Chronicles of Jaysephus: Hawaii Happenings: Part Two

5/05/2010

Hawaii Happenings: Part Two

After a day of acclimation (that seems like it should be upper case for some reason--Day of Acclimation!), we left the calm and secure confines of the resort and ventured out on Monday for an all day excursion to the volcano. We booked the trip through a local company that provided “an opportunity” to ride bikes around the top of the mouth and enjoy a picnic lunch in the process. Kyle and I signed up for bike riding and the girls opted to ride in the van and follow us around.

The day began at 7:45 am when we were picked up at the hotel by the company van (driven by Po [photo 01], the fake Hawaiian from Berkley who was full of authentic Hawaiian knowledge with exact Hawaiian pronunciation-- “The two types of Hawaiian lava differ in appearance but are chemically alike. Pahoehoe has a smoother and ropey surface where `a`a is jagged.”) and driven 2.5 hours to the other side of the island. We made several stops to break up the drive--Kona Coffee Company, a bakery for some donuts [photo 02]--but finally arrived at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park around 11 am. The eight mile bike ride was fun [photo 03] (and easy--check out the folks we rode with before you get too impressed with our endeavor [photo 04]) and it was a unique way to circle the mouth of the volcano. The company drove us back to the resort the opposite way around the island so we were able to get a great overview of the size (big!) and diversity of The Big Island. Basically, it is half lava rock and half rain forest, a dry side and a wet side. By the end of the day we were more interested in engaging in some civilized dining than exploring other civilizations... but that is for another post.