God blessed me again in February of 2013 by allowing me to visit Honolulu in Oahu and the Big Island for three weeks. I praise and thank Jesus Christ for the opportunity! I first went to the island of Oahu. Then three days later I headed over to Hilo on the Big Island and saw some awesome things. I then adventured around the Big Island. I hope you enjoy these photos I am sharing with you as much as I did taking them. God bless!
Below: I drove around to the other side of the Big island, from Hilo up north on route 19. I passed Akaka Falls and kept going north.
Akaka falls is about 15-miles off the main road. I drove forever it seemed, wondering if I had missed it. It was all the way at the end. You can't see the fall when you get there to the visitor's station. You have to walk for a couple miles to see anything. It's definitely worth the trip, but it was raining the day I went and I wanted to get over to Kohala and Kona as soon as I could since I'd never been there and wanted top spend some quality time there. I saw Akaka Falls back in 2011 and walked all the way through their course. I was totally drained tired at the end!
Below: As I journeyed north on route 19 I was driving in the Country before long, enjoying the wide open spaces. Below are some rows of very interesting looking trees I filmed. I actually took this photo through the car windshield as I was cruising. I pretty much just aimed and snapped the shot, hoping to get lucky. This one came out pretty good I think.
Below: I learned that cows are scardicats! I stopped by four different farms with cows and they all backed away and ran once I started taking pictures. I ATE YOUR BROTHER FOR LUNCH!
Below: I loved meeting the dozens of farm
beef cows, but these two horses weren't shy a bit. They came right up to the
cameras. You just have to talk gentle and friendly to animals so they can
sense that you are a loving person. Animals can sense attitudes quickly.
Below: I took the photo of this cowboy boot up in a little quaint rancher's town of Waimea. The town is surrounded with farms and cattle ranches. They love Country music here!
In the late 19th century I believe it was the Europeans who introduced cattle raising to the Hawaiians and they have been loving it ever since. As you can image, there's plenty of cheap and delicious prime beef on the Big Island. New York Strip steak costs $5.99 per pound on the Big Island. A lot of people don't know that the Big Island is considered true Hawaii. So when you mention Hawaii, it is automatically assumed that you mean the Big Island.
WHOA! Horse! Whoa! The above sign is posted in The Parker Ranch shopping center in Waimea.
Below 2 photos: I loved being in
Waimea (pronounced: say the word, “why”; then the consonant m sound (as
in Mary) followed by a long A vowel sound (as A in ate) and then finish with
the short U sound (as in umbrella). Or, just say, Why-may-uh! After I left
Waimea, I headed up on road 150 into the mountains. It was awesome! It
rained most of the way once I got up into the mountains and the outside
temperature dropped by about 20 degrees. When I came to the end of the road,
I found the happy little village of Hawi. Below is a nice little ukulele
store in town.
The view was incredible, but cameras have a difficult time capturing the experience. The camera doesn't give the viewer the entire body experience of driving uphill at a steep angle and the ocean is at a very awkward angle to the car. You can feel gravity telling your body which way is down, but your car is telling you something completely different because you're at an angle. It feels really weird. Airplane pilots call this feeling, “Spatial Disorientation.”
Below: After I left Hawi I came back down road 190 along the ocean, instead of 150 I had taken up the mountain to Hawi. The photos below were taken going south on 190 back toward North Kohala.
Above: Look at those beautiful mountains in the background! The pine trees look very nice, but you wouldn't expect to see trees of this type in a tropical area. Keep in mind that pine trees usually grow up in colder northern climates, which is exactly what you have when you drive up into the mountains on the Big Island. It snows up on Mauna Kea. I'm not sure what they are called, but they add diversity and charm to the landscape.
Above: I took this pretty sunset photo at Anaeho'omalu Bay, also locally referred to as “A-Bay,” because its actual name is such a mouthful.
Sunsets are difficult to photograph on the Big Island because the “VOG” (volcanic gas) blows from the east coast of the island to the west around Captain Cook and Kona-Kilauea. The VOG appears as clouds without much form, like a dull haze over the horizon. Still, you never know what the sun, wind, VOG and clouds may do at the last minute. In Hawaii it is customary to see photographers with some very expensive high-end equipment during sunset, trying to capture the beauty of God's creation. People come from around the world just to photograph sunsets in Hawaii.
Below: I also took this photo earlier in the day at Anaeho'omalu Beach. The coconut trees are healthy and beautiful. There are hundreds of coconut trees in the A-Bay area.
Unfortunately, the walk
from the parking lot to the beach is about a quarter-mile. I played my steel
guitar for about an hour and some folks loved it, others didn't seem to
care. One guy became jealous and made some insulting remarks. I was nice to
him. As a Christian I am supposed to set the example and lead the way in
doing the right thing. Another couple asked if they could take pictures, to
which I always consent gladly. One woman tried to pay me, but I kindly,
adamantly and immediately refused. I never take money. If they leave it, I
leave it on the ground. If they set it in my pocket, I lay it down on the
chair or ground and make it very clear that I feel robbed when people try to
pay me for doing what I love doing from my heart, that is, sharing my music
with others.
Below: The annual Ironman Triathlon is a
major event each year in Kona on the Big Island. Thousands of competitors
from around the world travel to Hawaii's Big Island to swim, run and bicycle
for the grand championship title. I ate at the Fish Hopper restaurant
below, and you can see that they are welcoming the athletes for the event in
their advertisement. Across the street is the Pacific Ocean. This is right
in the very heart of Kona. Across the street is the famous rock wall in
Kona. There are no beaches in Kona-Kilauea. There's a few beaches 30 miles
north in Kohala, but it's all hotel resorts and not natural feeling. Truly,
I hated it and would never go back. Hotels are all about greed and money.
Personally, I enjoyed Richardson Beach over in Hilo much better, with it's
black sand, sea turtles, laid back atmosphere and hardly any tourists. In my
opinion, Kohala is all about money, greed and tourism.
Kohala is beautiful for a few pictures, but that's about it. Kona down south isn't as bad, but it's definitely for Yuppies! I liked Kona, but it's pretty small. I did meet a really nice Baptist, country, family though from Maryville, Tennessee, which is one of the cities that I've been thinking of moving to. The Ironman event starts on Saturday, October 19th. The local government has bicycle lanes painted on all the main roads. I asked if there were a lot of locals who ride bikes. I was surprised at the answer. All those bicycle lanes are for the Ironman event that takes place once a year. It's an international event.
Below: After visiting Kona and spending the night back up in Kohala, I drove back across the Big Island across the famous Saddleback Road (route 200) to Hilo. The scenery is breathtaking shades of terrain with majestic mountains in the back, all displaying God's wondrous handiwork for man to behold. It was lightly raining, but I snapped the photo below along the way. This is about one-third (20 miles) into the journey. There are signs that warn drivers of no services (no food, water or gas stations) for the next 50 miles. There are several call boxes along the way, several miles apart. There are signs warning about wild animals crossing the road... sheep and some kind of mountain goat. I saw signs up on route 19 warning of Donkeys crossing the road.
