Michael Hello at home, we went on a short vacation again -- an entire one and a half weeks, simply incredible! Since I've been with AOL for three years now, I get a full three weeks of vacation instead of the usual two. Where to? Hawaii, of course, this time to "Big Island," the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Not to be confused with the most populated island, Oahu, where the TV series "Magnum" is set and where the capital, Honolulu, is located. No, we are always drawn to places off the beaten path, so Big Island with its active volcanoes was just right for us. But more on that later. By the way, this time there are a bunch of pictures that can only be truly enjoyed on the internet at http://usarundbrief.com, where they are available in color and can be enlarged if you click on them. It's worth throwing a few deutschmarks at the German Telekom to cover the cost! There you go, the lava flowing in red, the waves foaming in white! Click diligently on the following pictures!

Michael If you want to know how the lava continued to flow after the intro photo above, you just need to look at Figure 10; it was really impressive. On the website https://usarundbrief.com, you can see it much more clearly than in the printout. Not only in color, but also with the option to zoom in.

Michael You can drive up a now-dormant volcano called Mauna Kea by car. The only way up is a rather steep, unpaved road, and only one local car rental company (Harper) allows you to take on the tour with their rented "Toyota Four-Runners" (four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles). All other car rental companies known in America (Dollar, Alamo, Avis) prohibit the use of this road in their rental agreements. This turned out to be totally ridiculous because, although the road was indeed unpaved, it was in excellent condition, as wide as a highway, and compared to the 2,000 miles of Australian dirt roads we covered a few years ago in a Land Cruiser, it was a piece of cake. The car rental company also charged us an additional $22 per day for full insurance coverage, which had a deductible of $5,000. Sometimes Americans are really crazy.

Michael Even when on vacation, you have to go shopping for groceries. A little water here, a little champagne there. Why not in the same supermarket as back home? In America, there is this phenomenon where, no matter where you are, you always encounter the same chains: the "Starbucks" coffee shop, the fast-food joints "McDonald's," "Wendy's," "Burger King," "Denny's," and "Taco Bell." Pizza places like "Roundtable" and "Pizza Hut." Grocery stores like "Safeway". "Good Guys" for electronic gadgets. And, of course, "Home Depot" (home improvement). Incidentally, the latter is now open 24 hours a day in San Francisco, so if you find yourself needing a suitable wrench at 2 a.m., you can quickly upgrade with a 24-piece set. A concept that people in Germany should not shy away from considering!

Michael Another specialty on Big Island is the coffee from Kona. It is actually grown, harvested, and roasted there. This is unusual because coffee requires a very special climate to thrive.

Michael The whole time I didn't have a laptop with me. The pager was on strike, and the cell phone didn't work either, that's how remote the area was. So I faced the problem of having to survive more than a week without access to stock prices! To my rescue, there's an internet startup company in America called "Tellme" (incidentally also in Mountain View, where Netscape is), which offers internet information via a telephone service. Like all new internet companies, they are making heaps of losses to attract customers. "Tellme" offers a toll-free number (1-800-555-TELL) with a voice recognition system that understands whether you say "Stock Quotes" or "Restaurants" and provides information on stock prices or restaurants accordingly. It's a bit embarrassing to stand at a public phone and constantly shout keywords ("Stock Quotes!" ... "America Online!" ... "Yahoo!" ... "Microsoft!"), but what wouldn't you do to stay up-to-date, even in a South Sea paradise.