We would like to take this opportunity to give a personal shout out to one of our most loyal followers coming to third grade next year, Zachary Jones. He has followed the blog everyday and given us several questions to answer. As a matter of fact, we are planning to Skype with him as well from Hawaii welcoming him to MIS. It is so exciting for us to come in at night and read what our students have written on the blog! Keep it up!
Hannah, Mrs. Harrison said hello too!
This blog will chronicle our journey as we explore the Big Island of Hawaii. We are educators from Monticello Intermediate School where we teach a vareity of subjects. We hope that you will join us on our adventure!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
This is a question posted from an anonymous reader...
Mrs. Grimes,
How much is the price of gasoline in Hawaii? Are autos the main source of transportation or something more economical? Have a great rest of the week!!
The average price for a gallon of gas is $4.30. People travel by cars, mopeds, taxis, the city bus, and ride bikes. However, many people walk. It really depends on what island you are on as well. Honolulu was a lot busier and it was easier to walk than drive. However, we rode in a taxi and bus in Honolulu. In Kona, the traffic was not near as busy and we rode in a car everywhere we went.
Mrs. Grimes,
How much is the price of gasoline in Hawaii? Are autos the main source of transportation or something more economical? Have a great rest of the week!!
The average price for a gallon of gas is $4.30. People travel by cars, mopeds, taxis, the city bus, and ride bikes. However, many people walk. It really depends on what island you are on as well. Honolulu was a lot busier and it was easier to walk than drive. However, we rode in a taxi and bus in Honolulu. In Kona, the traffic was not near as busy and we rode in a car everywhere we went.
The Nut House
Good Morning,
After being awake for 24 hours, I was still on Arkansas time but up bright and early to begin our Hawaiian learning adventure. Day one started out with an organizational meeting and getting acquainted with the members of our field study group. Along with your five MIS teachers, we also have UAM students, professors, and teachers from around Arkansas and Vermont. We climbed into the vans and off we went!
Let me say I absolutely love traveling and exploring with other educators. When my family takes a trip we usually have to view the sites on a quick drive-by basis. That is, my husband contines driving as I say, "Oh, Wayne look!" But today we stopped at ALL tourist markers along the highway. One such stop was the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company or as we joked "The Nut House!" The macadamia nut is grown plentiful on The Big Island because of the rich volcanic soil, abundant rainfall, and perfect temperatures. Inside the factory we watched the process of canning and packaging the nuts, sampled the many flavors, and shopped in the gift shop. Some of the most interesting flavors available were the Spam (yes, the processed meat), Chili Peppah, Wasabi, and Island Onion. Some of the flavors I wasn't brave enough to sample. During the process the nut is shelled and the shell is crushed to a fine powder that is used for energy to run the steamers in the factory. The energy from the shell is equivalent to half of diesel energy. Wow! That's being eco-friendly! Did you know that it takes 300 lbs of pressure per square inch to crush the shell of the macadamia nut and a human bite is only 200 lbs per square inch? That's a hard shell to crack!
Be sure and check back tomorrow for our next day's adventures!
Aloha,
Mrs. Harrison
After being awake for 24 hours, I was still on Arkansas time but up bright and early to begin our Hawaiian learning adventure. Day one started out with an organizational meeting and getting acquainted with the members of our field study group. Along with your five MIS teachers, we also have UAM students, professors, and teachers from around Arkansas and Vermont. We climbed into the vans and off we went!
Let me say I absolutely love traveling and exploring with other educators. When my family takes a trip we usually have to view the sites on a quick drive-by basis. That is, my husband contines driving as I say, "Oh, Wayne look!" But today we stopped at ALL tourist markers along the highway. One such stop was the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company or as we joked "The Nut House!" The macadamia nut is grown plentiful on The Big Island because of the rich volcanic soil, abundant rainfall, and perfect temperatures. Inside the factory we watched the process of canning and packaging the nuts, sampled the many flavors, and shopped in the gift shop. Some of the most interesting flavors available were the Spam (yes, the processed meat), Chili Peppah, Wasabi, and Island Onion. Some of the flavors I wasn't brave enough to sample. During the process the nut is shelled and the shell is crushed to a fine powder that is used for energy to run the steamers in the factory. The energy from the shell is equivalent to half of diesel energy. Wow! That's being eco-friendly! Did you know that it takes 300 lbs of pressure per square inch to crush the shell of the macadamia nut and a human bite is only 200 lbs per square inch? That's a hard shell to crack!
Be sure and check back tomorrow for our next day's adventures!
Aloha,
Mrs. Harrison
Mrs. Norton in Paradise
Paradise is a word I associate with beauty, serenity and awe inspiring. I have seen some pretty places in my time, but none that I would consider paradise...until today. We drove down a narrow road, crossed one lane bridges and admired an abundance of floral beauty before we arrived at "paradise". Literally, at the end of the road, the mountains rose majestically above the deep blue water. The shadows cast by the clouds danced across the mountainside creating a patchwork of light and dark. Far below, a small cave was carved out of the rocky mountain base. We saw a variety of birds and a couple of mules that had a daily view of paradise. Amazing plant life grew along the roadside and we were able to collect some amazing specimens including wild guava! I felt very blessed and humbled as we loaded the car to head to our next destination.
Aloha Oukou!
Mrs. Norton
Aloha Oukou!
Mrs. Norton
New Experiences
Today was a day filled with lots of new experiences. We visited downtown Kona where we saw black crabs crawling on the lava near the sea wall, visited a macadamia nut factory where we tasted many flavors of macadamia nuts (even some that were kona coffee glazed, don't you know that I was happy), and stopped in the town of Kahala.
While in Kahala we visited a monument that was erected in honor of King Kamehameha. King Kamehameha was believed to have been born around 1753. He is credited with unifying all the inhabited islands of Hawaii. He was a peaceful king who encouraged trade. He was also credited with opening Hawaii to the rest of the world. Because he was so important to the people of Hawaii, they have created a state holiday (celebrated on June 11) in his honor much like Presidents Day is celebrated nationally.
While at the monument Mrs. Grimes encountered another mongoose. Of course a chase ensued. Mrs. Grimes moved swiftly towards the creature, camera in hand, as the creature moved swiftly away from her. Unfortunately, the mongoose won and Mrs. Grimes was unable to get a close-up photograph. Hopefully we will see another one tomorrow and the third time will be the charm.
After the mongoose chase, we noticed a majestic Banyan tree standing not far from the monument of King Kamehameha. We stood in awe of the size of the tree. The tree was so large that all five of us couldn't reach around it!!
There are so many amazing and unusual natural wonders here. I can't wait to share them with my students for years to come.
Aloha, Mrs. West
While in Kahala we visited a monument that was erected in honor of King Kamehameha. King Kamehameha was believed to have been born around 1753. He is credited with unifying all the inhabited islands of Hawaii. He was a peaceful king who encouraged trade. He was also credited with opening Hawaii to the rest of the world. Because he was so important to the people of Hawaii, they have created a state holiday (celebrated on June 11) in his honor much like Presidents Day is celebrated nationally.
While at the monument Mrs. Grimes encountered another mongoose. Of course a chase ensued. Mrs. Grimes moved swiftly towards the creature, camera in hand, as the creature moved swiftly away from her. Unfortunately, the mongoose won and Mrs. Grimes was unable to get a close-up photograph. Hopefully we will see another one tomorrow and the third time will be the charm.
After the mongoose chase, we noticed a majestic Banyan tree standing not far from the monument of King Kamehameha. We stood in awe of the size of the tree. The tree was so large that all five of us couldn't reach around it!!
There are so many amazing and unusual natural wonders here. I can't wait to share them with my students for years to come.
Aloha, Mrs. West
Lava Graffiti
Aloha from Kona!
As we drove down the Queen Kaahumanu Highway this morning, I noticed a lot of writing in the lava fields. All of the writing was done in white creating a nice contrast to the dark brown and black lava. (BTW...the black lava is from a more recent lava flow!) The writing consisted of simple messages such as words of encouragement, political messages, messages to honor/remember someone as well as proclamations of love. People pick up white coral that has washed up on the beach to use in creating their message. If we get a chance to go to the beach this week, we hope to find some white coral to create a message that will read "Go Billies Go" before we leave on Sunday. Take a look at our pictures and see if you can pick out the lava graffiti!
Aloha!
Mrs. Longing
As we drove down the Queen Kaahumanu Highway this morning, I noticed a lot of writing in the lava fields. All of the writing was done in white creating a nice contrast to the dark brown and black lava. (BTW...the black lava is from a more recent lava flow!) The writing consisted of simple messages such as words of encouragement, political messages, messages to honor/remember someone as well as proclamations of love. People pick up white coral that has washed up on the beach to use in creating their message. If we get a chance to go to the beach this week, we hope to find some white coral to create a message that will read "Go Billies Go" before we leave on Sunday. Take a look at our pictures and see if you can pick out the lava graffiti!
Aloha!
Mrs. Longing
Don't leave home without your camera
Trying to take in every minute of being in Hawaii, Mrs. Longing and I started off the morning on a hike to find the ocean. Because of so many flight delays and cancellations, we had to be flexible with our schedule, just like we do with teaching. We were unable to get the boat today, so that trip will be tomorrow. (for those of you following our schedule)
On our way to find the ocean, we located a Kane spider. Even though these are not poisonous, they are still creepy looking creatures and are not welcomed anywhere near me. When we arrived at the beach, it was not at all like we expected. The sand was dirty and would not be a place I would like to spend the day. When I think of Hawaii, I think of white sand beaches and beautiful water. From afar, the water looked dark and muddy. Little did we know, the water was as clear as glass when we walked closer. Much to our surprise, we even saw a sea turtle and a yellow tropical fish that had washed almost to the shore. It was amazing! We were so upset that we chose not to bring our cameras to capture these animals.
Then, we had our orientation meeting with the rest of our group and got started on our day's activities. We headed for downtown. We ate lunch at the Kona Inn restaurant. When the earthquake hit off the coast of Japan in March, it created a tsunami that traveled across the Pacific ocean and crashed into the big island of Hawaii. This caused major damage to local businesses and hotels. The tsunami waves actually washed up to the hostess station in the Kona restaurant. Some of the hotels and businesses are still working to rebuild.
When we finished lunch, we ventured out to the shore where we saw a brown sea turtle that blended in with the rocks, and black crabs. The crabs were located on the black lava rock and were hard to see. Just like the animal adaptations we learn about, these animals too adapted using their surroundings to camoflauge in with their environment.
On our way to find the ocean, we located a Kane spider. Even though these are not poisonous, they are still creepy looking creatures and are not welcomed anywhere near me. When we arrived at the beach, it was not at all like we expected. The sand was dirty and would not be a place I would like to spend the day. When I think of Hawaii, I think of white sand beaches and beautiful water. From afar, the water looked dark and muddy. Little did we know, the water was as clear as glass when we walked closer. Much to our surprise, we even saw a sea turtle and a yellow tropical fish that had washed almost to the shore. It was amazing! We were so upset that we chose not to bring our cameras to capture these animals.
Then, we had our orientation meeting with the rest of our group and got started on our day's activities. We headed for downtown. We ate lunch at the Kona Inn restaurant. When the earthquake hit off the coast of Japan in March, it created a tsunami that traveled across the Pacific ocean and crashed into the big island of Hawaii. This caused major damage to local businesses and hotels. The tsunami waves actually washed up to the hostess station in the Kona restaurant. Some of the hotels and businesses are still working to rebuild.
When we finished lunch, we ventured out to the shore where we saw a brown sea turtle that blended in with the rocks, and black crabs. The crabs were located on the black lava rock and were hard to see. Just like the animal adaptations we learn about, these animals too adapted using their surroundings to camoflauge in with their environment.
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