jOyUS TiMes!!

I just finished a school project with one of my beloved grandsons - Nate. He's a big second grader already, and a really good reader, and he must like his old Gram OK, because he invited me to help him with this special, lengthy FLAT Nate class project. His teacher sent Nate's flat friend to me with instructions in the mail (one of the advantages of being flat is that you can travel in the mail). So off we went for 11 days of adventures together, until time for Flatty to return to Ms. Doty (via the mail, of course) with a letter/diary and photos of his adventures with this old broad. It was fun for me, so I hope my REAL Nate is pleased with the end result. I trust he will tell me...

We found big waves at a small park. & there we are in snorkle gear, SO cute. And one of the best times was that morning in the Kona Temple.

2008-02-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

2008-02-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Except for a few specific things, what Bob and I most wanted to do was just relax and feel the flavor and differences of the Big Island, meet some of the people - both native-born and tourists - and enjoy each other in this special part of the world, with the misty rains of Hawaii upon us. So THAT is what we did! The flying we did the first couple of days gave us great opportunity, especially with Bob's abilities, to find our way to every place we specially wanted to see, and to have several adventures along a few by-roads and rivers. . .

2008-01-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

MORE Hawai'i

2008-01-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

Moving over to the Hilo (east) side, EVERY river has waterfalls and pools all along it. This side of the island gets around 300 inces of rainfall each year - people catch it in their pools and run it through their hoe water systems.
Like macadamias? This is the largest of the "MacNut" farms near Hilo....

Then, the east side drops off (about 500 feet!) into the ocean.....breathtaking.

This was our 3rd time to this most beautiful multi-island-state

2008-01-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Mauna Kea - snowy white above the island of Hawai'i----
far below those clouds, a molten river running more than 2000 degrees F - we could see it bubbling up out of the ground, all neon-red and black!
This is how the lava flow stopped after oozing and burning into the jungle in the 1980's---
Here is a close-up view of the flow just below the "vent" - we are so glad we opted for the fixed wing flight...GREAT idea, Bob!

( We were all grinning, since we each had our own window for the flight - This is the 3rd of these islands we've come to. The plan is to stay on a different island each trip, then take one of those fancy cruises to visit them all! )
Mauna Loa (Long Mountain) peeking above the clouds. Mauna Kea is taller and has snow as you saw - even skiing.
One of the bigger volcano 'vents' now active..it's incredible to see, and a little frightening!

Some of the smaller vents, letting off steam above the lava flows...