I love the nightlife, I like to boogie....

On Friday, we had no plans. There was an easy day ahead: pancakes and bacon for breakfast, a walk up to the falls, maybe some time in town to get a pedicure, hang out by the water, a grocery run.

Then Julie get's a text from her friend, Janno, to meet up at 4 at Kim's Bar to do some New Years Eve planning. Sounds awesome!

So first things first: let's go check out Akaka Falls. After all, it's only a few miles up the road and is a famous tourist spot. Plus it's supposed to be incredibly beautiful. So, once again, we pile into this small truck and head up the road. You can drive into the parking lot, but then it costs you $5 to park, so we parked outside the gate. It also costs $1 to hike the trail down to see it, unless you live here. So Candance gave them a dollar for me and we began the steps down to the falls.

The walk is paved and it is simply beautiful!! The vegetation is huge and you cross over several streams that are fed by the same water that creates the falls. If you walk around the loop counter clockwise, you go to Kahuna Falls first, then down to Akaka Falls. I recommend this way because otherwise you have to climb all of those stairs back!

On the way there, we stopped at what Julie calls the Avatar Tree. It is a huge banyon tree that you can walk down into if you are very careful. I got far enough down to get in a small crook and take some pictures. I need to move here so I can build a tree house in one of these trees. It would be soooo coool!

The falls were simply breath-taking and there were not many people there so it wasn't crowded.  We paused to take some pictures and to feel the energy. I was amazed at the amount of power this waterfall produced. I wanted to just soak it all up!

Candance thought that I would also enjoy another powerful place down the road where the river/creek meets the ocean. She took me down to KoleKole Beach park. This looks like a neat place to camp. There were a few people there, but mostly there were some surfers out in the ocean surfing the break into the river. Of course, they did not get that close because they would be seriously injured, but it was amazing to watch them in water that was so powerful. The tide was coming in and tonight was to be a full moon so the tides were at optimum power. We stayed for a few minutes to watch the surfers--long enough to see one make it back in, and then decided that we needed showers and such to head into town. We had plans to meet some friends at 4 and I wanted a pedicure before we went.

Now, as far as anything I know about Hawaii, I know from other people who have been here and things that I read or see on TV. Some places don't like tourists--or anyone who does not live here or is white. There is no doubt that with my blonde hair, light skin and southern accent, I am considered a "haole," a derogatory term coined for foreigners. As a side note, haole means "no breath" because a common polynesian greeting is touching foreheads and noses and you breathe the same breath. White people like to shake hands. The idea of coming that close to someone's face often makes us a little nervous. Haole's were also known as foreigners who came to Hawaii to exploit the resources and take over the government--as in no appreciation for beautiful and connections with nature--only greed.

Our plans were to meet up at 4 at Kim's bar, a locals bar on the airport side of Hilo. Now anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to hug, so as we entered this bar and got a few looks from the locals, we were lucky to be greeted by friends, all of whom got up out of their seats to greet us with hugs and kisses. I love this island.

Anyway, Kim's is is the sort of local bar that looks like it was built sometime in 1975 and hasn't really changed. Nothing is on tap and I kind of set the waitress off her game when I asked what kind of beer they had. "Do you want me to read you a list?" I was lost--but then she told me they had a Newcastle and I went with it. Most were drinking Heinekens and I just couldn't handle that. It's tough to be a southern beer snob in a local bar in Hilo. But I tipped her for every $4 beer I drank and I think she was ok after that.

Kim's is also a Karaoke bar and to hear several local construction workers sing "Shake you Down" by Aaron Neville is a hoot! I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. Until it was my time to sing.

Unfortunately, I sing quite well with a radio (in my mind) but not so well solo. I did a very horrid version of Love Shack that I hammed up so that it was more funny than anything else and then luckily, Julie took the lead on Landslide and my back up vocals rounded it out. I had had too much beer, but I also had a very good time.

We ended our evening out at the iconic restaurant Ken's Pancake House--which is the one restaurant I seem to come back to in Hilo. It's your average diner/pancake house open all night. The food is pretty good--breakfast is the best and they are famous for their "Sumo" which, depending on what part of the menu you are reading, is a HUGE amount of food. From what I understand, if you can eat it all, it's free--but don't quote me on that. My advise is to drink a great deal at Kim's, sing your head off, then go eat at Ken's. It like being in college again.

Quote of the day comes from Julie as we are standing outside Kim's bar: "I did not come here to watch you die!"

To KONA!!

Thursday morning, we got up a little early and left for Kona, the other side of the island. This is where most of the tourists go because the weather is usually sunnier and there are more beaches for water play. J&C had an appointment at Kona Bay Books to hang some signage there that Julie designed and we needed to make a Costco run too. Plus, we planned to partake in some snorkeling.

Now, last week or so, J&C's engine light started blinking in their car on the way to Kona, and it being the holidays, it has been difficult to find someone to look at it and fix it. So, they borrowed a truck from their friend Melissa to drive around in while they get the car fixed. Now if you can imagine the three of us piled into this vehicle--well, it's a bit cramped. And to make this trip a little more adventurous, let's take Saddle Road.

Now I have heard stories about Saddle Road.Terrible stories. Stories filled with terror on late, dark nights where you can't see anything. Stories of car sickness from the hills and curves. Now, if you know me, you know I am usually up for any adventure, so I was not really worried about the trip at all.

As we are traveling up the road, there is plenty of room on either side of us and there are passing lanes too so the ride was pretty smooth. We come around and curve and there is a beautiful view of Mauna Kea in front of us. The ride reminding me of traveling on the island of Tinos in Greece. The radio was playing great music, we were singing along, taking in the view, looking out for goats. It was quite nice.

Then about halfway  through, the road suddenly became narrower....and curvier, and scarier because we were headed downhill in a truck where two out of three of us were buckled in and the brakes shook when you applied them. My head started to swim. I have been known to get car sick, but only when I sit in the back and can't see where we are going. I was dizzy in the front seat. We topped a hill and could see the ocean from the other side, and I was relieved thinking we had made it. Nope. Got another 30 miles into Kona. We had to stop on the side of the road to breathe--or for Candance's sake, smoke, and put our heads back on so that we could make it into Kona.

Down in Kona, we stopped over at Kona Bay Books, the largest used book store in the Hawaiian chain boasting 2 miles of used books, music and cd's to hang the new vinyl signage that Julie made. I browsed the stacks while the girls talked business and found their Huna/Hawaiian section--and bought $40 worth of books. We then went to Killer Tacos for some lunch and Melissa, our KBB associate, told us about a great beach to go to that would be great for snorkeling. It was more of a local beach, laid back and easy. We made our way into the chilly water, but the tide was coming in and it was a bit rough for snorkeling and swimming, so we waded out awhile and then hit the beach to sunbathe. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon.

Candance went with Melissa back up to the bookstore to help install the vinyl on the door and Julie and I headed over to Costco to do our shopping. Julie and I decided we'd take the other way back to Honomu, through Weimea, since it was just as long/short as Saddle Road, and there is a Dairy Queen on the way. Besides, the full moon was just amazing over the Pacific Ocean on the way home.

Boxing Day: Still a little slow....

Boxing Day here on the island is just as exciting as Christmas Day...except more stuff is open.

We started the day downtown at the farmers market. On the way in, we stopped to say hello to Janno, the owner of Sun and Sea, a diving shop downtown. If the locals are as nice as she is, this place is going to be awesome!

We next headed down a few blocks to the farmers market. There was a neat assortment of fruits and veggies to choose from but we didn't buy much. There is also a section of the farmers market that sells arts and crafts. Nothing screamed at me to take it home, so I didn't pick up any goodies. We did buy some chicken tamales at a stand--a steal at 5 or $10 that would be supper later tonight. The fresh coconut water was also wonderful and 3 chocolate croissants at the bakery stand would be breakfast in the morning.

It was about lunch time when we finished, so we headed over to Pineapples, a restaurant co-owned by Pam, a friend of Julie and Candance's. I had the fresh catch sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries and it was Devine! I also have to make a small comment that the mixed drinks were fabulous as well. Too fabulous--almost!

Afterwards, J&C took me on a little walking tour of Hilo, mainly because we needed to go by the post office. The justice building in Hilo stands out because it's...well...too formal for this town. I did notice that they had decorated a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the park across the street. If it wasn't for those little things here and there, you wouldn't know it was Christmas time.

As we headed back, J&C took me up through the scenic route though the rain forest and a beautiful waterfall. I got some cool pictures of the waterfall and a the cliffs.

Back at the shack in Honomu (it's not really a shack, but it rhymes well) we took off our slippers (flip-flops to you back home) and slothed some more on the couch. Tomorrow we are headed to Kona to run some errands an take some time-out on the beach. So far, it's a low key kinda vacation, but I am loving it! I am looking forward to making some friends here.

I wanna go back to the islands....

It's good to be back on the big island. Last time, my stay was only 3 days and that is not nearly long enough. This time I will stay about 10 days. It helps when your best friends move 6000 miles so that you can have a free place to stay :-)


Getting here is a hassle, though. With flights from the east coast, I travel about 18 hours. I had a leg from RDU to JFK, then into Honolulu and lastly into Hilo. My Christmas Eve was 29 hours long! I know I have nothing on the big guy in the red suit, but I feel his pain!

Most of the time when I get together with my friends Julie and Candance for the holidays, we have a sloths-fest. Mostly we lay around all day watching Netflix, eating and napping. This holiday hasn't proved to be much different-- but I am NOT complaining! The only request that I had was that we spend some time on a beach Christmas Day, and my Christmas wish came true!

But first, I crashed for about 12 hours. Candance and Julie were convinced that I would be up about 4 am on Christmas Day, but the only thing that woke me up that morning was a call from my sister at 5:45am local time to wish me a Merry Christmas. I got up and drank some coffee for about an hour, then headed back to bed for another 2.

We finally headed out Christmas Day around 1030 to Richardson's Beach. It is a neat spot down in Hilo with black sand and lava rocks. We walked out about as far as you can on the sand and then braved the lava in our flip flops to get a view of the ocean on the other side. We found a pool with four sea turtles just hanging out in there enjoying the low tide. We sat down and watched them and the ocean move in and out. Candance decided that the water wasn't too cool and waded in up to her waist, but the current was a bit too strong, so no real swimming. The sun was out so we were able to get a little bit of sun for awhile.

Breakfast of papaya and sugar cake had worn off, so it was time for lunch. Not much was open on Christmas Day, but we did find a neat little restaurant we passed on the way in called Verna's. This is known as a local fast food joint with pick-up windows and one picnic table to eat at. We decided to get it to go and head over to picnic at Coconut Island instead. One of Verna's specialties is the teriyaki burger, so we all tried it and the famous macaroni salad. It was fantastic! And Coconut Island is also a neat little park with great views of Hilo Bay and downtown Hilo.

We headed back up the hill to Honomu to finish Christmas with some slothing and hulihuli chicken. I was able to stay awake until 10 while we rented movies on the Apple TV.

So, not too much excitement on the first day here, but the great thing about Hawaiian life is that no one really seems to be in a hurry to do much. Plus I think we all needed some down time. I know I did.