Carrot cake, taro chips, coffee

Halema‘uma‘u crater Volcano NP

Carrot cake, taro chips, and coffee. That’s a nice healthy lunch, right? 

Billy and I went on a road trip today to Volcano NP.  At the Entrance Station (that will be $25 please  –  thank you vintage “Golden Age Pass) there was a sign saying there was no “red lava” anywhere in the Park or on the Island. Well, we knew that – that was why we were there. But apparently, the word hasn’t gotten out that for the first time in 35 years – there is no molten lava on the surface. 

Volcano NP is a world apart. It is cold, damp, windy. But, wonderful. If you remember to wear all the clothes you own. We just checked out the Park. We did not go look at the new flows and all the destruction. The residents of that area don’t need gawkers.  

The Park Service has a simple 7-minute video that sums up the most recent eruption phase. October 2018 Kīlauea Eruption Update

Volcano is 90 miles away from Kailua Kona. So, it is an all-day trek. Normal folk wouldn’t spend all day going to see if a 200-foot deep hole in the ground really became a 1,000 foot deep hole in the ground. But, it was about the journey not the destination. 

And the underlying message to me was “do it now”. The volcano had been erupting for 35 years. With splashy flows into the ocean and a wonderful lava lake that you could – more or less – drive right up to. So, I wonder: how many people came to Big Island last year and said: “I’ll check out the volcano next trip”? 

Tree Fern – Volcano NP
A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD

So, in the spirit of “do it now”,  thanks to all of you for checking out the blog from time to time. I do the blog for me.  It is a diary. But, I am honored that anyone takes the time to check up on what the old bat is thinking today. 


. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

One Reply to “Carrot cake, taro chips, coffee”

  1. Hi,
    What you are saying on this blog, is an inspiration. Sometimes it’s really funny, sometimes not, but it’s “true”.
    Photos are amazing, and for me, it’s a window open on the American way of life.
    Long life to this diary. Long life to you.
    Regards,
    Laurent

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