Miscellaneous Pix from Hawaii

The Big Island is big enough we got to do plenty of my favorite thing - car trips. Here are some scenes from our touristy adventures.

On the road near Waimea

Within an hour we left the tropical lushness of the Hilo side, ascended through pastures that were tall with green grass and cows, and reached Waimea. Just outside of Waimea there was dry grass and cactus.

Brent, Alex, Bob and John at Mauna Loa plantation

We passed the Mauna Loa macadamadia plantation every day on our way from Pahoa to Hilo, so we decided to stop. For some reason this headquarters facility didn't have as good a selection (or prices) as the local Long's Drugs. The only conflict we had on the trip: everyone else ate Alex's bag of milk chocolate coconut macadamias. When he woke the next morning expecting to have them for breakfast, they were gone.

On the Kona side they also grow macadamia nuts. Jon and I stopped at a place called Donkey Balls where they sell an interesting variety of them. The nuts are surrounded by a really thick layer of chocolate and other things. You only get 6 in a package, but they're yummy.

Across the street from Donkey Balls is a fabric store. You haven't lived until you've walked through a fabric store in Hawaii, the colors and patterns are all so bright and cheerful. I bought a few small pieces. Later I went to the Target in Kailua, expecting to see colorful clothes there, but it was the standard Target fare; you get a choice of 4 dull colors. Extremely dull now that "fall" is coming. I mean really, who wants to buy brown, gray, navy blue, or black in Hawaii? Who even wants it in California, where fall lasts a week or two? I really resent that some dork in an executive office, probably in Connecticut or some other dank place, chooses the colors we'll all wear every season. It's not just Target. And this is an ongoing gripe of mine. Dull clothes make you feel depressed. Do we really need that factor dragging us down too?

On an interesting tree at Richardson Beach in Hilo.

All the trees in Hilo are interesting. The banyans, of course, are supreme; the ultimate tree every kid would love in their backyard when they're growing up. But even the silk tree that grows everywhere, Albizia julibrissin, is a gorgeous mammoth in Hilo. I have 2 big ones in my own yard, but they can't compare. Probably because they have to lose and regrow their leaves seasonally in my area. Katherine and I saw them growing all through the forests of the south last year, too. Those were all small, fairly scrubby trees.

Don't know what these are, but they're gorgeous.

Don't pick the wildflowers.

There were several varieties of orchids growing out of a stump at a coffee plantation. They also had hibiscus and ginger hedges blooming and encouraged people to pick those for their hair. The flowers add so much to the environment on Hawaii, not only as a visual treat, but with their soft fragrance.

I hate it that you can't take plants home from Hawaii. They run all your luggage and your carryons through special machines to make sure you don't abscond with plant life. There are so many plants there that I really, really neeeeeeed. Not noni. Noni stinks.