a hui hou kakou

Hawai'i is my home. Hawai'i is where I was born, where I grew up, where I lived until I went to university in Alaska. I haven't been home so often since. When I do go home it isn't really for long enough either. The last time I was home was in September 2010.

Map of Hawai'i

Arms of Hawai´i This was a favorite beach when I was a kid, beach 69. The last few years it seems the reef has died from the pollution of the resorts along this coast. This is very sad and terrible. They were very beautiful not so long ago. July 2002. Me, Michelle, Devaki, Alice, and Ja'ala. July 2002. Some ginger in Ahualoa. July 2002. My street Kalehua Rd. May 2003. Kalehua Rd. May 2003. Near my grandfathers beach house. May 2003. View from Widdy's beach house. May 2003. A yellow tree. May 2003. The house where I was born, the house where I grew up. June 2003. I lived in the cottage from when I was 14 until I was 20. June 2003. Hakea and Kaloki. Hakea was a dog who always felt sorry for herself, Kaloki was very nice. I can't recall a time when Kaloki wasn't around. She was in her late teens or early 20s. Sadly since I left in Sept. 2003 both of these wonderful beasts has wondered off. Never to be seen again. June 2003. A large snail, alien to Hawai'i. June 2003. The mauka road to Waimea. July 2003. Miyasa, Rose, Leif, Raina, Joe, Alice and Me. July 2003. My Granpa. July 2003. Some pretty flowers. July 2003. May, Raina, Joe, Rose, Widdy, Me, Alice and Leif. July 2003. A redwood tree Widdy planted. July 2003. My friend Nancy. July 2003. Alice and Devaki. August 2003. A road in Puna side. August 2003. This is how I got to work when I was a dish washer, it was cheap and I was the only one not from the Phillipines. August 2003. This is where I worked for the summer of 2003. August 2003. The giant laundry machines at the hotel. August 2003. Kahana Drive in Ahualoa. September 2003. Near the forest reserve in Ahualoa. September 2003. In the forest reserve in Ahualoa. September 2003. An old car in the forest reserve in Ahualoa. September 2003. Near the forest reserve in Ahualoa. September 2003. A nice orchid in Ahualoa. September 2003. Some pricly pear in Kohala. September 2003. Nice view of the ocean. September 2003. Road to Mauna Loa. September 2003. The road to Mauna Loa. September 2003. A nice research station, I like this building, it looks like a house. September 2003. Ben on Mauna Loa. September 2003. The banyan tree at King Kalakaua Park in Hilo. September 2003. Japanese garden in Hilo. September 2003. The bay in Hilo. September 2003. Another banyan tree in Hilo. September 2003. Grave of some of my ancestors. September 2003. My cousin Steve and his daughter. September 2003. Room where I stayed during summer 2003. September 2003. Just as I left in Sept. 2003. Mile marker in Kona. June 2002. Kahana Drive in Ahualoa. May 2002. Some flowers in Ahualoa. May 2002. A bunch of ginger in Ahualoa. June 2002. Up towards the mountain in Parker Ranch. Jan. 1999. The group that went to celebrate for Alices birthday in 1998, actually it was in January 1999. Ja'ala at Alice's birthday. Jan. 1999. The group that celebrated Alices birthday. Jan. 1999. Alice taking a picture of a van. Dec. 1999 or Jan. 2000. Alice. 1999. Alice, Me and Leif going to Mauna Kea. 1980s. Alice and Rose at Christmas 2000. My friend Athena in 1999. A banyan tree at the duck park in Hilo. June 2002. Ben and his mom in the 1970s. Ben and me in the 1980s near Volcano. My friend Bug Girl. 1999 or 2000. The cottage in Ahualoa. Late 1990's or 2000. My friend Daniel in 1999. My friend Daniel. 1998/9. Devaki was a faerie for Halloween in 1998. The duck park in Hilo. June 2002. My high school graduation in 1998. My father Ben in 1987. Haleakala on Maui. Summer 1999. Hilo Bay in June 2002. The city of Honolulu on O'ahu in 1999. View of Honolulu from my dorm in Sept. 1998. Some friends at the theatre at the University of Hilo. Sept. 1999. My friend Kawai from middle school. 1990s. A duck named Kiwi at Kahena. Dec. 2000. One of the rare occasions when these hills are green. May 2002. A nice lamp. May 2002. Hot lava in 2001. My friend Rahel putting her shoe in the lava, I have told many friends to let me know when they will be in Hawai'i if I am there or not. So far only Rahel took me up on the offer. Unfortunately I wasn't there but Alice and Ben showed her a good time. Dec. 2002. My friend Lisa. 1999/2000. Me in 9th grade. 1990s. Me with a doll I still have, although it seems smaller now. It was Raina's horse originally. 1980. Me before I set out to circle the island on a bike. June 2002. Me, Ben, Widdy and May in the 1980s. Me as a cub scout in the 1980s. Me before I hiked to Waimanu in 2001. Mahea's birthday party in 1998, with the water bottlist car. My 2nd dorm on O'ahu. 1999. My friend Mark Ka. in high school. 1990s. My friend Mark Ku. in elementary school. 1980s. Mauna Kea in May 2002. Mau'umai Beach in May 2002. The path to the beach. May 2002. Merlin was my favourite of pets. He was a lovebird. He would spend enormous amounts of time in my shirt. In my pocket. Biting holes in my shirt. Also he would wake me up in the morning. He could open his cage and in the morning he would fly down to my chest and wake me up. Sometimes I would let him sleep in my arm pit. Unfortunately I crushed him this way. I woke up and Merlin was dead. Lilikoi was Alices she was also very nice, once Alice jumped down from getting a glass from the shelf and crushed her. 1990s. Morpheus was my pet octopus. Octopuses make great pets. They are very smart and have personality. Unfortunately they don't live very long and are difficult to keep. I lost the original of this photo and only had a xerox. 1990s. Ninole near Hilo. June 2002. My old book shelf. Sept. 1999. Pretty Prew was my first pet. She was very nice. But once Alice sat on her and she wasn't the same after that. Raina let her out of the house a couple times and the last time she didn't come back. 1980s. A Rage Against the Machine concert in Aug. 1999. Raina and Grandma on the porch of the Big House in the 1980s. The place in the upper road in Ahualoa right before you get to the grasslands. June 2002. Near South Point on the Big Island. June 2002. An ancestor of mine Rita. 1800s. There used to be a road here but lava covered it in the 1980s. June 2002. This is when Robin moved away from Hawai'i. He is my oldest friend. 1999. My friend Sabra in 1999. Athena and Sabra. Sept. 1999. My friend Sabra in 1999. One of my favourite beaches. The best one on Puna side I think. June 2002. The trail to shipman. June 2002. A nice carving I noticed when biking around the Big Island. June 2002. Where I camped near South Point when biking around the Big Island. June 2002. A tree I like at University of Hawai'i Hilo. 1999/2000. One of my very favourite places, Waimanu. Jan. 2001. Waimanu. Jan. 2001. Waimanu. Jan. 2001. The mauka road to Waimea. June 2002. The view into Waipio from the Waimanu side. Jan. 2001. I remembered this pool from when I went to Waimanu when I was 8, somehow it got a lot smaller by Jan.2001. Alices bird Whispy. 1990s/2000s. Widdy at the house when it was new and much smaller in the 1970s. The Christmas tree in 1998. Me and Ben at the zoo in Hilo in the early 1980s. Rose. July 2005. Buddhist retreat where Rose lived for a while. July 2005. Bridge near Hilo. July 2005. Stream in Waimea where I used to play. July 2005. Buster Brown from Bargan Bazaar. July 2005. My friend Lisa. July 2005. Leif, Alice, me and Ben. July 2005. At the lava tree park in Puna. July 2005. Geraldine at this park. July 2005. Lisa, Jason, and Geraldine. July 2005. Puna coast. July 2005. Kalopa Park. July 2005. Chinese Thrush. September 2005. 'Io. September 2005. Some lichen. September 2005. More lichen. September 2005. Native forest. September 2005. Tree Fern. September 2005. Tako Taco Mexican restaurant. September 2005. Infrared road. July 2005. Infrared plants. July 2005. Infrared me. July 2005. A blue stop sign! I haven´t seen one before I saw this one, or since. Please email me if you have seen one of these. This one was seen on O´ahu in August 1999. Near the Honolulu International Airport. September 2007. On a Honolulu city bus. September 2007. Honolulu city bus. September 2007. Honolulu. September 2007. My friend Devaki helped me take a new passport photo. This one unfortunately had too much shadow. September 2007. Honolulu. September 2007. Honolulu. September 2007. Buddhist temple. September 2007. Government building in Honolulu. September 2007. The airplane I took from Honolulu to Hilo. September 2007. The room I stayed in when I visited home. September 2007. Wild turkeys at my house. September 2007. Peace parade in Honoka'a. September 2007. Rainbow Falls in Hilo. September 2007. Near Rainbow Falls in Hilo. September 2007. Up near the volcano. September 2007. Along the Kau coast. September 2007. Near Volcano. September 2007. Mud Lane near Waimea. September 2007. In the Kohala Mountains. September 2007. Closeup of a native plant in Kohala. September 2007. Looking into Waipio. October 2007. Yellow Jacket on a trail off Saddle Road. October 2007. Palm trees in Hilo. October 2007. Trying out an underwater bag for my camera. October 2007. Me underwater. October 2007. Praying Mantis at Napoopoo. October 2007. Kahana Drive in Ahualoa. October 2007. The house where I was born and grew up. October 2007. Ferns outside my house. October 2007. Kalehua Road. October 2007. The family cat. November 2007. Trail off Mud Lane. November 2007. Hamakua coast trail. November 2007. Looking up at trees. November 2007. Leif and Ben on the trail. November 2007. Closeup of a baby fern leaf. November 2007. At Mau Mai. November 2007. Honu at Puako. November 2007. Trees at the house. November 2007. House where I was born. November 2007. House where I was born. November 2007. This is my favorite room in my dad's house. It's also my sister Alice's favorite room. So we both like to stay there when we visit. When I visited in 2010 she was already staying there but she left after a couple weeks and I got to have it for the rest of my stay. This is when it was her's though. July 2010. Another view of the same room. July 2010. Looking down towards the ocean while waiting for the bus in Honoka'a. July 2010. The Heleon bus. It's a pretty good system and really wonderful compared to how it was when I lived on the Big Island. There are a lot more routes and it's free. The idea is to get some cars off the road. It could do more if there were proper bus stops and if you could rely on the bus to not be very late, or even worse very early. July 2010. Wailoa River State Park. But we've always called it the Duck Park. July 2010. Really nice car I saw in a parking lot near Rose's apartment. I love old station wagons. One of my dream cars. July 2010. More of the Duck Park. July 2010. My nephew Joe. July 2010. The porch at my sister Raina's house. July 2010. Next to Raina's house. July 2010. Raina's house. July 2010. Raina's cat. July 2010. Ponds at Richardson's (beach park). July 2010. Richardson's. July 2010. Richardson's. July 2010. My sister Raina. July 2010. My sister Alice. July 2010. Me. July 2010. Me. July 2010. St. Joseph's Church in Hilo. July 2010. In the 1990s there was an old man or woman (we were never sure) walking around dressed strangely and with a couple flags. We called him/her the "80 year old whore" (aren't teenagers great?). Not with any sort of malace mind you. I'm pretty sure this is the same person. As always I didn't get a very good look though. July 2010. This bridge is new since the last time I was in Hawai'i in 2007. It replaced one that was narrow and the wrong shape which began it's life as a railway bridge. This one has a nice curve and it's much wider. July 2010. Gecko. The house in Napoopoo is full of them. July 2010. In Kealakekua Bay. July 2010. The Johnson's house. July 2010. The cottage where I lived when I was a teenager. Since then my dad rebuilt it to double it's prior size and my brother now lives there. July 2010. Evan, Alice and Leif going on their way to a hike. July 2010. On a hike along the Upper Hamakua Ditch. July 2010. Me standing on an elevated portion of the ditch. July 2010. The jungle scenery along the ditch. July 2010. The ditch goes along the dramatic ridge at the back of Waipio valley. July 2010. One of the waterfalls tumbling into the valley. A lot more dramatic than it looks here. July 2010. Closeup of the rusty wheel that opens the ditch at it's start. July 2010. Another picture of the ditch. July 2010. Another elevated portion of the ditch. July 2010. Me by the cliff going down into the valley. July 2010. Alice and Me. Taken by Evan. July 2010. Me. Taken by Evan. July 2010. Pasture in Ahualoa. July 2010. Downtown Hilo. July 2010. Rose, Joe, Grandpa, Raina, Leif, Alice and Joyce. July 2010. Raina, Leif, Rose, Me and Alice. July 2010. Lili'uokalani Gardens in Hilo. July 2010. Raina's cat. July 2010. The Salvation Army thrift shop in Honoka'a with it's impressive tree outside. July 2010. The haunting scenery of Mana Road. July 2010. Mana Road. July 2010. Mana Road. July 2010. Me on Mana Road. Taken by Evan. July 2010. Koa on Mana Road. July 2010. We camped with friends at Keanakolu. It was my first time up there since Alice's birthday party in January 1999. July 2010. Everyone in a tree. Taken by Evan. July 2010. Looking towards Mauna Kea from Keanakolu. July 2010. Start of the trail to Mau'u Mai from Spencers. July 2010. Strange shapes in the clouds. July 2010. One of the few places on the Big Island with a sign indicating a bus stop. But still without any proper shelter. And two of the buses we were waiting for didn't come. July 2010. Closeup of a tree. July 2010. Joe. July 2010. One of the living rooms in the house I grew up in. July 2010. The bedroom I like once Alice left and I got to use it the rest of the summer. July 2010. Orchid. There have been some growing in the same spot as long as I can remember. July 2010. Oxana came to visit at the end of July. The warm moist air made her hair poofy. July 2010. Me and Ox on a hike. July 2010. Old irrigation tunnel I found when I was a kid. And found again after not visiting it in at least ten years. July 2010. Bamboo forest where the tunnel comes out. The other end comes out over a stream. July 2010. White ginger flower. July 2010. My old friend Devaki. July 2010. The duck park in Hilo is near my mom's flat. August 2010. Duck park. August 2010. Duck park. August 2010. The house at Napoopoo Ben built in the 1970s. August 2010. Oxana holding a coconut. Taken with her camera. August 2010. Sign for the Napoopoo house. Taken by Oxana. August 2010. Gecko. Taken by Oxana. August 2010. Oxana. Taken with her camera. August 2010. Me and Oxana. Taken with her camera. August 2010. Wana. August 2010. Rainbow on the way to Waimea. There are a lot of rainbows in Hawai'i. August 2010. Jungle by Rose's flat in Hilo. August 2010. Lily pads at Kalakaua Park in Hilo. August 2010. The big banyan tree at Kalakaua Park. August 2010. The main post office in Hilo. August 2010. Oxana swinging on a vine at Rainbow Falls. August 2010. Purple flower at Raina's house. We used to have some in Ahualoa but they got out of control and had to be battled away. August 2010. Rainbow in a crater at the national park. August 2010. Some nice Ka'u forest. August 2010. Interesting old post boxes in Pahala. August 2010. Kealakekua Bay. August 2010. Hulihe`e Palace in Kona. August 2010. Fish and coral. August 2010. Black swan in Ahualoa. August 2010. Hapuna Beach Park. August 2010. Part of the tree plantation that is all over Hamakua. August 2010. Morning glory. August 2010. View into Waipio from the back. August 2010. Ferns and ginger. August 2010. Little footbridge. August 2010. Waterfall. August 2010. Birdnest. Taken by Oxana's camera. August 2010. Forest in Ahualoa. August 2010. Old abandoned truck rusting in a stream. August 2010. Going on a bike ride with my cousin's kids Maria and Lacy. August 2010. Sunset over Kealakekua Bay. August 2010. Sunset. August 2010. Kua Bay. August 2010. Kahoiawa Bay. August 2010. Kahoiawa Bay. August 2010. Shrine near the library in Honoka'a. August 2010. Waipio valley. August 2010. Big tree in Waipio. August 2010. Flowers. August 2010. Interesting ginger flower. August 2010. My father Ben on a hike in Waipio. August 2010. Waipio stream. August 2010. View in the stream. August 2010. Waipio stream. August 2010. Me in Waipio. Taken by Oxana's camera. August 2010. Taro patch in Waipio. August 2010. End of the county road. It continues in the stream but requires a good vehicle. August 2010. Waipio valley. August 2010. A bunch of toads sleep during the day under a tarp in the yard of the house in Ahualoa. August 2010. Wana. August 2010. View into Pololu. August 2010. Old tank in North Kohala. August 2010. Pololu. August 2010. Lilikoi flower. August 2010. Lava Kitty. She is a tough old cat without many teeth. She is without an owner and wanders from place to place in Napoopoo. It's great she's lived so long. Thanks to a perfect climate probably. September 2010. Lava Kitty. September 2010. Duck park in Hilo again. September 2010. Lava entering the ocean at Kalapana. September 2010. Coast in Puna. September 2010. Road in Puna. September 2010. Road in Puna. September 2010. MacKenzie State Park. September 2010. A lot of the roads in Puna are red from the material used to pave them. September 2010. View of Beach 69 from Fish island. This was my favorite beach when I was a kid. It's named for the original trail to the beach which went from telephone pole #69. Sadly there is a road and parking lot here now and it's a lot more crowded. September 2010. Me. September 2010. Brittle starfish and wana. September 2010. Coral at Beach 69. September 2010. Po'o. The family cat in Ahualoa. September 2010. 'Ohelo berries. Loved by Nene. Taken with Oxana's camera. September 2010. On a hike. Taken by Oxana's camera. September 2010. Oxana having breakfast in Ahualoa. September 2010. Oxana. September 2010. Honomu. September 2010. Akaka Falls. September 2010. Remains of the railroad destroyed in the 1946 tsunami still rusting on the beach. September 2010. Post office in Ninole. One of the smallest in the U.S. September 2010. Laupahoehoe. September 2010. Oxana getting on the plane in Koan to leave the Big Island. September 2010. View of Honolulu from my grandmother May's flat. September 2010. Me putting my foot in hot lava in June 2002. Me putting my foot in lava in June 2002. The duck park in Hilo. July 2010. Richardson's beach near Hilo. July 2010. On a hike up behind Waipio. July 2010. Behind Waipio. July 2010. Behind Waipio. July 2010. Behind Waipio. July 2010. Fog on Mana Road. July 2010. Along Mana Road. July 2010. View from a hill on Mana Road. July 2010. Nice day at Little Mau'u Mai. July 2010. On the road up to Waimea from the coast. July 2010. View of Kalehua Road at the end of the driveway. July 2010. Near the shooting place. Where old cars used to be abandoned and shot up. July 2010. The park in Hilo near the library with the koi pond. August 2010. Looking into a crater in Volcano. August 2010. Smoking crater in Volcano. August 2010. Beach near Pahala. August 2010. Coast near South Point. August 2010. Near Ocean View. August 2010. View into Waipio from the back. August 2010. Small stream above Waipio. August 2010. Waterfall above Waipio. August 2010. Near sunset on Kealakekua Bay. August 2010. Beach near Kona. August 2010. Coast near Kona. August 2010. View from a hill near the Kona Airport. August 2010. Waipio beach. August 2010. Waipio beach. August 2010. Tree in Waipio valley. August 2010. Hiking with Ben in Waipio valley. August 2010. Waipio stream. August 2010. Waipio valley. August 2010. Old Hawaiian heiau in Kohala. August 2010. Looking into Pololu. August 2010. Boat launch near Pololu. August 2010. Halfway down the trail into Pololu. August 2010. Duck park in Hilo. September 2010. Duck park in Hilo. September 2010. Beach 69 from Fish Island. This was my favourite beach when I was a kid. September 2010. Near Akaka falls. September 2010. Akaka falls. September 2010. Laupahoehoe. September 2010. View of Honolulu from my grandmother's flat. September 2010. |back to travels |