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Tropical Depression: The Big Island
I love 3-day weekends.
For Kamehameha Day weekend I visited friends on the Big Island (the locally accepted name for the Island of Hawai`i). It's not Australia or anything, not continent big, but it is a lot bigger than O`ahu. Oh, and it has a volcano that's been pumping lava from the Earth's molten core out of the Pu`u O`o vent since 1983. Very. Cool.
Oh Kilauea.
The Big Island also has Mauna Kea which has some pretty high tech telescopes, if you're into that kind of thing.
Other delights include the Hilo Farmer's Market and a really lovely waterfront. We picked up some fresh snapper and ono to marinate for the bar-be-que (a tasty papaya/curry/citrus marinade) and strawberries to have with ice cream.
Because of some technical reason having to do with cracks in the Earth's crust and movement of the tectonic plates and liquid rock, there are thermal vents on the ocean floor that can help keep you warm when you are snorkeling. And the snorkeling was stunning. Live coral. Eels. Fish.
I never get tired of going to the volcano though. Awe. Some.
Here's something you don't see a lot of on the mainland.
That's a palm tree, yes, and the markers on it show the height of the tsunamis that have hit Hilo.
Having a wonderful time, wish you were here.
