The headline of an article in USA TODAY read “Don’t let volcanoes or other irrational fears, ruin your summer vacation”.
I have never felt a draw to Hawaii, for several reasons. First, it is a heck of a long way to go. I do not love flying. I will do it when necessary, but I rarely choose it. Second, I am not a tropical vacationer. I despise humidity. I will not even apologize for the use of that strong word. I truly despise humidity.
The last two days here in my city have been pure heaven; 75 degrees, sunny, clear, cool. Perfection. My son, Christopher tells me that if I love this weather, I should live in San Diego. My husband tells me if I love this weather I should live in Phoenix, in the winter. Well, I am fortunately or unfortunately in Cincinnati, so I will simply relish these lovely days when they make their appearances.
Hawaii’s Big Island is open for tourism, according to residents and officials. While it is true that Kilauea has consumed more than 50 homes in the Leilani Estates subdivision and thousands of residents have evacuated the area, allegedly the fireworks show is happening far away from the touristy hotspots (no pun intended).
Bill Baker, a marketing manager for a minor league baseball team in Geneva, Illinois, has plans to visit the Big Island with his family in mid-June. He has rented a home near Kona and continually monitors the U.S. Geological Survey reports. He states that he has “never had a single moment of hesitation” about going.
“Mauna Loa stands between us and the activity and about 80 miles separates us from anything serious”, Baker went on to say. Sounds to me like he is trying to convince himself, but whatever.
According to Ben Edwards, a volcano expert and professor of Earth sciences at Dickinson College, for now, the only visitors who should rethink their plans are those with respiratory problems. “They need to keep track of sulfur dioxide levels around the island in case there are days where the air quality diminishes” he says. Well, that sounds like a hoot, wearing a gas mask to the beach.
The only people who should be panicking at this time are those in the Hawaiian tourism industry. There are reports of widespread cancellations from people seeing images of a mountainside aglow with hot lava. Talk about a vacation to remember.
The article went on to state that perhaps it is an opportune time to book that trip to Hawaii, as the deals are good and likely to get better.
Tempting. But I think I’ll stick around the midwest for now. We don’t have too many volcano eruptions. However, Ohio is considered to be in the New Madrid Fault zone.
I’ll take my chances.
