Hawaii

Recently, I had the opportunity to train a laser death ray on my last remaining proletarian credentials and take a vacation in Hawai'i. And it was a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone who made it possible and entertaining. As per my usual blog policies, to respect the privacy of others I don't post names or pictures of people except to give photo credits.

We were staying on the "Big Island" of Hawai'i. It has an enormous number of microclimates. Guidebook-level information would have it that there are 13 biomes on the planet, and that eleven of them occur of the Big Island alone (all save the Saharan and Antarctic climates). Parts of the island look like the Amazon, parts like Sonoma, parts like Ireland. The center-west region is dominated by lava flows and scrub. You see mountain goats along the road. The beaches, where they occur, are great, but it mostly looks like part of Nevada or New Mexico. The Ironman Triathlon takes place in this part of the Big Island.

A bit to the south, there's a coffee-producing region. We stopped for a tour of a small coffee plantation, and Nicole took this picture of a gecko on a banana tree.