Update from the tropics

I hear that it's quite cold where we live. This is the constant gratitude inducer while we while away the week in Hawaii. We are on the Big Island, technically the island of Hawaii staying at the nicest resort either of us has ever stayed at. Seriously. You know how they post the rack rates on the inside of the door of the hotel room. I know only fools pay those rates, but on ours it says $600-$900 per night. Of course we paid a fraction of that, less than a C-note per night. (I love you Priceline!) And they even gave us an ocean view room. Okay it is partial ocean view, but still. We leave the door open at night and the sound of the waves crashing lulls us to sleep. Oh and the room is bigger than the studio apartments we rent out back home. (On a side note, it seems like whenever we fall into a fantastic vacation situation, tragedy strikes elsewhere in the world. Our hearts go out to those suffering in Haiti. ) Our resort is on the largest sandy beach on the island and I've been body surfing every day except yesterday.
That's because we took a tour of the whole island. 280 miles on a tour bus with a dozen stops. The highlight was the volcanoes national park of course. Behind me there you see the toxic gases spewing out of Kilauea. There is no lava flowing at the moment, the rangers explaining that the volcano is in a state of pause. The guide was really good and talked the whole time about the flora, the history, and the legends that abound here.

The fancy resort thing is nice, but the prices sometimes make me burst out laughing. You're kidding right, I keep finding myself saying in my head. I was hip to the scam though and brought along plenty of snacks and booze to keep costs down. Here's something. Who thought it was a good idea to make rosemary mint shampoo (I can't make a question mark cuz Serge is asleep and I'm on his french keyboard) I mean I feel like I'm tea steeping every time I use it. Weird.

I thought this was a fabulous shot of the honey. Last night we went down to the beach there and swam by starlight. I suppose we will while away today down there as well. I should probably finish up the Lovely Bones today which has been a great read. Friday we are looking forward to the Crab feast buffet. Saturday we will head over to Honolulu for a more urban experience. We're having fun and I hope that you are too, wherever you are.