Our evenings consist of card games, 'The Grinch' and a random quiz site that can entertain for hours!! We've inhaled a fair amount of ice cream and our late night bowls of cereal have taught us that one gallon of milk will not last longer than four days! Having more people in the house means extra laughter, more available dish washers and, thanks to Dad, an endless supply of fruit. Unfortunately, we're not talking juicy mangos, just all the avocados and guavas he finds on the ground. We have been blessed with bags full of oranges the last few weeks and it's nice to have more muscle around for some extensive juicing parties.
.JPG)
[baby banana!!]
We're almost to the point where the remaining cherries are one extreme or the other. They've either gone bad because we didn't get to them in time or they have yet to ripen. Translation: our work is far from done, but we can afford to take a day or two off for adventuring reasons. So, on Thursday we headed for the volcano..
Let me tell you, this trip was wacky from start to finish! Not a 'bad' wacky, just a significant lack of anything going as planned. First of all, we've been cramming five people into a truck that barely holds four. Although this is manageable for the seven minutes it takes to drive to the fields, we knew our cramped positions wouldn't hold up for a two hour road trip. Thankfully, Abe volunteered to ride in the back with Kai. Problem solved, except for having to pack all the camping stuff in the back, too! Let's just say, Abe and the pooch had to get pretty cozy for that trek!! We arrived at our favorite campsite and it immediately started raining. Not a downpour, rather an alternating mist/drizzle for the next few hours. Not easily discouraged, we rigged up a make shift canopy to play cards under! We soon realized, however, that one of our tarps was a leaky tarp. And, as we unpacked the truck, it dawned on us that the pump for my parents air mattress had gone AWAL; the extreme, southern winds of the island had snatched it right out of the truck. Things were looking pretty bleary!
The rain finally let up and the guys started a fire. We skewered our cheese brats which, in my opinion, are the only kind of brats worth eating! Second course had us roasting jumbo marshmallows for s'mores! The ranger tried to rain on our parade, not too much of a pun intended, by notifying us of the $20,000 fee if Kai wasn't on a leash at all times. But it takes a lot to phase us! By the time darkness had taken over we were ready to hike to the lookout point. The carbon dioxide levels keep anyone from getting too close to the volcano, so the guide books are a little misleading with all the pictures of lava flowing right by you. We do love to look over the caldera at night, though, with the smoke billowing out in shades of red. The horizon takes on an ethereal glow, tinting the night sky.
[Kilauea Caldera]
Heading back to the campsite we were feeling better about the camping situation. We purchased a new tarp and Dad found a fellow camper with a pump, improving my parents sleeping arrangements significantly! After some star gazing and story telling, Abe folded his 6 feet 3 inches and a full head of hair into a kid-sized tent and Derek, Kai and I settled into the back of the truck. All was well until the rain started back up.
We slept in peaceful oblivion for most of the night. Water leaked in on the sides of our blankets and massive puddles formed on top of the tarps, but we were in dream land. Dad and Mom were snug as a bug, unaware of the fact that the bottom half of their blanket was soaked and the water had run a nice little zig zag pattern on the mattress, right around their heads! They say that what you don't know can't hurt you and I suppose it was true in this case! Poor little brother, on the other hand, became extremely aware of his miniature tent being, in fact, NOT water proof. He came staggering out the next morning, ringing water from his blanket and cracking his neck. Oh, and did I mention it was still raining?!
At this point, the only option was laughter. Nothing was really funny, but we had to laugh as we packed up the soggy mess and heated water for our oatmeal. Next stop: COFFEE!! I can only imagine how we looked, running into this little store sopping wet and rubbing sleep out of our eyes. But they had what we were after: hot coffee, tea and the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever tasted!! These beverages enabled us to venture into the volcano park where, although it was still raining, we had a great time! The caldera takes on a whole different look by day and the steam vents felt even better than usual because of the state we were in, mostly 'wet to the bone'. A rainforest walk and giant lava tube completed our soggy trip. Thank goodness for laughter and dry clothes for the ride home. Abe couldn't ride in the back, so quarters were cramped. But we broke up the trip with a stop at the Punalu'u Bakery, which had been on our list for quite awhile!! We were certainly not disappointed and with fresh, lilikoi frosted malasadas in our tummy we returned home in high spirits.
The truth that accompanied me throughout this week was that God is the same no matter what may be going on in my life. No matter if things are mundane or chaotic; rain or sunshine. Whether we're -picking our 9000th pound of coffee or sending presents to those we won't spend Christmas with. Jesus is the constant in a world of variables. He is laughter when things don't go according to plan and He is peace amidst all the unknown. 'Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and today and forever.' Hebrews 13:89
No comments:
Post a Comment