Danita, welcome! Yes, we are having some fun on this forum. September 11, magical destinations, Car-i-Okie, topless waitresses, pepper spray -- it's all here. Glad you joined us!

I haven't been to Hawaii (yet). But, I'm one of those people with travel in my blood and a recurring dream in which I'm crowned winner of the National Geographic geography bee (Alex Trebek gives me my trophy), so I consume travel literature like I consume food. I know the street maps of cities I haven't even been to (again, "yet"). Let me dig out some of my Hawaii resources and get back to you about cool stuff on the Big Island.

I can definitely recommend a must-read book for anyone traveling to Hawaii: James Michener's "Hawaii." Reading Michener is an enjoyable, eye-opening, thought-provoking history lesson, and if you're going to a place, check to see if Michener's written a book about it. Some dismiss Michener as a literary lightweight (I disagree), but his novels are all based on years of research, so you're simultaneously entertained and enlightened. "Hawaii" takes you from the island chain's early Polynesian roots, through the reigns of her kings and queens, including Liliuokalani, the last queen, deposed by sugar planters in 1893, through the missionary years, and up to and through U.S. statehood. In one thick, fast-paced gulp (my 1959 hardcover runs 937 pages), you'll learn enough to help you better understand and appreciate the islands and their people.

You'll find cheap used copies on Amazon. Check out "Ribbons of Highway" while you're there!

I'd like to hear about Finland. What is Helsinki like? Did you get beyond the capital? Do tell.

Iceland is gorgeous, isn't it? The kids and I visited a few Februaries ago. I recently wrote a blog story, "Iceland's banana tree," that you might get a kick out of. Here's a link to that post: http://RibbonsofHighway.blogspot.com/2005/03/icelands-banana-tree.html .

Back at you soon with Big Island info -- and D.C. doin's, too, for smilinize.