March 7, 2015
One of the first things we learned today was that the Hilo Hattie's store here in Hilo has closed for good. How can this be? Is this a result of global climate change?
The weather was cool and sprinkly and 70 degrees. I know the temperature because we rented a car here. I also know that at elevation 4000 ft the temp was 57. That is where the Visitor's Center for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is located. It is on a volcano named Kilauea. There are two other major volcanoes on this island - Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It was too socked in to see the other volcanoes. Allegedly, there was a snowstorm yesterday on Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa, but we were not able to see for ourselves.
The visitor's center had some interesting exhibits, some knowledgeable rangers, and a nice shop that sold a lot of long-sleeved t-shirts to under-dressed tourists.
Kiluaea is active right now. Lava flows are threatening houses and roads. The lava is all on private property quite a distance away and not visible from the park.
We took the Crater Rim Road and arrived at a small parking lot where you could see steam vents up close and personal. People will throw money in any hole in the ground, and the steam vents were no exception.
Next we came to a lookout over the caldera. The last eruption here was in 1959. There was a smaller caldera inside the huge caldera. The small one was smoking. At night you can see the lava in the bottom glowing red, but not in the daytime.
Our next stop was the Jaggar Science Museum, at the end of Crater Rim Road. There was another lookout here, and an interesting small museum. I liked the volcanic glass called Pele's Hair. It really looks like hair. There are QR codes on everything so that you can listen to more details on your phone.
Tourists were just as bad in 1924.
Heading down Crater Rim Road in the other direction we came to Thurstin Lava Tubes, but it was too crowded to park. We continued on to the trailhead for Devastation Trail. There were only two other cars parked here, but we were met by a welcoming committee:
I wish I knew what these were.
We took a very short hike on Devastation Trail and arrived at another caldera. The trail name refers to the devastation caused by the 1959 eruption. There was a trail down inside the caldera and a lot of people were walking around down there. This is also an area where the Nene can be seen. The Nene is an endangered Hawaiian goose, and also the state bird. We did not see any, but I thought I heard some honking until I realized it was my pants legs rustling together as I walked. Oy!
Walking along this trail gives you a good idea of how long it takes for vegetation to return after an eruption. Very large fiddlehead ferns were well established in many places, but in some areas they were just starting to come back. They seemed to prefer little voids in the lava created during the eruption. Perhaps the large ferns were out of the direct path of the devastation.
Our drive back down to Hilo was uneventful. We decided to try the place recommended by the shuttle driver who took us to the car rental place at the airport - Ken's House of Pancakes. In addition to pancakes, this place has all kinds of local foods. It is your typical greasy spoon, so there is a lot of local color also. Ken ordered Kalua Loco (very flavorful) and I ordered Macadamia Pancakes. For dessert we had Macadamia Pie and Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake (not as good as the PUD at Aloha Mixed Plate).
We took the car back to the airport and then caught the shuttle back to the ship. All the way back we had to listen to a Good Ole Boy bragging about the Jaguar he rented. Okay, that isn't quite accurate. He was bragging about himself because he rented a Jaguar. At least the ride was short.
When we were back in our cabin we went out to our balcony and were able to watch whales just outside the harbor. They were blowing and breaching and showing off. As we sailed away we witnessed quite a bit of whale activity just to the east of the harbor. This is one of the reasons we like balcony cabins.
Before dinner we went to a show called Words and Music. It was in the Vista Lounge, a smaller venue than the theater, and the perfect place to really enjoy the show. It was a tribute to Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, and Somebody Lesser (who wrote Guys and Dolls). Clever staging and costumes, good choreography, and lively music.
At dinner we sat with the couple from the Isle of Man again, along with a couple from Saskatoon. We all talked about what we had done during the day. The Canadians told us they went to Walmart, Starbucks, Macy's and IHOP. I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Why did you
come on this cruise?" The Manx couple (have you ever gotten to use that word outside of the context of cats?) talked about how the Brits didn't always "get" American humor, and we talked about how we didn't get British humor.
After dinner there was a comedian named Tim Walkoe. He was about a C+ or B-. We thought about all the jokes the Brits would not have gotten: his joke about the Chrysler Cordoba with "Corinthian leather" (whatever that is) and the non-traditional colors of AMC Gremlins, a song about the AARP sung to the tune of YMCA, and his Beatles tribute - I Get By with a Little Help from Depends. By now you may have deduced that the average age of the audience is OLD.
When I get home I am going to add a link to Jimmy Buffet's song, Volcano, but you can hum it to yourself now if you know it. Here it is: "Volcano"
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