Category Archives: Better Days

Better Days: Sonny’s Place

When I moved to Hawaii, this building looked pretty much like this. The only difference was that Sonny’s Place, a restaurant, was a going concern. Not that I ever saw anyone going in or out. Indeed, I never saw any activity there at all except for the occasional sighting of a cat in the window.

It’s not a going concern today, though I honestly don’t know when that change took place. One thing’s for certain, the transition made no difference to the appearance of the place.

Better Days: Abandoned vehicles

Rampant tropical foliage can cover a multitude of sins, including abandoned vehicles. The cost of getting rid of an old vehicle is relatively high here, so many are abandoned. Some are left on the edge of the highway or, more often, on undeveloped private property alongside the highway.

If a vehicle is on private property, the owners have to be contacted first. Often they don’t respond because they’re big corporations or investment entities and an old car or two is not worth the bother.

Those on the highway can be posted and then cleared by the highway department, but even this is not a speedy process. Recently, a Prius, of all things, was parked by the highway a few miles south of Hawi. It looked in decent shape and I assumed it had broken down. However, it sat there for more than a week, untouched. After that, an official warning notice appeared on the window. Police post these to let the owner know their vehicle will be towed and disposed of, in theory at the owner’s expense. Another week or so passed. One day I saw a policeman by the car making some notes. A couple of days later, when I went by, I saw the windows had been smashed and a couple of wheels removed. The next day, more damage had been inflicted. It was a couple of days later that the now useless wreck was removed.

Another disposal option is to shove the vehicles into a gully and let nature do the rest. These three vehicles, and there were others down there, are on the owner’s property, so that’s some consolation.

Better Days: Noak Dom

Places and things that have seen better days are likely to be vandalized or tagged with graffiti. On the North Kohala coast, there’s an old fishing shack with a couple of derelict vehicles nearby. At some time in the fairly recent past, the scene has been accessorized with a paint job. I think Noak Dom is the name of the graffiti artist who painted these.

Better Days: Eel on the hook

I hope this photo doesn’t ruin anyone’s breakfast, but I run it for a couple of reasons. First, a lot of people fish around the island and most of them don’t like eels. Snag an eel on your line and there’s not much to be done. The eel will wrap itself in knots and the only way to be rid of it is to cut the line. The person fishing could try removing the hook and releasing the eel, but even if they were so inclined, the feeling is, ‘why release an eel so that it can tie itself in knots next time you throw a line in?’

And that brings us to the other reason for running the photo, and which also explains another reason no one wants to remove that hook. Look at those teeth! Rows of them, front and back, side to side. Reach for that hook and chances are you’re going to get bitten. This is also why it’s not a good idea to mess with anything in the water. Even little fish that look harmless can have a powerful bite, or sharp spines, or some other nasty surprise.

Better Days: Kona Village Resort

Looking across Kahuwai Bay toward the Kona Village Resort
The sign on the fence says it all.
Some of the damaged buildings lining the shore.

On March 11, 2011, the northeastern part of Japan was jolted by an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale. While the quake caused extensive damage, the resulting tsunami was even more destructive. Water surged up to six miles inland and flooded more than 200 square miles of land. Perhaps the best known result of this tsunami was the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, after it was overrun by the surging waters.

Here in Hawaii, a few hours after the earthquake, tsunami waves washed up on shore. The waves were up to 10 feet high, but the damage was not as great as was feared. However, along the west coast of the Big Island, there was flooding and damage to coastal properties.

One of those properties was the Kona Village Resort, situated to the north of Hualalai Resort. Damage to the resort’s properties was sufficient to force its closure. The property then sank into the swamp that is insurance settlements and financial shenanigans. During this time, the buildings deteriorated.

Originally, the resort was supposed to reopen this summer, but that was pushed back a year, then more. Currently, sometime in 2022 is the planned reopening, but this being Hawaii, that date shouldn’t be taken too seriously. When I walked the beach past the site, work was going on, but I saw only a handful of workers and a couple of active machines. It didn’t appear to be a project going full-steam ahead.

The current work site, lots of orange netting but not much action.
At a casual glance things don’t look too bad, but the roof thatching is mostly gone, the buildings are open to the elements, and there’s other damage in and around the area.
It’s still a beautiful setting and the beach is enticing.