My girlfriend and I borrowed my friend's Explorer. Honestly, I thought the road was going to be a lot worse than it was. Of course, I've driven in some pretty adverse conditions, so maybe it's just a matter of perspective. My greatest fear was looking in one direction at something and driving off the road, not losing control. I'm sure teh inclement weather up there can get pretty hectic though. It was interesting to note the road signs all had holes bored through them to reduce wind damage!

We did stop at the Onizuka Center for a hlaf hour and looked around. We saw the chunk of glass from the primary Keck mirror, videos, etc. Been there, got the T-Shirts now! (The black one with the primary mirrors of each scope on the back that glow in the dark. COOL!)

I remember feeling a little light headed at the top. I scuba dive, and immediately recognised the effects, as for they are similar to nitrogen narcosis. Both conditions are due to a lack of free oxygen to the brain, so I was very aware of keeping check of myself and my girlfriend.

I did see one of those tour vans up there. Sure wish their were jobs for computer engineers on the big island, setting up your own tours would be an easy $2k per weekend extra!