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1 December 2002
Season’s Greetings everyone!
No – this isn’t the dreaded Christmas letter – just a long overdue newsletter.
We just returned from a week-long vacation to the BIG Island, a.k.a. the island of Hawaii. What a great experience! Easily our favorite Hawaiian destination thus far and the best family vacation we’ve had in some time. We flew into Hilo and spent the day exploring the beauty of the eastern shore before heading inland to Volcanoes National Park where we spent our first three nights. We stayed in a very comfortable two-bedroom cabin at the Kiluea Military Camp which is located within the Park. We spent two full days of hiking and driving to points of interest within the park which included incredible views of active lava flows and recently dormant calderas. We hiked through several older lava fields which ranged in age from 1 to 60 years. The footing was uneven throughout and our footfalls often sounded like we were stepping on broken glass. Though we managed to stay upright, we heard many stories of people who were badly cut from minor falls onto jagged lava rocks.
The highlight of the trip was a sunset/nighttime hike across the most recent lava flow to view the current flow as it reached the ocean. Our closest approach to the active flow was probably a couple hundred yards. We noted several people moving beyond the marked trail to catch a closer view of the lava – but we were satisfied with the views from the relative safety of the trail. From the Park we drove around the southern tip of the island to the resort town of Kona on the western coast. Along the way we stopped off at Black Sand Beach (the name gives away its interest as a tourist spot) and at South Point – aptly named as the southern-most point in the United Stated – 500 miles further south than Miami.
Kona is famous as the location of Capt Cook’s first Hawaiian landfall (not to mention the spot of his violent death some years later). King Kamehameha – the first Hawaiian ruler attributed with uniting the islands under central control also ruled from and died on Kona’s shores. Hawaii’s first palace and Christian church are located across the street from each other on the Kona coast as well. The Kona harbor is also the starting point of the world-famous Hawaii Ironman Triathalon. All of these central points of interest were within about 200 yards of our hotel – the King Kamehameha Resort of course. Our Kona trip highlights included a snorkeling and sailing excursion on a catamaran and a beachfront Luau. Christopher amazed us by pulling on a mask and fins and jumping into the ocean to snorkel. Even I was a bit leery jumping into 30 feet of water the first time (all of our Oahu snorkeling has been from the shoreline in less than 15 ft of water). Not Christopher – he jumped without hesitation and even dove 6-10 feet to chase fish hiding among the coral. I managed to dive to the ocean floor once then immediately pushed off for the surface. At that depth without a tank I wasn’t about to loiter. Without question Kona is on our list for repeat visits.
Our first Hawaii Thanksgiving was spent at Bellows Beach with about 80 other people who joined together for a fabulous potluck feast at a beachside outdoor pavillion. The food was traditional – though the warm-up activity was not. Christopher and I played in the surf for a couple hours before the feast working on our boogie boarding skills. The surf was a bit rough so I pulled Christopher through the breakers each time and then gave him well-timed pushes so he could catch waves all the way to the beach. Christopher had a blast – and he quickly wore me out.
In September we visited family in Pennsylvania and Iowa in conjunction
with one of my business trips to the east coast. We thoroughly
enjoyed seeing our family and friends – some for the first time in a couple
years. This was our first family trip to the “mainland” since moving
to Hawaii from Japan. The hectic pace of the east coast in our opinions
has increased dramatically since our last visit and did nothing to motivate
us to push for a return to HQs anytime soon. We were fortunate enough
to run across Dave and Lisa Covert in Maryland shortly before their return
to Misawa. Seeing Dave and Lisa again reminded us of how much we
miss Misawa. As much as we enjoy Hawaii we definitely miss the change
of seasons that we know Misawa is enjoying right now. I didn’t realize
how much Patti missed the seasonal weather changes until we spent a few
nights at 4000 ft elevation in Volcanoes National Park. Patti was
never happier than when she put on her fleece jacket to fend off an evening
chill. You can check out some of the pictures from our trip
by visiting our web page at: http://andhow.freeservers.com/
Christopher turned five years old in November - we managed a small birthday/pool party in his honor. He is very proud to be five years old and we don’t hesitate to remind him that his is becoming a big boy now with new responsibilities. I’m a bit torn about having him do things himself now – bathing, getting dressed, even picking up after himself. Of course we’re proud he is anxious to be more independent but we’ll never get those “little boy” years back.
Of course we enjoy opening our pool for friends on the weekends and I’ve managed to get out to a golf course every 2-to-3 weeks – my game has marginally improved since my PCS. Still whacking at 100+ but sneaking closer to two-digit territory. On the tech front our 1999-era computer gave up the ghost recently – burning up the primary hard drive in the process. Fortunately I had performed a full backup on the secondary drive a month earlier – loss is minor. The replacement system is a Sony 2.66GHz model w/DVD burner, 1GB of RAM and 120GB HD. We’ve already transferred our old 8mm family film to DVD and will probably have Santa bring us a digital camcorder for Christmas. Say bye-bye to the analog age.
Well those are the main events. Have a great December!
Terry, Patti, and Christopher
Terry, Patti, and Christopher
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