Tuesday, October 1, 2019

It is presently 81 degrees Fahrenheit at 8 am in Hawaii where I am

I'm looking out at the resort that I'm staying  at people snorkeling in the ocean over coral reefs and it is about 81 degrees at 8 am. 8 am translates to 11 am PDT where I live on the California coast by the way. Yesterday we drove to the top of Haleakala Crater which was really beautiful. It was sort of like being up with Zeus and Odin and Thor in the Clouds all around us, sort of like being in a heaven realm which is amazing to be at 10,000 feet in altitude in the middle of the Pacific Ocean like this. A very magical and impressive experience (as long as you can actually breathe and walk around at 10,000 feet when you drive up there). So, be careful when you first get out of the car or truck to get your sea legs for altitude when you arrive at the summit. It was 91 degrees below as we drove up and we watched on the car thermometer the temperature drop down to about 40 degrees at 10,000 feet. So, you would see people who hadn't brought jackets for Hawaii from the mainland scurrying around in skimpy clothes meant for 90 degrees or more near the ocean trying not to get too cold. So, it was funny to see them run from their cars and shiver and then run back to their cars. Luckily, I used to live over here and expected to go to Haleakala this trip so I brought a fur lined parka so I was fine in Bermuda shorts and a fur lined parka in the cold and sometimes windy and foggy summit of Haleakala crater at around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Note: it is important so you don't get brake fade or other braking problems to know how to use your transmission to "down shift" down into lower gears to reduce the wear and tear on your brakes going down in a vehicle from the top of Haleakala Crater. Yes. I know likely you are in a rental car or truck or jeep but staying alive is nice too on really really steep high altitude roads like this. If you have the right vehicle you won't have to brake barely at all if you know how to down shift them (even automatics). This can make your trip down the mountain as safe as your trip up the mountain. You don't want to be scaring your passengers to death up or down on the Haleakala fairly steep road so downshifting will help a lot with this.

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