After nearly 25 years the lava on Hawaii’s Big Island continues to flow from the Pu’u O’o vent on the flanks of Kilauea down into the Pacific Ocean. In the early 90′s I was there to witness the slow destruction of Kalapana and watched in amazement as they rolled the historic painted church down the road to safety, while the palms on the famous black sand beach went up in flames.

I’ve been back many times over the years and I’m always in awe of Pele’s powerful hand in shaping these Islands. Will Rogers once said “buy real estate, they don’t make it any more”, but clearly he had never been to this part of the world!