Subaru Observatory on Mauna Kea has the world's largest single piece mirror, and in June of 2002, we we given time for our high redshift quasar search program.  The observatory was finished in 1999, and the incredibly modern facility was a pleasure to use.  We had one night (which is extremely valuable on an 8-meter telescope) on June 14.  (For pictures from our second trip there, in September 2002, click here.)

Here's a map of where I went on this trip:

5 hours to Los Angeles, and another 5 to Honolulu.  Here's our captain from LAX to HNL, flying the B777.  It was nice to see the crew enjoying their work and welcoming us even after Sept. 11 last year.

Flying out from Los Angeles, we passed over some of the harbor islands.  I'm not sure if this is Catalina?

And then, no more land until Hawaii.  Here's Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, and Diamond Head (lower right to upper left) on approach to the airport:

One more flight to the big island of Hawaii, and if you remember to sit on the right hand side of the plane, you can get a view of Mauna Kea as you approach Hilo.  Barely visible in the picture are the observatories at the top.

Here's the amazing panorama of the Subaru Observatory at the top of Mauna Kea, with the two domes of Keck I and II visible to the left. (be sure to scroll to the left and right, it's a big picture...)   The smaller building below the telescope building is where the observing room is located, as well as all laboratories, etc.  The entire top silver section of the observatory rotates as the telescope is moved!  Tourists come up here to watch the sunset, and you can see a van full of them at the bottom of the driveway here:

The observing room, where I have never seen so many flat screen displays, (and one massage chair):

Before sunset, with some time to kill, we got a tour of the telescope building, which is connected to the smaller building by underground tunnels and elevators:

And here's FOCAS, the imaging spectrograph that we used for our observations.

We also went outside for some excellent views of the mountain.  Here I am with Zlatko on the catwalk around the telescope enclosure, with Keck in the background:

And walking around the enclosure:

A view down towards the observer's building:

As you get off the elevator and face the Subaru telescope building, here's the view to the left, with the domes of Keck, followed by CFHT and Gemini:

And now, walking to the back of the enclosure, a panorama to the left:

And to the right:

Similarly, on the right side of the building, you can see millimeter valley, with the JCMT, CSO, and Submillimeter Array:

Afterwards, I went to Kauai for two days, the westernmost island in the main group of Hawaii. Unfortunately, I have no pictures because my camera died, but here is a map to orient you:

The island is a very manageable size, I would say 1/2 the size of Rhode Island or a little smaller. I stayed in Kapa'a on the east side, pretty much in the main commercial area. There's only one road that goes around the whole island, so on the first day I went north, and on the second day I went south.

The one place I wish I had gotten pictures of is Waimea Canyon, which was really pretty impressive. The land here is soft volanic soil that's continually eroded away by the heavy rainfall, and it forms dramatic cliffs and waterfalls. Well, maybe next time.

I did like Kauai a lot, maybe because there are relatively fewer tourists here. It's not as slow-paced as Lanai or Molokai, and there's plenty to occupy your time here, but people wanting a whole lot of action, nightlife, etc, might get a little restless.