Here goes.
This is actually Maui seen from the airplane. Pretty.
The Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian islands. As you may know, the islands sit atop a volcanic vent that spews forth lava that accumulated and eventually formed each of the islands. The tectonic plate that the islands sit on keeps moving westward, hence, the dozens and dozens of bits of land in the island chain. The Big Island is, well, the biggest, and evidence of all that (relatively) recent volcanic activity is everywhere. Here is Laupahoehoe Point, site of a major tsunami in the 1940's (I think). Rugged and beautiful and dangerous: 
And here is the highway outside of Kona. Pure volcanic landscape at sunset (with rainbow, if you look close enough):
One of the things I love most about Hawaii are the houses. Most of them have these galvanized roofs and sit on raised foundations, I think because it rains a lot here. I took tons of pictures of houses and this was one of my favorites, maybe because it's green:
Oh, and they don't have trash in Hawaii--they have rubbish. This is a rubbish bin, as my Mom used to call them:
The Big Island is the youngest of the Hawaiian islands. As you may know, the islands sit atop a volcanic vent that spews forth lava that accumulated and eventually formed each of the islands. The tectonic plate that the islands sit on keeps moving westward, hence, the dozens and dozens of bits of land in the island chain. The Big Island is, well, the biggest, and evidence of all that (relatively) recent volcanic activity is everywhere. Here is Laupahoehoe Point, site of a major tsunami in the 1940's (I think). Rugged and beautiful and dangerous: And here is the highway outside of Kona. Pure volcanic landscape at sunset (with rainbow, if you look close enough):One of the things I love most about Hawaii are the houses. Most of them have these galvanized roofs and sit on raised foundations, I think because it rains a lot here. I took tons of pictures of houses and this was one of my favorites, maybe because it's green:Oh, and they don't have trash in Hawaii--they have rubbish. This is a rubbish bin, as my Mom used to call them:Before major tourism took hold, two of the major industries on the Big Island were ranching and sugar cane. My great grandparents came here in 1899 to work the sugar cane in Puna. Evidence of the sugar cane industry, although now defunct, still sprouts up here and there:
Ranching is still intact. My grandfather actually worked on Parker Ranch, one of the oldest ranches in the U.S. He was a carpenter. Parker Ranch has been around since 1847, and they were celebrating their 160th anniversary. Every year they hold a rodeo and we got to attend it on the 4th of July. They had horse races (the guy on the loudspeaker kept saying, "no wagering, please." Yeah right), Poo Wai U (which is a kind of calf roping), Branding (with paint, thank goodness), calf-dressing (you heard me right--the team that could put a T-shirt on a calf the fastest won), Ranch Mugging (more calf-roping) and Team Roping, which I didn't see because we were in line to get us some chili. Here is a pic of the dreamy paniolos, or cowboys:
And here is a shot of my first Hawaiian obon. They had taiko drummers playing in between old-time music blaring from the loudspeakers. I don't know how to dance, but my friend wanted me to dance the Electric Slide when it came on. I politely declined. Who knew it was an obon dance??:
Another thing I love about Hawaii is how quaint things can be. Here is a picture of a small-town grocery store. Reminds me of the store they had on the island of Lanai we used to go to when I vistited as a kid:
And of course I went to the beach--almost every day. I was being a tourist after all, and I love the ocean, especially when the water is calm and warm and practically crystal clear. We saw fish and honu, or sea turtles. Here's a shot of one of the lovely beaches we went to and one of me in my Japanese tourist disguise (and I'm actually a couple of shades darker now):
They also had a grass shack set up at the beach. I wanted to move in and stay forever, but I couldn't find the front door:
Oh, and on the 4th of July we also got to set off fireworks. In LA where I'm from, they banned fireworks when I was just about old enough to remember anything. All I remember is setting off sparklers, which kind of suck. But here fireworks are still legal. We bought a box of fireworks and friend Kris said we also needed to get "punk." I was like, huh? What's punk? Apparently, punk is a slow-burning substance often used to create a kind of smoke that repels mosquitos. They used to give it out when you bought fireworks, but not anymore. One of the highlights of this trip was when we went to the store and Kris asked someone, "You guys got punk?" And the lady replied "Aisle five." You have to understand that in Hawaii everyone speaks a wonderfully lovely and fluid pidgin. It's like everyone is singing to each other. When my mom (who was born and raised in Hawaii) got together with her sisters, they would sometimes speak pidgin. You have to go there to appreciate it. Anyhow. Here is me with punk and my first fireworks:
And in parting, here is another one of my favorite things. On the highway between the house and the beach was a sign saying that the Minimum speed limit was 40 mph. Wouldn't want anyone getting too comfortable with the relaxed and slow-paced island life.
Ahh. It was good. It really was. Can't wait to go back. But now it's time to get back to life. I had a 5-hour taiko rehearsal today. Another tomorrow. Class on Tuesday. Drum camp all next weekend and a ton more rehearsals. July 21st people. Big concert. Try to go if you can!
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