Hilo

Excited, elated, thrilled, I arrived in Hilo and staked out my space in the Hilo Seaside Hotel. Then I immediately went to bed and slept for three days. that worked out fine because it wasn't exactly the kind of weather where I could work on my tan right away.

This was the view from my hotel window. There were often some ducks here, and I also saw sandpipers, nene, and a heron.

 

What is a nene? It's a goose indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. The webbing on its feet is shorter than most geese and ducks, leaving the toes and claws out so that it can more easily climb rocks and rough terrain. (It is pronounced "nay-nay" in case you were wondering. And if you were just about to say "neen" or "nee-nee," just  don't.)

 

 

 

 This photo from National Geographic shows the webbing on the nene's foot.      [ROBERT SISSON/National Geographic Creatve:http://www.natgeocreative.com/photography/1069482]

Here is the heron:

The monkey pod trees in Waialoa River Park, downtown Hilo, are so big that I mistook them for hills before I got to know my way around. 

Lunch.  Actually, half for lunch, half for dinner. The avocados are gigantic, the papayas were three for a dollar. Groceries are expensive, but if you just eat fruit from Farmers' Market, you can dine fairly inexpensively. The mandarin orange in the photo with the papaya was picked from a tree at a rental house I looked at. There is so much fruit here, that people sometimes leave it lying on the ground under the tree:  oranges, tangerines, coconuts, bananas, and persimmons are the ones I have seen lying around in peoples' yards.

Feral chickens aren't ubiquitous like they are in Kaua'i, but there are a lot of chickens.  Here on the Big Island, they are kept by people in their yards and allowed to wander around the neighborhood. Something I don't understand, though, with chickens all over the place, is why local eggs are hard to find. I read that demand has exceeded local supply since the 1970s. I haven't found any articles that talk about salmonella or any other disease in Hawai'i eggs, only that suppliers can't keep up with the demand. Eggs at the grocery store hover around $6 per dozen, and most of them say "MAINLAND SHELL PROTECTED" on the carton. Maybe the demand is high because of the Hawai'ian dish "loco moco," a recipe that uses every fatty and high-cholesterol food that exists served together on a plate. Anyway, so far I have refused to pay travel costs for eggs.

 

During my first week here, it was cloudy every day. But now and then it clears up and I can see Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa--just not usually at the same time.  Here is Mauna Kea.

 The view is deceptive, especially for someone like me who lived near the Rocky Mountains much of my life. Mauna Kea is over 13,000 feet/4205 meters above sea leve, and when it's clear enough to see from Hilo, you see it 30 miles away and from sea level! You can see a couple of the observatories near the crest in the photo below.

 

Here is Mauna Loa, an active volcano. I'll write more about the volcanoes in a future post.

I took this photo of the moon from a parking lot near Starbuck's the week of Thanksgiving at about 7 PM. . . wearing flip-flops and no sweater, by the way. It's why I am here and it makes me so happy.

Celebrating

Woohoo! Tamales from Posa's, tacos from Felipe's and lots of friends to wish aloha!
Thank you, friends, for giving a good home to some of my stuff. But mostly, thank you for coming to say "a hui hou," Hawai'ian for "hasta luego!"



If anybody has pictures from the party on November 7, please let me know.

Packing Up

Deciding what to take with me was not difficult. I think that's because I spent so many years dreaming about moving, and nights thinking about what would I want to have with me if I ended up in various locations. I had done the packing in my head numerous times for different daydreams, so when it came time to pack up for real, it was not hard.  Time consuming, but not hard. 

There were countless trips to Goodwill, the Shelter thrift stores, and meetings with Craigslist buyers. And even if they didn't want my stuff, my friends were obliged to take something away with them. At my Aloha Party, I wouldn't let them leave without taking something with them.

The moving truck came on Wednesday evening, November 4. A very experienced and competent mover, Igor, packed everything in his truck. Alone. In the rain. Amazing. I gave him a bottle of Chivas Regal with his tip. He seemed pretty happy about that.

Igor's truck blocked the street for a few hours

My stuff in a shipping container on Igor's truck

My heaviest coat is in Indiana with Adam. My favorite cashmere scarf is around Thea's neck keeping her warm. My beautiful books and flatware are in Santa Fe with Rick.

Our garage after my stuff was loaded. Hey, there is room for a car in here!

One-Way Ticket

It was a real commitment to purchase a one-way ticket. Two weeks later, I left my car at the Saab mechanics' place in Santa Fe in exchange for a check, climbed into Thea's car, and rode to the Albuquerque airport with Thea and Rick. I was too excited and elated to feel sad when it was time to say good-bye (sorry, family!).

 'Bye New Mexico! (Sandia Peak from Concourse A at the Sunport)

Los Angeles, last view of the Mainland!

  At the Hilo airport. Coqui frogs chirp their greeting.

                                                                            

Trading this . . .

. . . for this.    (Photo by Brocken Inaglory, 2007--It was dark when I flew over.)