I returned six and a half hours ago from a family trip to Hawaii. We stayed on the Big Island and the vacation was everything as expected – comfortable accommodations, delicious food, gorgeous weather, and Mother Nature reminding us who’s boss with earthquakes, volcanoes, and sunburn with several days outside. Our first night gave us a 6.0 earthquake. I have never experienced earthquakes in my life and now I went through two within eight months (the first being in Costa Rica back in October). We’re safe from those (and volcanoes) in the Midwest. People around the island reported destruction to their homes, sadly but it did not last very long. There’s nothing crazier than the ground rattling you and everything around you!
Last Thursday, we visited Volcanoes National Park where Kīlauea was predicted to erupt during our stay. We arrived to it smoking. I’ve found volcanoes to be both mysterious and majestic. They create landmasses and can change a landscape by just spewing hot magma in the air… and they can do it at any time!! The live camera showed small spew about an hour after we left the park. Then two hours after that, more lava made its way to the surface. As the night went on, lava flowed out of a vent and sputtered out of another. It was incredible to watch. Unfortunately, the drive back to the Park was winding and not fun to drive in the evening. We watched the live stream from the comfort of our villa. You can catch the live cameras and see the lava flow and fountains shooting out of the vents. Still smoldering and we could see more fountains of lava. The National Park is stating that the flow has paused for now but the volcano is still technically active. Incredible.
More of Mother Nature’s activities served as highs and lows of the trip. The island experienced incredible winds for the first half of our trip, which threw sand in all directions. The sun was so hot and UV index was incredibly high. No matter how much sunscreen I put on (50 SPF – 70 SPF every 45 minutes), I was still burnt in many places. My arms, tops of my feet and my back are a lovely lobster red. But I guess it wouldn’t be a vacation without sunburn after a Midwestern Winter!
We’re in June which (IMO) means our summer officially kicked off. Lots of local/domestic summer travel plans are in the works. Hopefully you won’t experience earthquakes, volcanoes, and a bad sunburn. In any event, glad to take you with me!
