Today we started out by driving to the caldera and visiting the Jaggar Museum. We have been following the new vent in the Halema'uma'u crater for over a year (since March 2008), and up until about 2 weeks ago, you could see lava within the vent from the Jaggar Musuem (see the quicktime movies from July 4th here). Well, of course the vent somewhat collapsed and now the lava cannot be seen. <> They still have Crater Rim Drive closed because of the toxic fumes being spewed from the crater, so that was a bummer too. Odd thing is that we didn't smell the sulfur fumes too much there...but the fumes were VERY strong in Kona when we landed, almost 2.5 hours away! I guess the VOG (volcanic smog) travels over to Kona and just hangs there. yuck.
It has been quite drizzly and cool here -- low 60's! -- and mom's knee is still recovering, so instead of continuing our exploration of the volcano, we decided to head to Hilo to get mom a walking stick at Walmart. Walmarts are the same, no matter time nor place, so not much to say about Wally World. Just think of a WW with tropical-type items and logo knick-knacks all over the place. :)
We ate lunch at Cafe' 100, and Aunt Jana had her first loco moco! Loco mocos are a meal of white rice covered with your choice of meat (like hamburgers, spam, or portuguese sausage), then topped with fried eggs and gravy. Jana had spam, a Hawaiian staple. So far both Mike and Jana have had the loco mocos. I have yet to order one, not because they don't look good, but because they are usually so big I couldn't finish them!
After lunch we visited Akaka Falls State Park to see the beautiful falls and surrounding flora. I am always amazed at the size of the plants growing here in Hawaii. Plants that are normally small, scraggly, houseplants in Ohio, are HUGE wild plants here in the tropical state. Like the pathos plant -- leaves the size of serving platters. Amazing!
To end our day we went to the What's Shakin' smoothie stand. Absolutely *THE BEST* smoothies..ever! We always make a point to stop here at least once on our trips. Everything is locally grown on their farm (except the strawberries and blueberries I think...). No added sugar or ice, just fresh fruit. The papaya smoothie is out of this world. This guy's review sums it up well. :) YUM!
I posted some pictures here.
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