5th week in Hilo

What an incredible week! ! ! Linda Carroll, Bob & Myra Gaiser, all friends from Christ Church United Methodist in Santa Rosa, came to Hilo for a visit. We've had a super time, and we've had such good experiences!

It has been cloudy and/or rainy much of the week, but the day Bob and Myra Gaiser arrived, we had a few hours of sun and blue skies, so we took them by Hilo Bay and gardens to see how beautiful this area is when the sun shines!

On Monday Linda, John and I went to a coastal area about 45 minutes from Hilo to visit Geoff Rauch and Lyn Howe -- former managers and gardeners for the Harvest for the Hungry Garden at Christ Church, Santa Rosa. They now own a 2.5 acre farm that has become a fantastic example of sustainable farming. They have worked for 9 years to clear their land of the overgrowth, create soil out of their lava beds, and plant a huge number of fruit and floral trees, a wide variety of vegetables, nuts, fruits, and herbal plants. They are almost completely self-sustainable with solar panels, composting techniques, water collection, aquaculture and fish farming, and all things natural and organic. We were in awe of their knowledge and dedication. I have worked out a field trip for the church to go see their incredible work on Earth Day. It is truly inspiring!

Another awesome part of our experience this week was going to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. Over 2,000 species are found in this one-of-a-kind garden. The 40-acre garden valley is a natural greenhouse, with nature trails that meander through a tropical rainforest, crossing bubbling streams, passing several beautiful waterfalls and the exciting ocean vistas along the rugged Pacific coast. There is no way to include the 100 or so photos I took, so just a few are posted. Gorgeous plants, trees, orchids, vegetation. Awesome!

From the beauty and wonder of the up close and personal, we also traveled through space at Imiloa--the Space Science Museum and Planetarium near our home. Trying to comprehend the expansiveness of the universe is truly mind-boggling. The displays, lectures and shows are so informative and well-done. We became sustaining members so we could take all of our guests there.

We also went to the Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor Center one evening. (Not up to the top where the actual observatories are because you need a 4-wheel drive to get there.) But we did take a supper to eat before it got dark, hiked around on the 9300 ft mountains, with the clouds below us, and then enjoyed a stargazing program of the night sky. Thousands and thousands and thousands of stars. The stars don't even twinkle because the atmospheric pressure is so different at that elevation. Can't help but realizing how terribly miniscule we humans are in the grand scheme of things!

It got very cold so we left before the program was over, but what an experience it was.

One of our last days together we went to the Volcano National Park, stopping at an orchid market on the way. We women each got an orchid for our hair. The aroma and beauty were wonderful!

It was raining where we had hoped to have a picnic lunch, so we huddled in the rental car eating the lunch we had picked up on the way. The hula show we had also hoped to watch had been cancelled due to the rain. And we didn't do the longer hike through the lava fields as planned because of the rain (a pattern here?), but some of us did go through the Lava Tube, a short hike in the fern forest, and a drive down to the area where the lava had once flowed into the ocean.

Did I mention it rained quite a bit this week? In fact, it poured buckets some of the time! All in all, though, a terrific week!

4th week in Hilo

(The date I posted this is Sunday, March 20, not March 17.)

This has been more of a work week than usual. The senior pastor, Tom Olcott, is on a study leave on the mainland, so I've been "in charge." In addition to the three weekly Bible study groups I'm always a part of, I've also done a fair amount of visiting of shut-ins or the elderly, planning for a visioning retreat, meeting with leaders on various projects, planning for sermons and programs coming up. I'm leading the whole service today.


But it's also been a work week around the house. John spent several days painting ceilings and walls in the house/parsonage, and I did some window washing and outside work. We luckily have a washer & dryer, but because it rains so much, we often hang the clothes in our carport. We have also been entertaining the resident geikos that seem to enjoy climbing walls or spying on us from above.

Several times a week John has been walking to the YMCA, which is near us, for a workout. He has also had more time for reading than I have. One of the members loaned us a whole bag of books about the history and culture of Hawaii; we also got library cards from the local library the first week we were here.

We go to the open-air market every few days for fruit, vegetables, flowers. Love it!

And there are always programs going on somewhere. Last night, on the occasion of the Super Moon, we went to the Imiloa Astronomy Center (which is on the University of Hawaii across from where we're living) for a presentation about moons. Did you know the earth's moon is just one of 170 known moons in our solar system? The astronomer showed photos of the surface of various moons -- photos taken by satelite cameras. And a 3-D simulation of Saturn, as well as the first humans to land on the moon. Fascinating! We did get a glimpse of the super moon between clouds and rain.

On Saturday one of the Micronesian groups (the Chuuk group) planned a car wash. It was pouring rain when they were supposed to start. We took our rental car over when it looked like the rain was letting up. As they were drying it, it started pouring rain again. Oh, well. A clean car to ride around in the rain!

Not so much touring as other weeks. But there are blessings just being here -- notice the beautiful lei -- a gift from the wife of the retired chancellor of the University of Hawaii when I visited him in a care facility.

The concerns of the week have obviously been with the compounding tragedy in Japan. One of the women I visited was watching a Japanese TV station -- she understands the Japanese language. A younger Japanese scientist in the congregation (whose husband was working in Japan when the earthquake/tsunami hit) was monitoring the radiation levels and feeling the intensity of the situation. Such painful, heart-wrenching news that continues to come out of Japan. It is a global crisis, obviously, for it affects us all, even if we are only experiencing it from a distance. (No problems in Hawaii, thank goodness!)

3rd Week in Hilo

What a week it's been! It rained a lot the first part of the week, but the last half has been beautiful. The photo above is from a nearby picnic area. Hilo area at its best!

I preached my first sermon at the Church of the Holy Cross.

I ended the sermon with a story about a teacher, and found out there are quite a few teacher-types in the congregation. (I got extra points for that!) Then we participated after the service in the Mardi Gras-type lunch and activities for the congregation. Tom Olcott, senior pastor, is a magician, and performed some fun magic tricks. It was fun to watch the childrens' faces. We all made masks and tried our gift of ventriloquism -- not so hot! Then each of the tables participated in some Minute-To-Win-It type games. We told them that Guy Fieri, host of that TV show, lives just a couple of miles from our Santa Rosa house. (Not sure they were all that impressed!)

On the last day Kristen and Jason were both here, they wanted to be outside in the sun. We tried to have a bbq in one of the parks Sunday afternoon, but it was raining off and on. John tried to get the bbq lit, but it was just too soggy. So we sat with our wine and snacks looking out at the ocean. Then we started seeing blow spouts. Then whales--right in front of us -- 5-6 of them--breaching! It was worth sitting on wet benches! Came home and cooked our delicious fresh ahi, with mud pie for dessert. (My kids favorite!)

Jason left early Monday morning. It was still raining most of the day, so no sun tanning for Kristen's last day here. Instead we went to the Lyman Museum, which included a tour of the original home of some of the first missionaries. Interesting.

John and I went up to Volcano National Park late one afternoon, hoping to see the eruption.

Unfortunately, the only way to see it is from the air. We stayed until dark to see the glow in the crater near the museum -- created by the hot lava below and steam above. But it wasn't very impressive that night, and we were cold, so didn't stay long.

The excitement of the week was the tsunami alert. We had been to a lovely dinner meeting Thursday evening, and soon after we got home, got a call warning us about the alert, but assuring us we were high enough we didn't have to evacuate. Five hours before the tsunami was to hit they started sounding the sirens. There's no way anyone could miss them--they are loud! It's so interesting to have so many hours of advance warning. Not like the instant havoc of an earthquake. People went out to get supplies, gas, etc. We collected water in whatever container we could find; washed clothes; boiled some eggs; e-mailed friends that we were okay. We had no idea if we would have electricty, water, or phone service afterwards. The news kept saying, "Prepare for the worst; hope for the best." Hawaii was lucky -- we got "the best." Very little damage. We drove to the waterfront the next day and could hardly tell anything had happened.
The concern, of course, is with the Japanese people. Many of the people at the Church of the Holy Cross are Japanese, so the concern is heightened. We keep them in our hearts and prayers.

On Sat. John and I took a picnic to another park area north of us, and walked through a beautiful rain forest. I had no idea there were so many varieties of palm trees. Gorgeous plants.

Sat evening we went to a Vine & Jazz event at the Imiloa Astronomy Center on the University of Hawaii -- just across from our house. The music was great. Several different wines (the best was a cab from Chateau St. Jean in Santa Rosa area!), and great food. A fun evening.

And, oh, yes...I have worked some! I still call it ministry-lite, although next week the senior minister will be on the mainland, so it's up to me to take care of the church!

FYI -- Hawaii does not go on Daylight Savings Time, so we are now 3 hours behind California time.

2nd Week in Hilo

This was a special week -- Kristen & Jason visited. We have so much fun as a family, and this was another great time from start to finish. Jason landed last Sunday afternoon in a downpour -- the first daytime rain we'd had since we arrived. He left early this morning in a downpour. We seem to be in the rainy season, but it only dampened our plans a little.

One day they rented a car (convertible) and drove to the Volcano National Park, --they got a sunburn to prove it was sunny that day. Lava is flowing there again as of yesterday and some of the roads are closed now closed, so it is good they went when they did. I had to work the day they went (yes, I really do work some of the time!), but they had a great day.

Our big treat was to go to the Kona side of the island where there are better beaches, better snorkelling and more sun. We stayed at a wonderful Sheraton resort, and it was lovely, even if it was a bit cloudy part of the time! It was also partly a celebration of John's birthday; we had a couple wonderful dinners out.

Went to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (try saying that!) National Historical Park--the "Place of Refuge" which is the most complete restoration of an ancient Hawaiian religious sanctuary in Hawaii. Saw two large turtles sunning on the rocks on the path. Fairly good snorkelling nearby, but it started raining so we left.. Saw a lot of Kona coffee orchards and sampled some of the coffee on the way.

On our way to and from the Kona side of the island, we made several stops. We walked around on the lava fields. Went to a resort area where they advertised swimming with the dolphins. (Didn't take a picture but we finally found the place in a fancy Hilton resort.) Nearby we found a beach with green water -- no green sand, just green water. There was a wonderful coral beach area nearby.

We took one day to drive around the most eastern tip of the Big Island, stopping for gorgeous ocean and vegetation views. (pictures below) Our first stop turned out to be a "clothing optional" beach. We had to go down a fairly steep cliff to get there, and John hadn't changed into his bathing suit like the rest of us. We urged him to go "natural" but he was afraid I'd take a picture and post it on the blog or Facebook!

We had our picnic lunch overlooking a beautiful blue ocean with waves crashing below us. Then we found the large thermal pool and picnic grounds. It was almost like swimming in a hot tub. Jason and I took turns laying out on an air mattress. I loved looking up at the palm trees, the sunny, blue sky (it was raining back in Hilo), and feeling the warm water lap around me. Paradise, indeed!