This black witch moth shows the wear and tear of everyday life.
Category Archives: Better Days
Better Days: Derelict trailer
An old trailer rusts away in a field near the Kohala coast.
Better Days: Nearly made it
This old boat has a good view of the nearby ocean, even if it didn’t quite get there.
Better Days: Waipi’o boat
This old boat hull lies peacefully below the spreading limbs of what I think is a banyan tree on the road to Waipi’o beach.
Better Days: Farm cottage
When I last was up this way, a considerable while ago, this old farm cottage and its surrounds looked reasonably well kept. My most recent visit found it mostly hidden behind tall grass. When I drove up the dirt road that runs past this place, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to turn around. The road obviously hadn’t had much use and the vegetation was taking over.
Better Days: Old engine
As is the way so often, this old engine is now a lawn ornament at a gated community’s open space area.
Better Days: Hakalau Plantation Company
This is one of two remaining warehouses of the old Hakalau Plantation Company at Hakalau Point. This was one of several sugarcane plantations that dominated the Big Island. The sugar mill was located nearby, in the gulch at the mouth of the river. The mill was wiped out in a tsunami in 1946 and swiftly rebuilt in the exact same place!
The mill finally closed in 1974 and now the plantation company property is up for development. Hawaii County is mulling a proposal to buy this property and preserve the site. This process will likely go on for months, possibly years. At this stage, it could go either way. One thing is certain, similar situations will continue to crop up on the Big Island: there’s a lot of coastline and most of it is prime development real estate.
For more information about Hakalau and the Hakalau Plantation Company, go to hakalauhome.com.
Better Days: Fixer upper
This fixer-upper shack sits on the coast not far from Mo’okini Heiau in North Kohala. It comes with a pair of vehicles that could also use a little work.
Graham's Island 