Sticks and Stars

Yesterday was Volcano Day on the great island of Hawaii…or at least so far as our caravan was concerned…although I suppose we were not so much a “caravan” as a “minivan.” But before we could venture out into the steamy and lava filled jungles, we were first treated to a tour of the plantation upon which we will be staying for the week.

They grow coffee here, and have a huge garden filled with many fruit trees, and they grow tropical flowers. I know that people really like the flowers although I, personally, could take them or leave them (although I do like the orchids), but what really impressed me was the coffee. I got to pick coffee cherries off the tree, split them open to see the thin layer of sweet fruit that covers the seeds/beans, watch them be milled and dried, and then stand in the thick roasting smoke. And of course, I drank a cup or two as well. We had fresh papaya and tangerines for breakfast, fresh rambutan as an afternoon snack, and fresh bananas after dinner. And when I say fresh, I mean walk-outside-and-pick-some fresh. Of course we ate other things too (namely peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips, topped off with dinner at a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant that seemed like neither) but tropical fruits are expensive and not that common when we are home, so picking them off a tree right outside one’s bedroom window seems quite exotic.

The people we are staying with (my boys’ grandma and her boyfriend — who I think I will start calling Grandma and Papi because that’s what the boys call them and that’s easier to type) are so nice. They really, really want us to have a good time. They delight in taking my five year old out to feed the chickens and look for eggs, they love finding treats that will make my one year old grin and reach eagerly for more. When we were driving out to see the volcano they discussed at length how we could stop at both volcano museums because they know that I like “that sort of thing.” And indeed, the museums were fascinating! I had no idea that the chain of Hawaiian islands were formed by the movement of the pacific plate over a thin spot in the crust where magma was continually erupting. And there’s even another island currently forming.

By far most amazing, though, were the lava flows. We saw no hot lava (although we saw lots of steam and we plan to check the other side of the island for the possibility of the hot stuff because it’s always flowing somewhere) but we drove past and over miles and miles and miles of cold lava flows. I saw a couple maps outlining all the places lava had flowed over the island (and where it still remains because it doesn’t exactly just wash out to sea) and it was pretty incredible. I’ll post a couple photos that hopefully show some of the coolness.

(In the last photo the black is the lava flow.)

After a long and incredibly tiring day (that resulted in way, way too much sun for me — my face and arms and legs and bright red…I’ve heard of this thing called “sun screen” and I might look into it) we came home to a surprise birthday celebration for my five year old, complete with papaya cheesecake. Then the boys tumbled into bed with Grandma and Papi and watched some tv while I spent a little alone time with my computer (writing last night’s entry and chatting with friends).

It was a good first day. I can’t say it was lay-on-the-beach relaxing (although maybe having two kids puts a permanent end to that sort of relaxing) but it was fun.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 10:16 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.