Checking in ...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 6:48PM On the Big Island.
Where the lava meets the road...
Last night, after touring South Point (the southernmost part of the U.S.), we trekked to where the lava flows into the sea (volcano national park here), getting within a few miles to watch remotely at sunset. Wasn't going too far on foot on jagged lava flows using only flashlights to guide. Had that angle covered today, anyway. Still, pretty amazing to watch the red fire even from a distance at night. So amazingly dark down there, except for that: black lava ground, black sky, black ocean.
Today we get up and go snorkeling in the two nicest bays here on the island for that purpose. That was pretty amazing. Swimming with sea turtles and all those fish and checking out the coral. A bit otherworldly to be in the fish tank, especially given my fear of water. But it was a blast. I could have done it all day.
Then we took a helicopter tour of the island, which was beyond unreal. Three best parts: 1) flying over the active volcano from which all that lava flows and looking inside the crater to see a lot of action going on; 2) checking out the lava flows as they enter the ocean (really hard to see except from sea), and 3) the later half of the 2.5-hour tour that had us going into remote valleys and seeing a number of fantastic waterfalls (the biggest was 2,400-feet, which is "Lord of the Rings" fantastic).
Beat now, but sneaking off for 20th anniversary dinner with wife. The resort we're staying at it is almost Disneyesque in sheer scope. Have to take a monorail to our rooms!
Naturally, this all runs up a nice bill, but how how many 20-anniversaries do you celebrate in one's life? And how cool is it to snorkel with your kids among coral reefs?
I learned a long time ago: vacations are when you spend money. It's the rest of the year when you're a tightwad.
Tomorrow? Different form of flight and different form of undersea.
As always, we'll really need a vacation AFTER our vacation. Someday I'll figure out how to actually take one where I rest, but I guess it's just not in my nature.
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