play at the local theater called "Once Upon One Time"- a pidgin musical. I think Dean is taking Dash to volunteer at a community-wide fountain grass-pulling over in Ocean View. We're also meeting with our realtor to put our lot on the market, if we can sell it soon we're going to try to buy in this neighborhood.

Here's my list of obervations about Hawaii so far.
Things you can't get in Volcano:
Postal delivery to your own house.
Trash pick up.
A decent meal for 3 under $70 without driving to Hilo.
A jar of olives for under $5.
Mosquitoes or red ants. None.

Things in abundance:

Rain and mist.

Breathtaking views while jogging along the crater rim trail.

Very friendly people.

Wild turkeys with their chicks wandering through the streets.

Ahi tuna-mountains of it at the grocery store. Really cheap.

50lb bags of rice and gallon jugs of soy sauce.

Lychee fruit trees.

Rainbows.

Millions and millions of stars right down to the horizon at night.

Spectacluar sunsets over Mauna Loa, right out my backdoor.

Quirky beaurocracy:

Every car must get an annual inspection for $15 to insure all the blinkers, brake lights, headlights, horn etc... are in working order. You can't register your car without the sticker. I think it's all a ploy to prop up gas stations. I'm sure you've heard of the powerful gas station attendant's lobby. No?

Overall

Some combination of the quiet, misty rain, sound of wind in the trees, being able to lay in the grass in my own backyard, has allowed me to stop taking Prevacid and Zantac. I've stopped freaking out.

We've had quite an adventurous weekend, from trespassing to caving. Friday we explored more of Volcanoes National Park, getting a nice lungful of sulphur at the Halema'uma'u crater, and then exploring the Thurston Lava Tube. At the end of the tube there's a gate into another tube with no lights. We started walking in, and quickly found ourselves in complete blackness. Some returning hikers gave us their flashlight and we continued to the end, about 1/4 mile later.

Saturday we drove up a private road, following the signs to "The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls" we get to this nice inn, big parking lot, and start following the signs to the Falls (see above). It's a giant waterfall, what else can I say? When we hike back up, our car is blocked by a pick-up, and we finally track down someone, and he's quite irate. Apparently we are trespassing and should have asked permission. We are just dumb tourists. That was a little stressful, we are feeling unwanted on this lovely island.

Today was much better. We ate pancakes at the Volcano Village Farmers Market before church. I bought a HUGE fuschia orchid. Nothing like going to church to make you feel welcome.

Afterwards, I headed down to Hilo to swim and grocery shop. The pool is... je ne sais quoi. It is on the road to Air Cargo, right next to the runway. I think it was abandoned for many years and used as a skateboard park. Because Kawamoto Swim Stadium is under repair, they've re-opened this one. There is no paint on the bottom-all dark concrete (like swimming in a rock quarry)-with barely visible lines on the bottom, but no lane separators. The water was blessedly warm and there were lots of fellow lap swimmers. There is, however, grafitti on the bottom of the pool, and it's kind of freaky when the planes take-off and land. But because there are people there in swim caps and goggles, I feel strangely at home.

Above are pictures of our house, the pool and the waterfall.

Blogworthy Day

If you click on the photos, you can view a large version in another window)

We went to the Kapoho Hot Ponds and Tide Pools today. Rainwater from higher up percolates down the mountain over hot volcanic rocks and emerges into pools along the ocean. It's about 90 degrees I'd guess, maybe more. Feels like a nice warm bath. One of the pictures above shows Dash playing at the ocean entrance to the hot pond. A man-made channel allows ocean water to flow in and out, making a fun ride for the kids hanging onto the guard rope.

After that we headed back up the road to the tide pools. You walk along natural lava bridges, find a spot and snorkel. Because the water has a chance to warm up in the shallow water, it's very comfortable. The closer to the breakwater, the colder it gets.

When lava flowed down in the area, a wide shallow shelf formed. Parts of it sunk, forming the tide pools. We saw many kinds of colorful tropical fish, bright blue coral, and huge coral fans.

Unblogworthy events of the past week included stripping and re-waxing floors, grocery shopping, picking up my car at the port, washing it, mowing the yard (I haven't done that since 1992!), and working.