Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Hawaii, Island of Diversity

If you are a resident of the east side of Hawaii island, you know that it has been raining steadily for the last three weeks. If you are a resident of Glenwood, Hawaii, you know that it has been raining buckets over the last three weeks. While it is lovely to see snow on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, these sights also mean that if you live on the east side of Hawaii island, it has also been very cold. If you are a resident of Glenwood, Hawaii, you know that it has been very wet and cold. So wet that the gutters are overflowing and there is a river flowing down the pasture, under the stable and ranch garage, and then down to the highway. Welcome to the Big Island. Sick of the cold, wet weather, we decided to drive over to Kona for some sunshine on Dec. 22. The morning was gray and dreary and it was raining. We decided to take the southern route through Ka'u to avoid the Hamakua landslides. When we passed Namakani Paio Park, we could see blue skies over Ka'u. As we drove through Ka'u, we noticed that the pasture land had some green grass which meant that the rains did reach Ka'u. Heading toward Kona, we began to take off our sweatshirts as it got warmer and warmer. When we finally got to Kona, the air was clear and the skies were blue. Sweat glands which have been dormant for several weeks began to do their thing. While it was 46 degrees in Volcano the next morning, it was 72 degrees in Kona. This is the beauty of this island. You can see snow and surf. Hot weather and cold climates. The eastsiders look for sunshine. The westsiders look for rain. On our return home, we decided to drive on the Saddle Road. From the Kona side, we could see gray clouds on the mountain tops. We drove up and saw a bunch of sunshine on the highway although we still did see the gray clouds on Mauna Kea. Near Pohakuloa, we saw Mauna Loa with a mantle of snow, glittering in the sunshine. After we left Mauna Kea State Park, we began to drive into the rain clouds. It was socked in with fog and rain all the way down to Hilo. What happened to the sunshine? We could see it in our rear view mirrors. Returning to Glenwood, we were greeted by the status quo...gray skies and rain. Hawaii has something for everyone if you have the fuel to travel from one place to another.

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