I’ve never been a sun-and-sand kind of guy, but I’ve enjoyed my time in Hawaii. Sorry I didn’t post much original content while I was here, but my wife gave me the stink eye any time my computer materialized.
I’ve been told Hawaii’s big island (aka Hawaii, aka Kona, aka The Big Island) is a much different experience than most of the other islands. Less tourist-focused, fewer white beaches and surfers. More primal, with vast swaths of empty black land from lava streams within the past century. Black and green sand beaches, an active volcano that you can visit at sunset to see the magma within illuminating the plume of smoke rising from the caldera, rocky coastline that creates amazing tidal pools at low tide.
And I think we found the lost throne of King Kamehameha III.
It’s the kind of place where you can walk around and look down and — whoa — there’s an endangered sea turtle swimming around at your feet. I never thought I’d like Hawaii, but there you go.
I’m writing this on an open porch looking down at the ocean, maybe half a mile from the shore but close enough that you can hear the susurrations of the tide and feel a gentle breeze. It’s going be hard to go back to frigid Raleigh. But that’s where all my stuff that I use for work is, so I suppose we gotta.
Annnnd, now I want to go back. ;)
(The fact that it’s like 10 degrees out certainly doesn’t abate the feeling.)
I can’t help but notice you frequent twitter posts. I live on Oahu but Hawaii is by far my favorite island to visit. It is so much more open and natural than the other islands. Someday I’d like to retire there off of Oahu. There is so much stuff to do their and you really feel the newness of the island. Almost like its alive and still being built. (Which I guess technically it is.) it’s a shame there weren’t any easily viewable lava flows when you were there. It really is a sight to behold at night walking ing up to a slowly moving pahoehoe flow and being bathed in its red light, or hiking a mile into a lava tube with only flashlights. Or hiking in Volcano National park. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit. I just happened to be vacationing In the mainland when you were there and it was pretty damn cold. I was glad to come back. I’ve lived here over 15 years, but I’ve never been to Kauai yet. I also here that island is a great place to visit as well for its lush jungles and valleys and natural beaches. A lot less lava flows there though.
Raleigh is going to be in the 70s this weekend. We’re weird like that.
But yeah, I’m jealous of a Hawaiian vacation… and it’s damn cold right in Raleigh tonight.
I lived in Honolulu for seven years, and my advice is that people who don’t like doing “touristy” stuff should avoid Honolulu/Waikiki like the plague. Sounds like you had one good kine vacation, brah!
Hear, hear!
It’s good to be reminded, as humans, with our everso insulated and convenient and insistently hellishly predictable lives —
Nature, Creation, Order-from-Chaos — Infinite and Infinitesimal Beauty; It rules all. Not even the power of the unending void of Space is enough to stop it.
Where once was old, there will be new. Green sperm will tear down Anything established as final, as frozen, as finished.
There is literally nothing to be more thankful for than that.
Did that tree just sprout up in a really unfortunate spot, or is this the result of it taking a bunch of drugs and having a space laser shoot off a branch?