Sunflowers in Hawaii

These Russian Giant Sunflowers blooming on the the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii, just north of the Pakalana Inn in Hilo, Hawaii.

Images of Hawaii

 Below a photograph of petroglyph near Waikoloa. Men with exaggerated (we assume) phallic representations. A form of braggadocio, or symbolism connoting fertility? Speculation and Interpretation of these glyphs - perhaps more questions than answers.  

Organic Fruits and Vegetables, Journeys

Posting picture to my Pakalana Inn blog seems a constructive activity on this rainy day. Here is a picture I took near Coconut Island, walking distance from Pakalana Inn. The water was aquamarine sparkling with light. This is a popular walking spot along Hilo Bay.

The road to Hakalau Gulch

This old road  leading to Hakalau gulch retains an air of penetration into the primeval.  Far from curio shops or idling tourists. Heart of Darkness? You wouldn't think of Hawaii as that kind of place.  But places are not quite as they are advertised are they? You'll have to consult Joseph Conrad, Paul Theroux, or that other guy. Francis Ford Coppola.

Away from everything known. That is travel. Where you can't be reached. Where you are gone.

North on Belt Highway from Pakalana Inn

The dark limb of this tree seemed to me to point to the jungle beyond so I took this picture with a Nikon D40. The cheapest of the Nikons. Not fast, but otherwise serviceable.
 About 30 minutes North on the Belt Highway that surrounds the Big Island (Hawaii), the Hakalau turn off leads to an old road meandering to the mouth of a river that meets the sea in a spit of black sand. Intrepid surfers paddle to waves squeezed by this narrow bay where a tsunami destroyed a railroad bridge and sugarcane processing mill fifty or so years ago. The twisted wreckage was a "locals" place off radar until it was donated for a park a few years ago. There are now trash cans with liners and the foliage is manicured making for a more civilized if less exotic experience. I have to admit I liked it better before the park, wild, and with a flavor or ruination and engulfment.

Adventure in Hawaii Crepuscular Hours

Rays of sunlight that stream through gaps in clouds. The crepuscular hours are dawn and dusk. Hapuna on the Big Island. A beautiful drive from the Pakalana Inn, Hilo. 

Room at Pakalana Inn, Hilo, Hawaii

Spacious, clean, simple. Architect Neil C. Erickson, Hilo Hawaii rennovated the quaint relic and resurrected its bygone name: Pakalana Inn, Hilo Hawaii. Located Downtown in the old timey part of Hilo, adjacent to Hilo Farmers Market. Walk everywhere. Close to Ocean. Give Neil a call @ (808) 969-4945 or check out the website to book a room http://www.pakalanainn.com/.

The transformation of Room two.

The head rests on the pillow but the cerebrum conjures dreams of Coconut Island, a petite jewel festooned with Coconut Palms wherein tidepools nestle and miniature white sand beaches beckon children to feel the warm sand on their bare feet as well as the soothing lap of wavelets transparent as blown glass. You can gaze towards Coconut Island from Room Two of the Pakalana Inn, Hilo Hawaii to your hearts content as you plan a day picnic to the little Island, an easy walk from Banyan Drive where gynormous Banyan Trees tranform the road into a tunnel of shade.
If you chance to cross the foot bridge to said Coconut Island on a sunlit afternoon, you will likely see Hawaiian sea turtles rise up for breath.
A favorite "jumping" spot for local children, their distant laughs merging with the slide of waves over the breakwater into the receiving billows of the deeper ocean.
If you suffer from insomnia, as does this writer, you might try counting sea turtles, or jumping children. But if it's the Fourth of July, forget that idea. Coconut Island is where they launch the County's fireworks. Calling all patriots: One can enjoy a birds eye view of the Fourth of July Spectacle from Rooms One, Two and Six and of the Pakalana Inn. You can certainly call out the windows to passersby and even spray them with your uncorked champagne.

Picnic Table Hawaii Parks

Thinking about the picnic tables I have known. Friends I have laughed with, passing a shared bottle . . .or . . . whatever.
Nights under a full moon. The ocean all lit up silver. Ironwood pine needle Campfires. Sparks ascending upward seeming to merge with the stars. A guy with braids who could shimmy up a coconut tree. There is something about coconut milk sucked from the husk, fresh tradewinds and wood smoke. They go together. And they are enough. Work? I'd rather sit at a picnic table and watch the ocean, thank you. Poking a little driftwood fire with a stick is a lovely past-time. A great way to commune with the ghost of Jack London. One can walk to many a deserted picnic table from the Pakalana Inn and contemplate such notions. You can think about a lot of things. Or nothing at all. Doesn't really matter much.

Surf Hilo Hawaii

Room 2 at the Pakalana Inn, Hilo, Hawaii

There is something about the simplicity of Room 2 at the Pakalana Inn. Maybe its the ocean breezes fluttering the window shade. An invitation to reflect. The muted surfaces soothe the travel or world weary soul. The clutterless golden tan woodwork has a rubbed glow. It's the corner room. Out one window is the Farmer's Market. And the Ocean and Hilo Bayfront beckon from the other. A tropical place, with the pulsations of village activity about you. People going about their little lives, in little Hilo, on a little Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

But not you.

You are in Room 2. And in your blessed solitude, you stretch out with a new book, a pulitzer prize winner you always wanted to read, slightly used. The paper smells like those stacks in the University library in Seattle you used to love. Nice.

You found the book, a romance, after a midafternoon capucino at that funky hippie coffeeshop just around the corner from the Pakalana Inn. Down another street, the fresh trade winds blowing back your hair you ventured into the clean woody bookshelves of a San Franciso style transplant - used book store - art gallery. So many nooks! So many lovely little caves of books! The quiet as you immerse yourself in books is a respite. You flutter pages undisturbed, peering into the doors of imagination, places and pictures and words. Someone brushes past you - with a start you wonder if it was someone you once knew - his sunbleached hair now frosted with grey falling in springy coils down his back. But no, apparently just another surfer/closet intelligencia hiding in Hilo.

Still the way he whispered "Excuse me" as he passed . . . .

Now with the richness of your books nestled in your new handwoven lahala basket purse, you are at peace in Room 2 of the Pakalana Inn.