William Elton Blog

Hawaii March 2011 Trip

2011-03-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Mainlanders,

On Thursday, Scott and I made a wonderful trip to Volcanoes National Park. We hiked on some of the many trails there. Our hikes went along the edges of craters, through the rainforest, and across mysterious stretches of sulfurous steam vents, some of which bubbled up through the bizarre wholes in the ground right along the trails' sides.

It was a lovely to and from the park. Our route took us from the west toward the south and back, cutting across mountains, valleys, and lava fields. You can see where along the highway where has added to the landscape over the past decades.

Thursday evening, we got back to our hotel, freshened up, and went out for dinner on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona, a small city right on the western coast. Little did we know what was in store for the coastal restaurants, hotels, and shops along Alii that very night.

We got back to the hotel, and I happened to turn on the TV to CNN to see the shocking picture from Japan. Condolences to the Japanese in this time of tremendous suffering. A tsunami watch was in place Hawaii. Soon enough, that was upgraded to a warning. Watch this little video I made.

Even though tsunami travel about 500 miles per hour, we had hours to evacuate. There is over three thousand miles between Hawaii and Japan.

At around 11:30, a hotel employee banged on our hotel door and then opened it, telling us we needed to leave. We went down to the lobby and got a map. We drove our rental car to a designated evacuation area, a Walmart parking lot. There we would wait out the waves.

The parking lot was nearly full with other cars. The atmosphere among the people there was interesting. They were mainly tourists like us. There was a mixture of worry, excitement, fear, and disappointment in the air.

We managed a bit of sleep in our rental car that night. We listened to reporting on the radio on and off throughout the night. Initially, there were few damage reports, but by morning it was clear the most damage in Hawaii was along the western coast of the big island centered on Kailua-Kona, right where we had been staying.

Scott and I, as well as our refugees, didn't know what to do in the morning. Should we stay or go? Can we return to our hotels or not? Eventually we found out that Alii Drive had been hit hard. We decided to return to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, north of the city. We were able to get a room there luckily.

In all, it was a memorable experience, but one that I hope no reader of this blog ever needs to go through. Here are some links for more information about the event.
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/03/12/video-eyewitness-to-kona-tsunami-aftermath-has-crazy-week/
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/03/12/video-kona-man-braves-tsunami-surge-to-save-fish-on-alii-drive/
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2011/03/11/hawaii-county-surveys-tsunami-damage-kona-hit-hard/

Finally, thank you all for your concern. Enjoy some pictures of our trip so far! FYI, there will be one more post about Hawaii when we return and Scott is able to download the spectacular pictures from the black sand beach and ancient Native Hawaiian place of worship that we visited.

Hapuna Beach, Big Island

the tropical sun feels much more intense than anything you ever get in Minnesota

we had lots and lots of sun

Lava is ever-present in Hawaii's varied landscapes, West Coast Desert

One of thousands of white stone decorations made by motorists on black lava along the highway

our handy GPS

Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel

lanai, shared with semi-wild kitty cats

Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway

Lava tube at Volcanoes National Park

Scott and I walked through this tube, including a pitch black section with our own flashlights

View from hotel in Oahu

Hawaii has many odd native plants

Scott in front of a lava field (formed 1974)

Sulphuric steam vents above the Kilauea's main crater, Sulphur Banks Trail

Kalaueaiki Crater, Scott and I hiked down to it

One of the rainforest trails in Volcanoes National Park

Hawaiian quilting displayed at one of our hotels

Christmas Parade 2010

2011-03-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

Video clips of the Rhinelander Holiday Parade 2010. It was so cold!

Hill House

2010-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Late this winter, Scott and I went to the Hill House in St. Paul. The Hill House is a historic masion built by a famous railroad tycoon.

There was such a glare from the snow when we visited that my picture of the exterior did not turn out. Here instead is a picture of the mansion I found online.

Below are pictures that I took. There is a picture of the cathedral visible from a bedroom of the house amongst pictures that I took of various interior features.

If you are in St. Paul, the Hill House is a worthy stop!

Leila Shenanigans at Dad's 80th

2010-05-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

It was great to see people at Mom and Dad's this weekend. I enjoyed badminton a lot. As the rest of played, Leila did her best to speed down Timber Lane on her trike. I think Lisa might have a future spin class partner in Leila.

Here are some pictures I found of Leila from Dad's 80th birthday party. Enjoy!

I'm in the news!

2010-04-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was interviewed while on the train to Big Lake, MN for the West Sherburne Tribune. Click HERE to read the story.

Aloha!

2010-03-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Recently, I made a trip to Honolulu with my boyfriend, Scott. Here are some pictures from the trip. We had a blast!

And this is Scott:

Final Semester Begins, More Christmas Pictures

2010-01-26T01:35:00.000-08:00

I'm doing well. School is, um, interesting this semester, but graduation is not far off.

Christmas Present Opening part 1

2010-01-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Video clips from Spring 2009 Arkansas Trip

2009-12-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

Snow Over Downtown Minneapolis

2009-12-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

I'm completely finished with classes! The pressure is off for a few weeks, although I am committed to do writing for our language program's accreditation committee over break.

Thesis Proposal Approved

2009-12-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

Very good news. I passed my first thesis defense. I had to present my thesis project to a panel of three professors and then respond to their questions. This means that I will be able to conduct a study this spring and graduate in May. I will probably stay in Saint Cloud through the summer working at the Intensive English Center where I now work. After that, there are some interesting job possibilities for me in connection with Saint Cloud State and connected universities, but those are not definite so I'm not going to write about them on here.

Wish me luck on my two finals this week. They may be the last finals that I ever need to take! :)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

2009-12-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the great party, Christine and Andrea!

My Roommate

2009-12-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is me and one of my roommates, Alex. We are on a street in Saint Cloud pushing our friend Jenna's car which broke down.

IEC Graduation

2009-12-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

I'm going to post occassionally to my blog again.

Here is a picture of my coworkers and me. We are at the graduation ceremony for the students we teach. Congrats class of Fall 2009!

San Francisco Trip Reflections

2009-06-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

I can't believe this is my last day in San Francisco! I had a very nice stay. The weather was pleasant and mainly sunny, the hostel was one of the best i've ever stayed in, and I met some really nice people.

I had good food the entire time. The highlights were the authentic little sushi restaurant I went to that had just four little tables and an Indonesian cafe. I had an amazing coconut stew at the Indonesian place. My favorite dining experience though was at a Mediterranean fusion place in the Castro. I met some real characters.

I did a lot of walking (which unfortunately meant a lot of hills). There was an outdoor festival in North Beach, the Italian neighborhood, that I came across while heading to Coit Tower for a spectacular view of the city, the Bay, and bridges. I also spent a morning shopping around Union Square. Overall, I think I burned more calories than I consumed.

I also met someone who was a Giants season ticket holder, and I got to go see an As/Giants games for free. The Giants won. The stadium has a spectacular view out over the bay and looks appropriately toward Oakland. I can't believe how close up to the water the stadium is built.

On Friday, I went to MOMA and saw an Ansel Adams/Georgia O'Keefe exhibit.. It was pricey but worth it.

I'd totally make another trip out here again.

San Francisco Trip 09

2009-06-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Just arrived at my hostel. It's quite good. Going out for sushi.

End of Winter Break

2009-01-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

Not much to mention... I'm back in Saint Cloud after a nice stay in Rhinelander over winter break. Tomorrow the new semester starts.

The Gingerbread Murder Mystery

2009-01-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

Who done it? I stumbled across a very gory scene a couple of days ago. (This picture may not be suitable for cookie lovers.)

Dad's gingerbread man throat has been slashed. Please contact the authorities immediately if you know who might be behind this brutal murder.

Lisa and Laurie, I responded to your comments on the last post. Take a look.

It was very nice to see everyone both at Thanksgiving and around Christmas this year. Here are some Thanksgiving photos I purloined from Dad's camera.

Finally, Oscar has proven that he does have a "good boy" buried somewhere inside of himself. He was so well-behaved when Mom and I gave him a bath a few days ago.

Rhinelander a.k.a. Siberia

2008-12-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

Made it to Rhinelander! I will be up here through New Year's most likely. Cheyenne came with me and is trying her best to cope with a noisy household. Don, Hope, and the kids showed up today. Kenny, Beth, and I went out this afternoon for some sledding fun. Can't wait to get over to Colfax and see the rest of the gang.

I have two favors to ask of the readers of this blog: keep your old magazines and newspapers for me and collect postage stamps for me. The magazines and newspapers I am gathering for my ESL students and for my fellow TAs in St. Cloud. Both students and TAs often need to find articles to use in projects, so save what you have and I'll get them from you the next time I see you. The stamps are for me. I am starting to collect again. I know; I am a nerd.

Ouch! I have braces now...

2008-12-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

Here I am with a group of coworkers from the Intensive English Center. The picture was taken this past Friday at the graduation for the international students we worked during this semester. It is great that so many of our students will be moving to regular university studies. The graduation ceremony was fun, and there was a nice potluck meal to accompany it.

Below is a picture from a march I intended a few weeks ago. The event was in support of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Finally, I had braces put on Monday. I'm pretty sore right now, but thankfully my teaching is done as are most of my classes and meetings for the semester, so I can lay on my futon doped up on Extra Strength Tylenol and Orajel. The beginning is supposed to be the worst they tell me. I sure hope they're right.

Pictures from the Intensive English Center

2008-11-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

This fall I have been working at the SCSU Intensive English Center. Below is shown one of my classes and my Halloween costume. It was fun for my foreign students and for me that I dressed up.