Farmers Market next to Pakalana Inn

Fresh produce at the Hilo Farmer's Market next to the Pakalana Inn on the Big Island of Hawaii. Book a room at http://www.pakalanainn.com/.

Beach in Hawaii

A beach to take your breath away. Feet sinking into the plush sand. I was alone in the early morning and I ran to the ocean that seemed to follow me in sweeping fans of water. Transparent, spreading in a a glow over the sand that must have contained some kind of fool's gold whose wet particles glinted.  A trail of cupped footprints washing away, poured with light,  into the wind tossed laughter, my little girls running behind me. Hanalei. Random poets, wanderers, surfers, natives are beloved by Nature in the form of an all permeating and penetrating Beauty. A seduction. An opening. A flight into the pure air, or a luscious ripening sweetness impossible to describe.

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.