American Oceania - Day 11 - Mount Doom

9/12/17, “Mount Doom” (Goals 16/17 and 17/17 Complete)

Volcano, Hawai’i, Hawaii (Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park)

Mission Accomplished, and not a moment too soon.  With 15 hours left before I turn 30, I have completed all 17 of my Goals, and my Quest has come to an end, atop a mountain, just like Frodo and the Quest of the Ring.  I have endured a lot during my Quest, but nowhere near as much as Frodo and Sam, to be sure.  I have said, “US Complete.”  I have accomplished all 17 of my Goals.

I planned it this way by design, for this moment to occur on my last day as a 20-something-year-old.  I have been planning it this way for five years.  So much could have gone wrong along the way, but it all worked out in the end.  I have, at long last, accomplished my mission.  This is quite possibly the proudest moment of my life, the fact that these were Goals I set for myself and that they were accomplished through sheer determination, that I endured, that all the overnight drives and Days on short sleep and long plane rides and wounds and hurts and stresses have now been remunerated with this moment.

This is called Kilauea Volcano, but, to me, it is Mount Doom.  I now have five days left in this trip, and I will be picking up my friend at the airport tonight, and we will be have the five days to do nothing but relax and whatever activities we choose to do.  And, yes, like Frodo after the Quest of the Ring, there will be time for feasts and celebrations, but there are no more Stadiums to visit, no more States or Territories to check-off, no more World Heritage Sites to see.  For once, I will be able to take time to relax and not worry about the mission.

Now, I have said this will be the final entry in this Travelogue, but, Frodo recorded the Return Journey and what happened after the Quest.  I will do that, too, in some way, but not in this Travelogue.  To end this entry, I need only record what brought me from my hotel in Pago Pago to this spot atop Mount Doom.

After I closed yesterday afternoon, I published my collages, and then I realized I had a lot of time to kill.  That was when I made my one and only tactical error of the day.  I should have immediately headed out instead of waiting around to post some more photos from the day.  There were two National Historic Landmarks I wanted to visit, and I had already lit a PDR.  I headed out after a bit, but both were somewhat inaccessible.  The first was the Government House, which was visible from the street, but the hill where it was situated was restricted.  I took my ceremonial picture from the street.

I then tried to go to Blunt’s Point Battery, and the trailhead was a challenge to find.  When I got there, it said it was a 2-hour hike.  That was longer than I wanted to do, so I figured that I would just walk until I found a good view.  It seemed that the trail was closed off anyway once I got a little ways up, so I was thwarted there, too.  I then went back and in search of the barber shop, but it had closed at 4 PM, and it was slightly after 4 PM.  If I had headed straight out, I would have been there in time.  Instead, I bought razors and shaving cream.  I then got a cup of coffee and went back to my hotel.  I lit up an Oliva and published my photos for the day.  It was almost time to check-out of the hotel, so I packed and got ready.

I still had a lot of time to kill.  I finished my cigar and checked and double checked everything.  I was getting closer and closer to “Mission Accomplished,” and I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong.  When I could think of nothing else to check and had finished my cigar, I headed across the street to Sook’s Sushi, a Japanese restaurant for dinner.  I will not detail the gross incompetence of the wait staff there, but I did manage to get a stir-fried beef dish, which was quite good.  I then had an Ardor and headed to the airport after my pipe.

I returned the car to the Avis office, which was not marked on any map or signed in any way and I only found it through memory.  The agent drove me to the airport in the same car, and I checked in and was soon in the departure hall.  Every step closer I got to HVNP, the fewer things there were that could go wrong, and the more confident I became.  It was two hours before we boarded, and I slept comfortably for the flight, descending into HNL before I knew it.

I had two hours to make my connection, and I cleared border control quickly once I had my bag, which was the biggest question mark.  I headed to the inter-island terminal, and I had enough time for breakfast before my flight.  I was feeling highly relieved.  There was almost nothing that could jeopardize the mission at this point.  I went to Stinger Ray’s, the same place where I watched the US Open a few days ago, and the waiter was rather incompetent, as well, seemingly not understanding the basics of coffee.  I asked for a plain cup of black coffee with my breakfast, and what he got me was very weak.  It tasted like an Americano.  Long story short, it was just weak drip coffee, and I wound up getting a cup from Starbucks.  Breakfast was Spam and eggs, and it was quite good.

I then went to my gate, and we soon boarded.  When we landed in Hilo, I knew there was now almost nothing that could jeopardize my mission, short of a car accident perhaps.  I got my car quickly, lit up a Flor Fina, and drove to the NP.  I figured I would do the VC and Plaque first, then change into casual clothes for my hike.  The VC was right across the street from my hotel, so I went there first.  I did my business there, and I was proud to have completed my WHS brochures.

This was actually happening.  I then went outside and found someone to take my picture with the Plaque.  That was that.  All that remained was a ceremonial picture at the Volcano.  I went to the hotel to change into my casual clothes and then headed out to the viewpoint.  Now, nothing could go wrong.

I got to the museum that led to the trail, lit up my Romeo y Julieta Churchill and walked to the viewpoint.  It was a great view.  I took my picture and announced between sips of water, “US Complete.  All 59 US National Parks.  Goal 16/17 Complete.  All 23 US World Heritage Sites.  Goal 17/17 Complete.  Mission Accomplished.”  I then took some time to get my photos ready to post.  Once I posted, I sat down right in that spot, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close, along with closing out this Travelogue, for the Quest has been achieved, and all is over, as Frodo said atop Mount Doom after the Ring had been destroyed.