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Published: February 26th 2006
Danger!
This is the first danger sign that I liked.My return to America started on my second morning of November 22nd in a row when I landed in Honolulu. I was in Hawaii for Thanksgiving and I was meeting my parents and aunt and uncle. After a night exploring Waikiki beach with my parents and a morning at Pearl Harbor, we made our way to the airport and the Big Island of Hawaii. My aunt and uncle met us at the airport and we had a nice dinner in Kona before heading north to our condos. We spent the next several days exploring the scenic beauty of Hawaii, from the rugged, black volcanic flows to the dense tropical forests and everything in between. We visited the stunningly beautiful, lost world like Waipio valley with its verdant tropical foliage, its spectacular waterfalls that thundered from the tops of the cliffs to the valley floor, the nearly empty black sand beaches and, of course, the extremely steep and insanely narrow access road - The Waipio valley is my idea of the perfect tropical paradise! One evening we made the long drive out to the summit of Mauna Kea, at nearly 14,000 feet, to watch the sun set amongst the space observatories -
Pearl Harbor
It was amazing to see both the American and Japanese tourists treat this place with reverence. The summit of that tropical mountain was cold, in fact I can’t remember being more uncomfortable in the Antarctic! We spent several days exploring the underwater world at several different reefs around the big island - We saw turtles, eels, colourful coral and an unbelievable diversity of colorful fish. The island of Hawaii is a snorkelling paradise, because most of the reefs are close to shore. We could have done even more snorkelling, but I was too cheep to rent the expensive gear at the local resort (it cost more to rent than to buy), so I tried to buy a cheap set at the store - Everyone got a good laugh at my stupidity, because, as I knew it would, it leaked too badly to use! My uncle and I wanted to kayak out to Captain Cook’s Monument, so we rented a kayak and away we went. The big white obelisk is only accessible by boat, so we had to paddle across a large bay to get there. The monument was erected near the place that Captain Cook was killed in a misunderstanding on his second voyage of discovery. The area surrounding the obelisk is full of old volcanic
Waikiki
Not the beach of my dreams, but still a nice place. walls and pathways and the water is filled with a large diversity of fish - We stayed there a while enjoying the reef and the paddle back was exhausting. We spent Thanksgiving at a mega resort buffet meal - It was an excellent meal with all of the traditional Thanksgiving fixings along with many tropical additions and best of all, no clean-up (of course there were no leftovers either). One evening I went with my parents to a luau and enjoyed the Polynesian dancing and the fire dancing and the meal was superb - It threatened to rain during the entire performance, but it never did and the light breeze made it a pleasant evening. On our last full day on the island I went with my aunt and uncle down to Volcano National Park and Mt. Kilauea. There we explored the dark depths of the Thurston Lava Tube, we looked over the rim of several, steaming craters and we walked a few miles across jagged lava flows to watch the lava pour into the ocean - We were not able to get as close to the lava as we would have liked, because a large shelf collapsed, which is
Waipio Valley
One of my favorite places now. a common occurrence there, and the area was unstable. From where we were we could see the giant plume of steam and the fiery red glow where the lava met the waves and we could see the lava coming down the hill. After dark there was an intense glow on the clouds signifying an active vent just out of sight - I finally got to see ‘liquid hot magma’ with my own eyes! We walked back across the lava flows after dark and it was a difficult journey, because there was not a trail. The following day we said our good-byes to each other and to Pele’s islands and we reluctantly left.
From Hawaii I went to California where I visited my dad in the always beautiful Ventura area. In Ventura I saw the play Tick, Tick, Boom with my dad and the new lady in his life. From there I headed into Arizona with my uncle to watch him and my cousin make the first blast on a new tunnel they were building in Phoenix. I then drove my uncle’s truck up to Bakersfield to deliver a trailer, stopping along the way to visit with a friend in
Looking Up Valley
This is the spectacular Waipio Valley. San Diego and Family in Dana Point. I got to see my friend’s new racecar in Bakersfield and then I boarded an Amtrak train for the bay area. In the bay area I visited all of my friends from my many years of living there - It was a great reunion, but Christmas was approaching so I had to fly back to Georgia.
I spent the holidays back at home in Georgia - It was the first time I had been home for any length of time in nearly six years and it was a lot of fun! Time flew by in Atlanta while I got reacquainted with my family and my dog - We saw my brother’s band play a live show, we went to the new Atlanta Aquarium to see the giant whale sharks and the beluga whales, we had several excellent meals together and I made several additions to my book collection. I went bowling twice with my siblings and in a feat of excellence I surpassed my score from Antarctica of a 57, but in the wrong way! I am a horrible bowler! Before I knew it, it was time to head out again, this
A Waterfall
This is one of many waterfalls we passed on our drive to Hilo. I forgot the name of this one. time to Mexico.
After saying all of the sad good-byes that go along with the starting of a long journey, I boarded the Amtrak train to El Paso. The procrastinator in me necessitated my staying up all night, so I spent the first six hours of my train journey sleeping. I awoke every now and then along the way to see the passing scenery - I saw the rows of tanks at the Aniston Army Depot ready to attack the train, I saw the giant statue of Vulcan overlooking Birmingham’s steel industry and, as the highlight of the first leg of my rail journey, I saw Moundville, which is a significant Indian mound site in western Alabama that I have wanted to see since I was a kid (I got to see about thirty seconds worth of it, so I will have to return). I ate lunch in the dining car and then I returned to my seat for the remainder of the trip into New Orleans. By the time we reached Lake Pontchartrain it was dark and we entered post-Katrina New Orleans in an eerie darkness resulting from a large portion of the city still being without power.
On Top of Mauna Kea
We drove up here to see the observatories and to watch the sunset. On my way to the hotel, my cab driver told me of his experiences during the hurricane - He had the misfortune of spending three days on top of his house and, like many of the other survivors, he lost everything. I had a room at the Marriott on Canal St. that I got using my hotel points - It was a great room and probably the last nice one I will have for some time! The restaurant that was recommended to me had not reopened yet, so I spent the first part of my evening searching for some good ole’ Cajun jambalaya, which was not too difficult, and then I walked around the French Quarter for the rest of the evening - I found a band playing great rock ‘n’ roll, but, sadly, I never found any jazz. I watched all of the pre Mardi Gras festivities and revelry along Bourbon St. and then I headed back to the Hotel - New Orleans is a strange city, but I think I like it! In the morning I headed over to Café Du Monde where I enjoyed the famous confectionary delight, Beignets, and a cup of coffee - It was
Warm Lighting
The lighting makes it look warm, but the top of Mauna Kea is not warm. a delicious way to start the day! From there I walked along the river-front to see the steam paddle boat and then I headed to Margaritaville Café for a walk through (I have now been to two of them!) I made my way back past Jackson Square to the hotel, stopping at an antique sword store along the way, and then to the train station. I rode the rails across Louisiana and Texas, a journey of more than thirty hours. From the train I surveyed the destruction from Katrina across southern Louisiana, I watched as mile after mile of Bayou passed by and I experienced the remote, Wild West feeling of riding a train across the desert expanses of southern Texas. The highlight of this leg of the trip was crossing over the soaring heights of the Pecos River Bridge. I was disappointed with Amtrak´s decision to leave the lounge car off of the train, because it would have been a great place to sit and watch the scenery go by while getting to know my fellow rail travellers. Without the lounge car I had to rely on the dining car during meal time to get to know my fellow
The Setting Sun
The sunset from the top of Mauna Kea. travellers - Eating a nice meal on a train is an amazing experience and all of the people I met doing so had a great story to tell - There were the people who couldn’t fly due to fear or medical reasons and there were the people who decided to slow down the pace of life and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. I love the romance of train travel, so I have decided to include as many rail segments as I can as I make my way around the world. I love listening to the ‘klankety’, ‘klankety’, ‘klank’ of the steel rails and the shrill screech of the train’s horn as the scenery passes by. I enjoy being able to walk around and having the option of eating a good meal, I enjoy waking up on the train after a long night journey - I just like trains! I said farewell to my fellow train passengers in El Paso and I checked into the Garner Hotel, famous for giving a room to the famous gangster John Dillinger just before he was captured. Next stop, Mexico!
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