Mele Kalikimaka

This past weekend we received a wonderful gift from the Lord in Hawaii: SNOWWW!!!! The summit of Mauna Kea is 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level. However, when measured from the base of the dormant volcano, it is over 10,000 m (33,000 ft) tall. (Significantly taller than Mount Everest, I might point out.) From Mauna Kea you can clearly see the rest of the Big Island, neighboring Maui, and at night you can see stars and planets more clearly than anywhere else in the world. (Which is why there's all those funky telescope things at the summit.) Anyway, when it snows on Mauna Kea, Hawaiians go a bit crazy! Everyone who has a 4x4 is heading to the mountain to play in the snow, borrowing jackets, beanies, gloves, shoes... and everyone who doesn't have a 4x4 is asking around if they can get a ride!

My roommate Bridget is an awesome photographer (all photos by Bridget Kaleki Butler, gotta give credit where its due!) and being from Moku Nui (the Big Island), she wanted to capture the uniqueness of her island home by bringing snow from Mauna Kea to Sea Level where the temperature is an average of 82 Fahrenheit. So we loaded up 5 coolers into her parents' Ford Explorer and headed out at about 4am so we could pick up her friend Kelsi from Waimea at the base of Saddle Road and get up to the Summit before sunrise. We made it! With a bit of headaches from the rapid change of altitude, but we made it! We packed the coolers full of snow and headed down to Hapuna Beach State Park by 9am as the tourists and locals were slowly trickling in.

We found a spot that wasn't too crowded and began building. Then we realized we needed to build faster! We ended up with Aunty Frostina and attracted numerous tourists asking where we got the snow, could they take pictures with it for their christmas cards, etc... It was so much fun, but by the end of the project we were pretty exhausted and the sun was hot... so we jumped in the water to cool off (so crazy!!!) Then we said goodbye to Frostina and went home and promptly took long naps!

So, with all these pictures, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas from Hawaii! I'll be in Washington in a few days where the snow doesn't exactly go hand in hand with swimming in the ocean, but these photos I hope give you a sense of joy and wonder which are emotions I think Christmas naturally evokes...

Thanks to all of my family, friends, and supporters for all of your love and support throughout this year and I pray that you would be so blessed during this Christmastime and in the New Year to come.

Mele Kalikimaka & Akua Ho'omaika'i oe!!! Merry Christmas and God bless you,

Love,

Jillian