Week 55 - USA, Hawaii and Alaska
Sunday we wanted to check out the green sand beach, one of four in the world and reportedly the most distinctly green. It's volcanic sand caused by a certain mineral ejected in some rare eruptions. The beach itself is actually the crater of an old volcano. C was especially interested in seeing it. There isn't much information about it on Google, but the local advice is to hire someone to take you on a four-wheel drive ride. Otherwise, it's an hour's walk. I packed all the usual beach day paraphernalia — lunch, water, sunscreen, towels, boogie board, sand pail, etc. Turns out they take you down and only give you about 45 min to an hour at the beach. That didn't seem very long, but we certainly weren't walking with all that stuff so we agreed. It actually was just right. The beach is really beautiful, but the green/gold sand is so reflective that we would have baked despite any amount of sunscreen if we'd stayed longer. It was a fun swim. High surf but no rip tide so it wasn't scary at all.
On the way home, we stopped at a spring for drinking water. Our host had plenty for us, but we went through it quickly so he told us where to go get more. Apparently, many locals get their drinking water for free here. Just another little thing we wouldn't get to experience if we stayed at resorts instead of Airbnbs. Even with that errand, we got home in time to regroup a little after several busy days. The kids and I started researching activities for Alaska.
Monday was another long day. We had two Airbnb experiences in Kona, which is an hour's drive, so we stayed all day. The first was a ukulele lesson. We all participated, though S mostly watched because he was upset he couldn't do it perfectly. I think he still got something from watching me make mistakes and carry on. C has played before and did great. J did well too, though he is hard on himself like S. It was definitely challenging, but by the end, we could play a couple of songs.
We had most of the afternoon free so we took a long lunch break at a playground. S and I ate the packed lunch, but J went somewhere and picked up fish for himself and C, plus dessert for all of us. The kids found some local kids to play with and had a great time.
We only got a few pictures of our second experience. It was a sunset ceremony. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was an interesting mix of Hawaiian culture and New Age spirituality. The kids weren't that into it and J was skeptical about the New Age stuff but interested in the Hawaiian culture aspect. I really liked it and found some wisdom I probably needed to hear. A sea turtle showed up near the end, which was neat.
Tuesday was our last day in Hawaii. We did our usual morning routine. S did math and reading and C did Zoom violin. We spent the rest of the morning packing, then went to a lava tube after lunch. We've done lava tubes in Iceland and Reunion, but this one was interesting because people actually used it as a place to collect water. The water gets filtered through the rock and drips off the roof of the cave, so the ancient Hawaiians would place gourds there supported by rocks to collect the water. They also camped there for short periods. Since we already knew the basics of how a lava tube is formed we did a tour that focused on the archeology of the cave. It was really interesting.
We had a great time in Hawaii. The kids and I weren't particularly excited about it until we got there, since we've had our fill of hot beaches, but it wasn't uncomfortably hot, it was breezy during the day and cool at night. The beaches were different from other ones we've seen, and the island of Hawaii isn't as touristy as the other islands. It was kind of an afterthought to add it as a stop. We had to fly through it to get from Fiji to Alaska and since we were going to be going through it made sense to stay awhile. I'm glad we did.
Wednesday was a long day but went pretty smoothly. J and I were up by 4:00, got the kids up at 5:30, and we left for Kona at 6:00. J returned the car while the kids and I took the bags through agricultural screening, and by the time we did check-in and TSA we were just in time for boarding. We had a five-hour flight to San Francisco, about an hour there, then a four-hour flight to Anchorage. Neither flight had complimentary meals, so we had breakfast and lunch out of the snack bag but finally bought their overpriced snack boxes for dinner. One thing I'll really miss is listening to S narrate airplane landings in new places. He's always so excited to get his first glimpse of what the next destination is like. He doesn't really get into the research before arrival like the rest of us, and he once told me that he never tries to imagine what it's going to be like. So when he can first see land it's always a surprise, and his excitement is infectious. "Oh, look, an intertidal zone!" Even if we travel again, he'll be older and more inhibited.
Alaska is two hours ahead of Hawaii, so we got into Anchorage at about 10:00 local time, and were showered and in bed at the hotel by 12:00. Nice not to have immigration and customs. Nothing fancy at the hotel, but we just needed a place to crash. I think J really misses the nicer, full-service resort-style hotels we were able to get in other countries for the same price as kind of a dump here. I did enjoy the amenities, but I would get uncomfortable with the staff bending over backward to please me every second. Objectively, though, the US is in many ways the most difficult country to travel in.
Thursday was the start of our Alaska adventure. The hotel included breakfast, but that turned out to be a McDonald's gift card. My kids had never had McDonald's before. So new experiences continue, though they weren't that impressed. J brought back food for everyone while the kids slept in, then I had them eat and get dressed and ready while he picked up the car. S did his reading, and we were ready to go by 10:00. C is really interested in native Alaskans, of which there are five distinct cultural groups. Our first stop was the Native Alaskan Heritage Center in Anchorage. This was a very good museum. We saw demonstrations of music, dance, games, and several exhibits of handicrafts.
We had lunch at the cafe, watched a film on handmade kayaks, and then toured outside where replica houses for each culture are set up. That was fun, even in the rain.
There were several house poles like this displayed in one of the clan houses. S was really drawn to them. They all have several different animals depicted on them, each symbolizing something different. He loved reading the explanations and trying to pick out the different elements. We all enjoyed that museum and spent most of the day there. We would even have been happy to stay longer, but we still needed groceries.
That was a cultural experience in itself. There are people of different sizes all over the world, but it wasn't until we got on the plane in San Francisco that I started seeing severe obesity as a common condition. Hawaii seems to be a bit healthier. In retrospect, I remember noticing at the beginning of the trip that obesity is less common in Europe than what I was used to seeing in Ohio, now I'm definitely seeing it again. I'm not talking about overweight folks who seem to get around fine, but people who are having difficulty moving and truly can't fit in an airplane seat — people whose lives are negatively impacted. Shopping was really shocking after not being in a mainland American store in a while. Aisle after aisle of chips, candy, soda, processed food, and junk. I had difficulty finding things to use as ingredients because everything is ready-made and highly processed. I wasn't too worried because J had already found out about a farmer's market near our cabin, but I was really put off, almost to the point that nothing seemed appetizing. I was just thinking that the store didn't have much when I found guns for sale right next to the under-ripe tomatoes. What a country, where you can buy a gun easier than what you need to make a salad.
Our cabin is about an hour north of Anchorage.
We have electricity and a gas stove but have to walk down the hill to the main building for running water. There's a coin-operated washer and dryer though, so I started laundry right away. We have one room with a sitting area, kitchen, and beds for the kids, and a loft where J and I sleep. We got settled in and had pasta for dinner, then everyone crashed. It does get dark this time of year, but not until pretty late.
Friday was rainy again. I finished the laundry, the kids finished math and reading for the week, we unpacked, got everything organized, and went to the farmers market. It was a good one — lots of veggies, honey, eggs, baked goods, and crafts. C got a free used book. I guess there's a live band sometimes and people hang around for a while, but since it was raining people were pretty much just getting what they needed and moving on. We stocked up on plenty of good stuff.
Saturday we did some planning for the next two weeks. There's a lot to see around here. In the evening we went to the little town of Houston, Alaska because they were having their 56th founder's day celebration. 56 doesn't seem very old for a town, but I guess that's why they call Alaska the last frontier. It was typical small-town American fun. There were fire eaters, a medieval battle reenactment, a band, a petting zoo, a bunch of kids' games, bounce houses, an egg toss, food trucks, and a magic show.
The kids had a great time, and it was fun for us too. We got too cold and tired to wait for the fireworks though since it doesn't even get dark until 10:30. Instead, we came back to the cabin for our family's Saturday night tradition of making popcorn and watching Star Trek. We're tired, but looking forward to next week.