Fresh Perspectives

Blue skies. Warm sunshine. 82 degrees Fahrenheit.  Jealous yet?

Now, don’t think I’m not keeping up with what’s going on over there in South Carolina.  Oh no, just because I’m on a rock in the middle of the Pacific does not mean I’m completely isolated from current events.  I’ve been hearing all about Mother Nature’s attempt to snow and the frigid temperatures y’all’ve been experiencing for the past week. (I’m aware this is completely off topic but don’t you just love how Southerners have the liberty to combine ‘you’ ‘all’ and ‘have’ into one long conjunction!  That’s one of the benefits of being from the south – the freedom to twang, twist, and lengthen just about any word in the English language.)

But back to my point – that ‘rock in the middle of the Pacific’ I spoke of above. 

When I think of rocks, two specific things immediately come to mind.  One – 8^th grade science class where we spent a month learning to distinguish between different kinds of rocks (i.e. limestone vs. sandstone or marble vs. slate).  And Two – Rocky Balboa (“Yo, Adrian. It’s me, Rocky”)  Now, I’m not too fond of either of these memories, and so I usually shy away from rocks, unless they come in the form of crazy front men, loud drums, and some pretty insane guitar solos. (Of course I’m referring to my beloved Rock and Roll music!)

However, there is one rock I’m now completely fanatical about….THE BIG ISLAND!  Since August, I’ve had the pleasure of residing in Hilo and have gotten pretty familiar with the entire island.  It’s so diverse – really, it blows my mind.  Hilo is a rainforest. Waimea is home to ranches with horses and cattle.  The southeast tip of the island looks eerily similar to the coast of Scotland.  The area surrounding Kona looks like the surface of the moon, or a bunch of dried up lava rocks (whichever you prefer).  Speaking of lava, it is currently streaming into the ocean near the Puna district, and Mauna Kea, which translates to ‘white mountain’ in English, has snow-capped mountains on it’s almost 14,000 ft. summit for nearly half the year.  How is this possible?  One small island with 12 different climate zones.  Amazing!

I hope I don’t sound like a travel brochure, but really, you have got to see this.  New York City, Florida beaches….they can all wait until next year.  The Big Island of Hawaii is truly a remarkable sight.  And I am honored to be able to experience a whole year of its wonder!

Until next time…Aloha! 

Mauna Kea from Hilo Bay