Spring Break

I know I'm no longer a student, but I still feel entitled to a spring break. I also feel entitled to a summer vacation, a winter vacation, a Christmas break, a long Thanksgiving holiday (both American and Canadian Thanksgivings), as well as various other times of not having to work. As Franz Ferdinand (the Scottish band, not the dead Archduke) says, "It's always better on holiday. That's why we only work when we need the money."

That said, it's not really a spring break unless I get on an airplane. Or two. So I flew to Hawaii. The Big Island, with the erupting volcanoes. I'm a big fan of volcanoes, especially the Cascades, although they are slightly too quiet.

I soon discovered that the best thing about Hawaii wasn't the lava or the beaches or the Pacific Ocean. The highlight? Cactus trees!

That's right. Cactus trees. I love cacti, and they are just about the only thing I can grow. But my happy cacti are teeny tiny things in pots. Cactus trees are something else. They are so cool. As I drove around Hawaii, I kept shouting, "Cactus tree!" and pointing, like I shout "Prong!" and point to the antelope on Wyoming drives. This prickly pear kind of cactus tree was only one of the many different giant cacti that I saw all over the island. I've decided that I simply have to get to Saguaro National Park this summer.

Sometimes it's the unexpected finds that make travel so great.

While I kind of expected to see some lizards on a tropical vacation, I didn't think I'd see one with such great colors and such an inquisitive expression. Turns out this Gold Dust Day Gecko shouldn't even be in Hawaii. His ancestors were native of Madagascar and Comoros and other African islands, but were released by a student on the grounds of Hawaii University in the 1970s. We were kindred spirits. I didn't belong in Hawaii, either. Too big of a water to land ratio.

Even with the ever present thought of being surrounded by water, I did enjoy visiting the tropics. The weather was warm, but not hot, and even the rain was a pleasant change from dry Wyoming. I also enjoyed odd sights like this driveway guard goat. Tethered just like a dog (and having a little bowl of water, too), this goat looked like he was sleeping, but when I approached his glare turned menacing. I think he would have attacked if I tried to get to the house behind him.

You also have to watch out for the quick growing vegetation in the tropics. This pickup was being reclaimed by the jungle in a "The World Without Us" kind of way. I wish more of the ugliness of neglected structures would be overtaken in this aggressively vegetative fashion. Or covered with lava.