by Dallan Wright

Two weeks ago I surprised my wife with the sentance, “Tomorrow morning we have to get up early because we’re going to Hawaii!” Mass happiness ensued as we packed late into the night, barely slept, and then headed off to the airport.

The trip was wonderful in too many ways to describe without becoming boring, but there was one event which happened on Oahu which applies directly to this website.

We were visiting the Nuunau Pali overlook off the Pali Highway when I noticed I was surrounded by lava rock. To me it seemed exactly like the lava rock I grew up with in Rexburg. I quickly tapped my wife on the shoulder and said loudly through the strong breeze, “Hawaii is just like Idaho!”

My wife stopped in her tracks, paused for a moment, and burst out laughing. “I know, I know.” I said, trying to subdue her extreme reaction. “It’s the lava rock… not the lush green everywhere.” She calmed down just a bit and looked at me with a hint of pity, but she didn’t want to hear anymore about how Hawaii and Rexburg compare.

Lists are fun, so here’s my list of ways Hawaii won’t seem so foreign when you drop on by some day.

6) Sunsets. Hawaii’s sunsets are framed with palm trees and and sandy beaches but dust from spud harvest and a potato field are pretty hot stuff as well.
5) Fields and fields of short green stuff outsiders don’t have a clue as to what it is. Potato field, Pinapple field. The dirt’s a little red in Hawaii and I wouldn’t exactly want a potato ice-cream cone, but squint your eyes and they look fairly similar.

4) Snow Cones. Rexburg and Hawaii both sport snow cone sheds/shacks. The real difference? Hawaii throws beans in with the ice-cream. A little creepy but they earn points for originality.

3) Locals. They both love their homeland very much and wish outsiders would just move along and leave them to how things used to be (pre-50th state, pre-BYU Idaho).

2) Dormant Volcano’s. We have our beautiful Menan Butte’s (R Mountain), and Oahu has Diamondhead. Doing a little research I learned they are the same type of volcano’s while the larger Menan Butte is slightly bigger than Diamonhead.  Both are dry as a bone (Diamonhead doesn’t receive much rain), and climbing to the top wears you out and makes you sweat in both locations, while one offers views of the Snake River and the other view has a lot less rock and a lot more ocean.

1) Volcano rock is a decorators choice.  My parents still have a lava rock chimney popping out of the house and my brother in Idaho Falls retains a lava rock covered fireplace.  The only place I’ve seen more lava rock in their decor is Hawaii.  Hawaii slaps it on most fences, public restrooms, and even churches are lined with it.

It’s funny how when I run away to a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean I still can’t get my mind too far from Rexburg, Idaho.