elkit in wonderland

Where Do We Go From Here?

Hank says: "Hope you're doing something fun to celebrate! Although without the whole blogging crew around you, how much fun is there to be had?"

There was much fun to be had all by my lonesome, actually. I love hanging out with my friends, but I do need time to myself, and I really just wanted to get away for a few days, so this was just perfect. I feel very much at home by the ocean, and what better drive than the Pacific Coast Highway? I meant what I told a coworker today: If I could spend the rest of my life just driving up and down Highway One, that would be just fine by me.

But look at this: Hank seems to have been at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on the same day I was, and Rich checks in with footage from Highway One. We're just small pieces loosely joined. I like it that way.

We Spotted The Ocean At The Head Of The Trail

Point Sur
Originally uploaded by elkit.

Big Sur ... what could I possibly say about El Pais Grande del Sur that poets have not already said, and much better? It's such a ... beast. And I mean that in a good way. Stark and timeless and lonely and beautiful. And for the first time ever on Pacific Coast Highway, I begin to appreciate all the work that has gone into making this road. Where do you even begin to decide where to shave the flank of the mountain to make a road? How long to snuggle along the cliff's hip, when to break away and erect a bridge across a crevasse? I take 2 hours to get to Big Sur, because I dawdle, pull over frequently to let other drivers pass and to park and take in the views and shoot a few pictures.

Around 1:30, I arrive at Nepenthe for a bite of lunch, and seat myself at one of the outdoor tables. (I think I sat in the exact same spot as Steve the previous weekend.) Alison the waitress, wearing Jackie O sunglasses, suggests a glass of Riesling with my Ambrosiaburger, then talks me into a creme brulee for dessert (I don't really put up much resistance at all), and scribbles down the name of the novel I am immersed in, Audrey Niffenegger's odd sweet wondrous tale of "The Time Traveler's Wife". I find it fitting to read about the man hurtling about time as I dawdle about in space.

Come On, Baby, Drive South

Thursday afternoon - I leave work relatively early (5pm), and I drop off a coworker at the airport. He's one of my favorites colleagues, and since we're both out of the office on Friday, I've been telling everyone that we're eloping together. Nobody believes me, because I can't keep a straight face as I claim this, but that's alright.

I take 101 south from San Jose airport, in stop and go traffic to Capitol Expressway, and then it's relatively open and free, and we roll at an easy 65 miles an hour. I'm in Monterey before 7pm, and have no trouble finding the motel I've booked, right off the Munras exit. The clerk can't find my reservation. Rightly so, because I'd made my booking for the wrong date. I am such a moron sometimes ... but they do have a room available, and I take it, even though it's a bit more than my botched online booking. I'm lucky to get a room at all, it turns out, almost everything in Monterey is booked and overbooked. "Are you here for the race?" asks the clerk. "What race?" I ask, and he gives me a "What planet are you from?" look and says "The Grand Prix in Laguna Seca."
Ah. That explains the multitudes of motorcycles I've seen everywhere on Highway One.

Friday morning I make a beeline for the Monterey Bay Aquarium which, as I never tire telling people, is one of my favorite places in the world entire. It's not empty, exactly, but comparatively uncrowded, since it's early, and a weekday. I spend an entire half hour just in front of the big blue tank with the purple-striped jellies, watching them float and pulse, admiring their tendrils, counting the lacy ones (four) and the unlaced ones (twenty-four). The moon jellies are clearly the inspiration for the Apple key. I stare at their four-leaf symmetry and suddenly spot a six-leaf one. And another. I wonder if they're mutants, but there's nobody there I can ask. I stroll through more exhibits, spending most of my time in the Outer Bay wing, as usual. In front of the giant Outer Bay tank, I sit on the gallery waiting for the sunfish, but I don't see any. Maybe they don't have any of them right now. I make my way out through the gift shop, where I buy a poster with a sonar image of the depths and folds of the Monterey Canyon.

Big Sur Coastline

Big Sur Coastline
Originally uploaded by elkit.

Wow. I go away for a few days, get completely off the grid, and return to 30 comments to my last entry! It must be true what they say - absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I'll upload photos and tell you all about my roadtrip tomorrow. Right now, I am parched and tired.

Good night, and thank you for all the good birthday wishes.

First Cut Is The Deepest

Last week was a week of firsts of me:
- my first time on Hawaii
- my first time on an active volcano (I've been to the Vogelsberg in Germany, which I didn't realize was an extinct volcano)
- my first time whale watching
- my first time on a golf course
- my first time driving a golf cart

Not too old to learn new tricks, I think.

Waterfall - Nothing Can Go Wrong

Today we drove clear across the island, to the Eastern, windward, rainy, Hilo side. We packed our cooler with food and drink and took Saddle Road, which flanks Mauna Kea and looks on Mauna Loa (but then of course most of the island does).

We were lucky with the weather - it was sunny and clear, no fog or rain, not even in Hilo, where it rains 270 or so days out of the year. We started off on the dry side, looking at a few palm trees and lots of dune grass, climbed up the side of the mountain, with cattle and sheep looking on. Most of this part of the island is pastures, owned by the Parker Ranch; some of it is military. Big sweeping views of a brownish-red snow-capped mountain to the left (Mauna Kea) and a green-blue snow-capped mountain to the right (Mauna Loa). Lots of lava - the volcanoes sure do get around!

Descending the saddle, you see the vegetation change - taller trees, denser underbrush, lusher foliage - it's clear there's more rain here, more tropical climate. The air smells of wind and jungle and decay, and I expected a pack of velociraptors to break from the shrubbery any moment.

We stopped in sunny Hilo for lunch at the Cafe Pesto, then we strolled down the waterfront street and checked out the Pacific Tsunami Museum where we learned a bit more about how a tsunami develops, and heard stories about tsunamis that struck the Hawaiian islands in the 20th century.

Time to start heading towards home ... we stayed on the highway that leads along the ocean, and drove north to Akaka Falls - it's just a few miles off the main road, and a short hike on foot through rainforest to two waterfalls, Akaka and Kahuna. [That's Akaka in the picture on the left - click on it for the whole picture.]

Still not quite ready to go home after seeing the falls, we made another stop at Laupahoehoe Point. Sat down for a snack and beer and a stroll along the coast. Wind and waves, jagged rocks and dark blue water - my kind of location!

And now we're sitting on the lanai (the balcony) with potato chips and beer; Daniela is reading, and I am blogging and uploading photos. A perfect day. :-)

Move Me No Mountain

Here is the other snow-capped peak on Hawaii: Mauna Loa, the "Long Mountain", the largest mountain on earth. And did you know that its neighbor Mauna Kea is the highest mountain on earth? No, really. Mt. Everest is the highest above sea level, but Mauna Kea stands tallest from its underwater base. (No, I didn't know either until I got here.)

[Click on the slice above to see the whole picture.]

And It Burns, Burns, Burns

We spent a good part of today in the car, traveling about 100 miles to Kilauea, Hawaii's most active volcano. It took more than 3 hours to get there, but it was a pretty route, mostly along the ocean. This is not to placate us tourists, but by necessity, since most of the inland is taken up by several other volcanos - Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Too lazy to post pictures now; they'll still be good tomorrow.
I keep marveling at the soil - it looks good enough to eat, the color of coffee grounds and bittersweet chocolate. And what are the plants that make the whole area smell like honey?

Let's Take The Boat Out

We went whalewatching yesterday, with Captain Casey and his crew. Lisa and Theresa, who own the Lava Chimney where we're staying, had recommended this, and wow! It was wonderful.

Casey has a Hawaiian sailing canoe, and even though we went under engine power (it was too windy to sail), it was much better than being on a motor boat. There were six of us, we got to sit on top of the wooden platform connecting the two hulls, and just enjoy the day. The weather was beautiful if a bit windy, and for the first time in my life, I saw whales close up and personal. One of them even waved at me with his big fin.

[Click on the slice to see the entire photo.]

And The Stars Look Very Different Today

Walking back from dinner last night along the path that is not very well lit, I looked upwards to see my friend Orion in the sky, dogs running at his feet.

The stars are much brighter here, and there's lots more of them. It occurred to me I hadn't seen the Milky Way this clearly in a long time. We plopped down in the crewcut grass and looked up at the velvety night sky for a while, trying to find constellations and stars we knew. Orion the hunter right above us, Sirius running by his feet, and Cassiopeia surrounded by Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus and Cetus ... couldn't find the Big Dipper (although that's usually the first constellation I see), but I didn't get too distressed about that.