The big island of Hawaii is a lot nicer than I expected — most of it is ranches, national park, and two giant (13,000+ foot) volcanoes. The coast is fairly rugged and undeveloped, and the scenery varies from rain forest to desert lava flows. The coolest thing about this island is that one side is dry, the other rainy, and the transition zone between the two is only a few miles wide — when driving you literally turn a corner and go from low shrubs to green pastures. It messes with you — Scott, Anna and I were hiking today and it started to rain, so we decided to drive the short distance to the “dry side” and it was completely sunny there for the remainder of the day. Weather changes dramatically in places, but I’ve never seen anything quite like it is here.
"My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?" — David Mitchell