Day 2 - Exploring the Park - part one

A small part of Kilauea Crater - the dip in the distance leads to Kilauea Iki where we hiked

We started our day at the Jaggar Museum, which is as far west as we were allowed to go on the Crater Rim Road. An entire stretch of road from the museum all the way to Chain of Craters road was closed due to high levels of Sulfur Dioxide from Halema'uma'u Crater which is belching great clouds of gas and is said to be the home of Pele the Hawaiian volcano goddess. From the museum overlook we could look down into the massive Kilauea Crater which surrounds the deeper Halema'uma'u Crater - most impressive.

Halema'uma'a Crater inside Kilauea Crater

The one and only family picture of the trip. Sad... I know.

From here we checked out the steam vents, which seem to be everywhere, and stopped for lunch at the Volcano House (don't go for the food, go for the VIEW!) We ate at a picnic table with a gorgeous view of the Kilauea Crater in all it's glory.

Beautiful A, enjoying the view

Z - no doubt contemplating some great world crisis solving idea

B & Little D striking a crazy pose near the steam vents

Halema'uma'u Crater billowing noxious gases

The Jaggar Museum on the near-distant ledge with Mauna Loa in the far distance

Another thoughtful pose - we expect great things from this one

Kilauea Iki

Kilauea Iki Overlook

Kilauea Iki means "little spewing" which relates to the eruption in 1959 - the hottest and highest eruption in recorded Hawaiian history. If you only have time for one hike in the park, this is the one. It takes you through lush "jungle-y" rain forest, down into the crater which is still steaming. It took us a little over 2 hours. We purchased the little guide book at the visitor's center for $2 which gave an excellent description of marked sections of the trial including historical and geologic significance. If you care for all the gory details, click on the link above for the trail guide; otherwise... on to the pics.

Offerings to the goddess of volcanoes, Pele

Walking along the bathtub ring - where the lava lake was at it's highest level.

Dave & Little D out on the lava lake, the mounds of lava looked like the tops of loaves of freshly baked bread.

Z at the 'heart' of the eruption. It was from this hole in 1959 that lava spewed 2000 feet into the air.

Z falling into a crack in the lava (not really)

Notice the look of terror...

New growth

Playing in the steam vents... it was HOT!

Our Christmas Present

Z and the Awesome Big Banyan Tree at Rainbow Falls State Park

This year, in lieu of presents to each other, we decided to take a trip to the Big Island - Hawai'i. (A small side note of information: Hawaii is the state, Hawai'i (notice the break) is the Big Island) I've got way too many pictures, and we crammed way too much fun stuff into our 4 days so I'll break this into several posts. (patience requested)

Our first day we left at 9-ish AM, and arrived 45 minutes later in beautiful Hawai'i. We had previously tried to get a rental car, but were told by every and all car rental agency that they were all sold out. We had arranged to be picked up by the KMC (Kilauea Military Camp) shuttle and planned to just hang out at the camp and do a tour or two through the camp. My hero, Dave, decided to check anyway for rentals and pulled up a few minutes later in a mini-van. THANK YOU! Knowing what I know now, there is no way I would have enjoyed our trip just hanging around the camp. Ignorance is bliss, they say, but I'm happy - so very happy- fortune smiled on us, even though it was a Dodge.

We piled in the car, and opened our Hawaii The Big Island Revealed book that Stalker let me borrow. Despite being more than 6 years old, we credit this book for some of our greatest surprise finds, and plan on diving more deeply into our Oahu Revealed book. Enough book plugging...

Our first stop was FOOD! We grabbed some breakfast at Ken's House of Pancakes with delicious Coconut Syrup, and the fluffiest omelet ever, then worked our way to Rainbow Falls, famous for it's wishbone shape and the ability to see rainbows when the sun is behind you. The awesome cave beneath the falls is where Kamehameha reportedly buried the bones of his father. The kids favorite spot here was the amazingly ginormous Banyan Tree they got to climb. We made a stop further up road to see Pe'epe'e Falls and the Boiling Pots, but without hiking down to the river we couldn't see much. Don't get me wrong, everywhere we stopped or looked on the Big Island boasted amazing views and stunning scenery, this was no different; however, we didn't actually hike down to the actual falls.

We made another stop at the Kaumana Caves to see our first lava tube (where lava flows underground). This one was opened in the middle, and had we brought flashlights with us, we could have gone spelunking through either side. Instead, we piled back into the car and headed towards our destination -- Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. KMC is located inside the National Park and is only for members of the military and their families and guests. We arrived in the early afternoon and checked into our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom cabin with fireplace. Fireplace? ... in Hawai'i? you may ask... Well, the park is located at 4000 ft, and temperatures dip into the 40s at night - downright COLD to those of us who have lived in warm places for the last several years. We had a fire every morning and evening... it was delightful!

After depositing our bags in the room, we headed straight for the Visitor's Center for the low down on what to do first, and opted for the Kilauea Iki hike - HIGHLY recommended. That will have to wait until tomorrow... (which is a guesstimation as to when I'll have more time)

Z & D start their ascent

Ain't he cute?

A's turn in the tree

Beautiful Rainbow Falls

Pe'epe'e Falls

Getting LOST... the exciting conclusion

Okay, I finished making dinner, but then needed to study for my final which I took today and now have a few minutes to get to the good part. Hmmm... where was I? Oh yes, we parked the car and piled into "E's" really cool car and drove very slowly and quietly down the dirt road. As we drove along we could see big production lights ahead and it started to feel more "real" with each moment. "E" rolled down his window a few times chatting with his fellow employees and subordinates about this and that and fulfilling some of his responsibilities. We drove passed all the trailers, the sushi guy (hired by "Josh" as "E" calls Sawyer), and a myriad of other trucks and carts and generators. We kept driving until it was dark again and drove for several hundred more yards before he turned off the dirt road and turned off the car. So, we know we're near the set, but we're still in the middle of nowhere in the dark with a strange guy, albeit cool guy with the potential to make our wildest Sawyer dreams come true, but still... we're a bit trepidacious (well at least I was). He pulls out one flashlight and starts walking on this path ahead of the car. We carefully follow along trying to place our steps in the dark while not losing sight of E and his one flashlight. We emerge from the path onto the beach - gorgeous, by the way, the waves all light up by the production lights off in the distance... and the stars... ah, the beautiful stars, more than I've seen in a really, really long time. Sigh... it was a spectacular night. Oh, sorry... back to the beach. We head North a bit along the beach towards the lights and E tells us to hang back while he scopes out the set area. We wait probably 5 minutes or so when I look around and see a really big Hawaiian guy come out of the brush headed straight for us. A bit unnerving, but we don't start running or screaming or anything like that. He had on night-vision goggles, removed them as he approached us and asked what we were doing there, saying we could all get in a lot of trouble. We told him we were with E who was just up the beach a bit. He must not have heard us completely because he put his goggles back on, scanned the beach ahead and said "who is dat guy up der?" "Is he wichu?" "Yes," we replied, "that's 'E' and we're with him". This time he heard us. "That's 'E'?" (DUH! That's what we said! - grin) He made a visual confirmation and then walked back into the 'jungle'. When E came back he had two headphone sets, what he called 'director's sets' because you could here everything the directors were saying as well as the actors. (COOL!) He put one on and gave the other to Stalker. We followed him a bit further up the beach and then he and Stalker continued right up onto the edge of the set. The rest of us were close enough that we could hear them saying "ROLL FILM" and "ACTION". At this point it started to hit me that E really was legit and we really might get to see Sawyer. I think I might have said "OH MY GOSH!", "HOLY FREAKIN' COW!", "UNBELIEVABLE!" or any/all combinations of those words upwards of 100 times or more. After about 15 minutes or so (felt like much longer), Cheri came back with a HUGE smile on her face and handed off the headset to Laura, reporting that she actually saw Sawyer and Kate and heard them saying their lines. "Unbelievable!" E handed off his headset to me and took Laura up to the set. Not a lot was going on in the headset when I got it... they must have been on a break, but as Laura and E got up there I could here E talking to the mic dude with very colorful language... he must have been a sailor at some point. Soon enough he came back and motioned for me to come up. I sat with Laura in a golf cart of sorts while we waited for things on set to get underway again. Tired of waiting, E went back and got Elisa and Cheri again. We all huddled just out of sight while they made the last preparations for another shoot. At last, they started again. Kate (wherever she was in her top secret location) and then... there he was... in all his splendedness... Sawyer! (all together now... collective dreamy sigh) He sauntered into position, and started his top secret dialog with Kate - which I'd wager big money that all 4 of us could still repeat word for word. I don't think I mentioned that we were only about 30 yards away from SAWYER!

Anyways... I'm not sure how long we stood there drooling... I mean watching them go over and over that scene. Some moments seemed an instant, others dragged on (where's Sawyer... why can't I hear him anymore?) Ok... I know Kate was there, but for some reason that didn't seem very important to me that night. So, when we finally left the set area, we walked back down the beach and tried to find E's car. It actually took longer than we expected and we ended up traipsing through some brush after we made a wrong turn. We all piled back into E's car extremely satisfied with ourselves and a most enjoyable, 'unbelievable' night, and expected E to take us back to our car so we could head home.

However...

E asked us if we'd like to see Locke's jungle... Uh... YES! It was awesome and creepy dark.

Then E asked us if we'd like to see Sun's garden (ya know... the one she planted while she was pregnant?)... Uh... YES! We literally drove right through it! Obviously it was all previously destroyed and/or overgrown.

So then we start heading back to ground zero with all the trailers, and we can still hear them trying to finish the scene. As we get closer, we can hear the director (or some other authority figure) asking "what is that noise?" E realizes that they can hear the car engine through their powerful mics so E shuts off the engine and we sit quietly whispering in the dark until they finish. By this point we are beyond giddy with our evening of good fortune and E drives us up to the chaos of clean up where he needs to actually do his job and give instruction to his minions. We're sitting obediently and quietly in the car when E opens the door and says "Get your cameras ready and be ready to move quickly." OH! MY! FREAKIN' GOSH! We're gonna see JOSH! A minute later E opens the door and says "He's really tired, but said he'd take one picture with all 4 of you." (OK! DUH!) We get out of the car, and there leaning against a pickup right next to us is SAWYER, smoking a cigarette and looking exhausted, with that grumpy "what did you just say" look he does so well on the show. He sees us and puts on a fantastic smoldering smile, tosses his cigarette down and shakes our hands. We pose for our photo, say our thanks and make small banter as we leave when he realized that, just like his wife, one of us had stomped out his cigarette during the photo op. We hop back in the car and FREAK OUT! Within minutes HE has left and we are still sitting in shock, waiting for E to take us back to our car.

When E does show up he asks us if we'd like to GO INSIDE Sawyer's trailer.... Uh.... YES! We take pictures outside the trailer, inside the trailer, with his name outside the trailer, check out his bathroom where he showers, sit on the same couch he sits on, look in the same mirror he checks his beautiful smile in... breathe the same air he breathes... sigh...

After exiting the trailer, we pile back into the car. We start to fawn over E and thank him profusely for all the trouble he has gone to with absolutely no expectations from us. He says slyly, "you're finished? I thought you might want to see the beach camp"... Uh... YES! So he drives us to the other side of the property and it's like we were really there. It was the second beach camp, after they went inland to the caves and then came back. The shacks are all still there - with airplane parts, luggage, bamboo, etc. We snapped a zillion pictures in the dark hoping that some of them would turn out. Then back to the car.

Next we stop at the graveyard and Ecko's church... SERIOUSLY! It's all still there. Then back to the car. He still doesn't take us to the car, but back to ground zero where he proceeds to give more instructions to his crew. Then turns to us and asks: "Would you like to go on the set where they just filmed?"... Uh... YES! This time we climb into a golf cart of sorts and he drives us around the woods which are now dark because the production lights are off and already dismantled. We find THE SPOT and proceed to do our version of the scene we just watched. UNBELIEVABLE!

So finally, our tour is complete. We are utterly and completely dumbfounded by our evening of amazement. E gives us all big hugs and asks us if we'd like to go to stop by the shoot tomorrow downtown.... sigh...

The money shot... yes, he DOES look even hotter in person...

At the beach camp...

HIS trailer

IN his trailer

The graveyard & Ecko's church

At the set of the scene we watched being filmed... yes... Sawyer and Kate sat here... sigh

Getting LOST... (part deux)

So... sorry about the delay in posting. Think of it as if you were watching the real season of LOST and they started showing re-runs mid-season. Anywho... where was I? Oh yes, Friday I was totally worthless as a productive member of society. I didn't get any laundry done, I didn't clean or cook or even think about providing sustenance for my offspring - I just passed time until it was time to leave. 4 o'clock rolls around and we (Cheri, Laura, Elisa and I) we all a bit antsy to get our adventure underway. None of our husbands were home to watch the kids, so we pawned them all off on Z & A until the men came home from work. We piled into the car and braved traffic up to the North Shore. We were all still a bit skeptical as to if this was really going to happen... were we really going to get a glimpse of Sawyer? Was it possible that this was just a sham? Was "E" legit? Well, hold on to your leg-warmers, because here begins to craziest night in Hawaii yet.

We opted for dinner first, based on the instructions we received from "E" and decided on Haleiwa Joe's, (Two thumbs up) where we watched the sun set while we enjoyed a fantastic meal; all the while mildly freaking out about the possibilities still to come. As we left the restaurant, Cheri "Stalker" called both numbers "E" left for contacting him, but he didn't answer either one. We decided to drive up to a beach a bit further down the road and give him 10 minutes before we tried to call one last time. 2 minutes later, "E" called "Stalker" with instructions to meet him at "the opening". It was dark by this time, but luckily we had scoped out the meeting area before dinner. We arrived and waited about 10 minutes. In the meantime, one of us (name withheld to protect our identity) had to urgently relieve our bladder and hemmed and hawed about going in the bushes, finally opting for immediate relief. As said nameless person exited the vehicle, the door slamming drew the attention of the posted security dude who soon came to see if we needed assistance. Fortunately, said bladder was already relieved and personal parts protected. We replied that we were waiting for "E" - who promptly arrived in his awesome car (details also withheld to protect his employment status). We followed him passed the security dude to where he determined we should park, at which spot we piled into said awesome car to begin our crazy adventure.

(Sigh) I have to go make dinner... stay tuned for part 'teen' (That's Hindi for three)...

Getting LOST...

Thursday evening (Nov 19) about 8pm I received a phone call from my neighbor which basically said "You wanna go see LOST being filmed at the Bowfin?" WHAT!!?!?!?! Apparently, the LOST crew was filming at the Bowfin submarine just across the street from where the kids have swim team. In fact, all the trailers were parked in the pool parking lot. My reply was something like "DUH!" and 5 minutes later, Cheri, Elisa, Laura and I were piled in the jeep hopeful for a glimpse of Sawyer who was reportedly seen crossing said parking lot earlier that evening.

Upon arriving at the pool, there were indeed several trailers with obvious LOST connections, but no Sawyer to be found. They had already finished shooting and were packing up. One of us bright ladies suggested that someone should 'go ask if anyone was still here.' (NOT ME! are you kidding me?) Fortunately for all of us, Cheri has no fear, and turned the jeep around and rolled down the window. It was a tie between the security guard and the 'other employee' as to who reached the car first, but luckily the 'other employee' waved the security guard off and engaged us in a fantastical conversation that sent all kinds of bells and whistles off in our heads. Let's call him E, to protect his identity and his job. E gave us his business card (Yes, official LOST business card WITH phone number) and invited us to the shooting on the North Shore the following night. He even put Cheri's phone number in his phone under Cheri Stalker (HER new nickname). Then we headed home.

So... at this point, a thousand thoughts go through your head. 'Who is this guy?' and 'Why is he doing this for us?', 'He's totally NOT going to call', 'BAAAAAAA! I'm going to a shooting of LOST with Kate and Sawyer!', 'This guy is probably some nutcase, and we should be afraid for our lives', 'WHO the heck IS this guy?', 'OH MY GOSH! This is freakin' CRAZY!'

I walked in the house and told Dave that I'd need a rain check for our Date Night because "I had a date with SAWYER!"

Later that evening, Cheri actually DID get a call from E who gave her some directions for the next evening: Drive up to Haleiwa, get some dinner, call E after dinner, don't drive the jeep because you look like a tourist, and don't dress like hookers. Sounds simple enough.

Needless to say, I was totally non-functioning Friday. I got absolutely NOTHING done. Stay tuned the exciting conclusion to.... "Getting LOST!"

Housing Update

I know I promised an update a few weeks ago, but it's been smoldering around in my brain and I still don't have any real answers - but here's the update regardless:

We are 3rd on the list for new 5 bedroom homes being built right now. Great news! Except for the fact that there are only 2 - 5 bedroom units being built. So that puts on down on the 4 bedroom list chronologically according to move in dates. We're farther up than most people because the first determining factor was those families who had children attending the middle school or high school, however, we are still 11th on the 4 bedroom list. Great news! Except for the fact that there are only 10 - 4 bedroom units being built. Sigh! A personal visit to the housing office has given no new answers yet.

So, what are are options? Good question! We have the option of staying in this AMR area where they have begun building more new housing which should be available late summer '10. But, the kids would have to change schools, which is the biggest decision factor for us. (sigh) So, as has been our practice for Dave's entire Air Force career, we wait for someone else to tell us where we'll end up. And that's where it stands right now.