Rambling Thoughts

Time: I miss Hawaiian time.  In Hawaii, the traffic was slower.  Why?  What are you rushing to get to?  Traffic speed was closer to the speed limit and sometimes under the speed limit.  My brother Mark didn't get Hawaiian time until the last day of his visit.  He is from Southern California and everyone is always rushing everywhere.  In Hawaii, you don't want to rush or you will miss seeing something spectacular.  Also, most of the roads were two lanes only.  There are lots of curves and views of the ocean.

Animals:  It was amazing the number of different animals on the island.  On the drive to the volcano, we saw many different animals.  One was a dog crossing the highway.  Others were goats, zebras, long horned cattle, llamas, horses, regular cattle, and possibly a flock of nene.  Nenes are Hawaii Geese that are endangered. 

Another animal that was seen frequently was the gecko.

Plants abound in Hawaii, even on the dry side where we were at.  Plumeria, hibiscus, and bougainvillea were blooming everywhere.  The sweet smell of plumeria scented the air, especially at night.  The photos below were taken at the house we stayed at.  These are only two examples of the colors everywhere else.

Even plantains were growing next door.  A botanist would have a field day on Hawaii cateloging all the plants.

 You see the back of Mark, who is 6'3" tall.  The ferns are very tall.

Lava:  Everywhere there is some visible form of lava.  The different ages of lava flows.  The darker the newest. 

Below are different types of lava.

This is the only above ground lava flowing on the island.  This is seen from Mark and Heather's helicopter ride.  No lava is actually entering the ocean from an above ground source.  All lava is coming from a below water source creating pillow lava.