Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

In November, we worked here for a week on a map of the plant communities. It is about a half hour south of Kona, where we stayed.  This place served as a refuge for Hawaiians.  If they broke any laws or got in trouble, they would come here to be renewed.  The ki'i (wooden totems) were pretty amazing, along with the sheer size of the village and rock work it entailed. 

Hawaiian Thanksgiving: The Employees' Association at HAVO has a pretty successful fundraiser every year around the holiday by building an imu - traditional underground oven. For a small fee, you can bring your roasting pan of goodies and have it cooked for you overnight! 

Here the guys are taking out the last few pans in the morning.

As you can see, quite a few people took advantage of having someone else cook for them for Thanksgiving.

Rainbow Falls

When I got back from Europe, I was healthy (for a week) and the weather was great, so I went on a hike on Kilauea Iki Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The trail went out toward the terrace on the right and then dropped down into the crater.

It was a neat hike because it started in a lush wet-forest with tree ferns and relatively tall trees and then dropped into nothingness. 

Ohelo (Vaccinium reticulatum)

This was one of the few plants down in the crater.  The berries are quite tasty.

This is a pretty popular trail as it only takes a couple hours for most people.  I like the size perspective the hikers offered.

'Ohi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)

The main canopy tree in the park though can take on a shrubby life-form in dry, shallow soil, such as in a crater.  One of these has been blooming outside my office window and the native birds visit it pretty regularly.  I hope to catch a photo sometime soon.

At the end of September, I moved into a cute free-standing studio in the village of Volcano.  It's a scant 2.5 miles from my office so the commute is great, especially in my Rav4 which arrived a little over a week ago.  It's in a space carved out from the wet forest so there are tree ferns all over the yard. 

Here's the interior from the front door.  Yes, it really is just one big room, though the bar in the kitchen offers a nice division.  I obviously still need real furniture, but I'm making due in the meantime.  The tiny bathroom is through the middle door where you can see the sink.  The closet is the door on the left.  The one cool feature you can't see is the heating stove/fireplace that would be on the right-hand wall (which is about 4' from where the picture ends.  It throws an amazing amount of heat and creates a nice ambience...as I sit in my camp chair.

 There is one additional finished room that is outside behind the kitchen.  For now it's good storage, but when the time comes, it will make a handy and comfortable guest room (hint, hint).

Wedding Part II: Swiss-Style

After the intermission, everyone made thier way to Sparenmoos, Switzerland, which consists of a hotel on the mid-slopes of the alps that is a center for outdoor activity there. On Friday evening, we were treated to a wonderful meal of 5 different kinds of all-you-could-eat meat and unlimited wine. The usual "rehersal" dinner events occurred (Thanks for the wine glass; the shards made it back just fine) and the night ended whenever one wanted.

On Saturday, with more snow on the ground, the guests hopped on buses down to the church in the village of Zweisimmen. There, Teresa and Christoph were married again in a religious ceremony.

Excited guests and a shot of the decor of the old church.

Kelly walking Teresa up the aisle.

Teresa and Christoph departing the church to a sunnier, warmer day than it started. Very fitting.

After the ceremony, T & C greeted people in an outbuilding on the church grounds, and we all had cake and champagne, a German tradition.  Then the guests and couple boarded busses back up the Sparenmoos where there was more champagne, wine, and appetizers.  Dinner was again a wonderful 4-course meal interrupted by heartfelt stories.  The highlight was the silent film the best-man and his wife made humourously chronicaling how the couple came together. 

Sunday, the guests slowly departed, and the remaining family and I made our way to Zurich, Teresa's and Christoph's home.  After one more night in a beer-hall, I got on a plane the next morning to make the 25 hour journey back to Hawaii.  It was totally worth it!  I wish I could be in Milwaukee for the reception after Thanksgiving.

Congratulations to the truly happy couple and a heartfelt thanks to them and their families for the wonderful hospitality they extended to me.

Teresa and Christoph's Wedding Intermission:
After the ceremony in Munich, Teresa's parents, Teresa's Uncle and family, Teresa and I headed for the Swiss Alps for a few days of relaxation and exploration. Christoph stayed behind to be able to drive his parents up for the weekend, so the bride was single for a few days longer.

On the way we stopped at a neat monastery to stretch our legs.  That's Teresa in the middle foreground.  On the hillside you can get an idea of the drive up the valleys, fall on the bottom and winter on top.

That evening we checked into a lovely chalet in Wengen, and the next morning set off on our day of expedition.  We took a gondola ride up from Wengen to a ski/hiking area for a little jaunt.

While the trail between Mannlichen and Kleine Scheideggitself wasn't very difficult, the snow made footing a bit unsure.  Everyone on the group survived, though a few with a few bruises to show for it.  It was also pretty "foggy" most of the trip, and this was our first real view of the mountains.

Once in Kleine Scheidegg, the clouds lifted a bit more so we got some wonderful views.  After some glum wine, we hopped the train up the the Jungfraujoch, the "Top of Europe".

Ahh...blogspot has so totally jumped the shark as Charlie would say.  For whatever reason I can't get more than 5 photos on a single post.  Lame.  Ok, rant done; resuming Wedding Intermission.

Teresa and I at the top of the Jungfraujoch. 

This is the Aletsch Glacier that starts at the Jungfraujoch.  It is the biggest glacier in the Alps.

A view to the north.  You can see where the snow-line ends.  That's the elevation of Wengen.

(Credit: Mr. Kelly Clark)

After our expeditions, we returned the chalet and feasted on rachlette--a cheese based meal a la fondue--and drank too much wine.  The following morning we cleaned up and made our way to the site of Wedding Part II. Thanks to the extended Clark family for their kindness and inclusion.  I'd travel with you any time, but I must insist on stopping for lunch. 

Two weeks ago, I flew 25 hours to Munich, Germany, (Marienplatz above) to witness and celebrate Teresa's civil and religious wedding ceremonies to Christoph. The flight actually wasn't too bad. I didn't even listen to all the episodes of "This American Life" that I had on my iShuffle, that coincidentally, I won on my last trip to see Teresa in Switzerland. Teresa is an American and a friend from college.  Christoph is a German.  German and possibly Swiss law require that a civil ceremony be performed separately from the optional religious ceremony.

The morning of the civil ceremony, Teresa dressed up in her finest Dirndl, and we all hopped a train into Munich. There we went to one of the Augustiner Beer Halls for a brunch of Weisswurst, pretzels and beer.

After a tasty meal, we drove back to Gunding (Christoph's home town) where they were married in German by the Mayor. After the ceremony, we toasted the happy couple with champagne and headed to a nearby golf course for a gourmet, intimate meal. Most of the guests at this ceremony were Christoph's relatives and most wore traditional Dirndl's and Lederhosen like the happy couple.

For any car buffs out there, this is some fancy BMW Christoph's brother, an engineer for BMW, rented to chauffer them around in on their wedding day. Pictures from Switzerland, site of the religious ceremony, coming soon.

Last week camping down in Halape was wonderful and terrible if that's possible. The 9-mile hike down from Mau Loa O' Mauna Ulu to Keahou and then Halape was a lot more barren than I expected. Lots of lava and some bunchgrasses. No shade, just lots of black, hot rock. A couple of us got a little overheated on the first day, but I recovered ok by the next day.

Luckily we just had to carry daypacks as all our camping gear was flown in by helicopter.

Swimming in the fresh water "crack" just down the beach sure helped.

We worked the next few days in the vicinity of the beach, and late Wed afternoon, my knee started really hurting while hiking. That meant I was out of commission on Thursday as I tried to rest it. While it was nice to spend the day lounging at the beach, there wasn't much shade and sitting around gets a little boring after awhile. Friday we packed up our gear and got flown out. Thankfully the flight was already planned because there was no way my knee would survive the hike, especially laden with all the camping gear. The helicopter ride was pretty awesome. No doors, lots of lava (hardened), a few trees toward our landing spot.

After landing, my co-workers convinced me to go get my knee looked at. Turns out I pulled some stabilizing muscles. That means 10 days of rest and lots of office work. I see a sports medicine doctor on Monday. Hopefully it will be good news and easy rehab.

This was the view from the outhouse. It encapsulates the week: beautiful view with a poopy background.

Today has been productive for a Saturday, and I even got a little fun in.

I made it to the Hilo Farmers Market this morning. I finally had my first pineapple en situ. The only crazy fruit I saw was Dragon Fruit, the bright pink one in the back right.





I also had my first Loco Moco, though I had Kalua pork instead of a hamburger. Pretty good, though a little light on vegetables.

The rest of the day I ran around getting basic supplies for the work trip next week and also for my new place, including these cool dishes from Goodwill. I had planned on going to see the lava tonight, but given how heavy the rain is right now, I'm glad I'm in inside!

This is likely the last post for a few weeks as I'll be camping next week for work and then moving to my new place that as of yet does not have internet.

I found and secured a place to live! It's a cute little studio with an extra little room downstairs. I had hoped to post the picture from the listing, but they took it down already. I'll be in the town of Volcano just a few miles from the office. Thankfully that means I can walk to work the next couple of weeks until my car arrives. My Rav4 is in North Dakota tonight with my parents. While it is Friday night, I'm exhausted from the week, so bed is going to be my excitement.

My first 2 days of work have passed. I'd like to say "they were great!", but two days of paperwork and on-line training can only be so fun. That said, I am excited about the work and learning new plants. Everyone has been very welcoming and several are aiding in my quest to find a place to live. What's that you say? The building in the picture looks like a nice place to stay? Unfortunately that's now an office building, but if I don't find a place soon, I just might be sleeping on the office floor! Anyway, it's nice to be in an office that's actually in the park. At lunch time I've been walking with a co-worker, checking out what's happening with the Halema'uma'u vent in the Kilauea caldera. My nights have been easily consumed calling family to finalize plans to ship my car and scouring the interwebs for a place to live.