1. All of the gravel I've encountered so far is lava rock. It's pretty cool, but hell on your shoes!
2. Did you think that the leeward side, being the opposite of the windward side, had no WIND? Well, think again! They may only get 3 inches of rain a YEAR in the driest, desert-y area of the leeward side of the big island, but MAN it is windy out there almost every day! I don't know if its just the time of year, but 10-20 mph winds with 35mph gusts seem almost constant out there. Ok, that's not what I was expecting from the LEEWARD side.
3. Hawaii is the most isolated population center in the world -- the closest land is California, a mere 2400 miles away! Japan is about 3850 miles from here. Thanks to the internet, and fucking Kmart, it doesn't actually feel that isolated.
4. Pineapples, coffee, plumeria, geckos, mosquitos, and macadamia nuts(!) are not native to Hawaii. Something cool that IS native to Hawaii: NENE!
5. Two of the only words from the native Hawai'ian language that are used in English (and by geologists and vulcanologists who speak any language) are a'a and pahoehoe, the Hawai'ian words for the two main types of hardened lava.
6. Living here is AWESOME. Really the only thing missing is YOU! Okay and the Great American Music Hall.