Tag Archives: Hawi

Better Days: The weeds are winning

This weed-covered backhoe sits besides Hawi Hill, the road from Hawi that leads to Waimea. I’ve passed the spot numerous times and often thought I should get this photo. The problem is that the hill is steep and narrow here, with nowhere to pull off to take the photo. The closest obvious parking place meant a walk back up this busy road.

Finally, one day recently, I was heading home down the hill in the late afternoon. Traffic was light with nothing coming toward me or following close behind. So I stopped the car in the road, wound the window down, and snapped a couple of photos, including this one. Then it was off again, before someone careened into the back of me.

Circus in town?

Houses in Hawaii being tented for termites

The neighboring property to where I live has recently been sold. There are five rental houses on it and the new owner, wisely, decided to have them tented for termites.

When I saw the colorful tents going up I walked over to take photos. One of the tenants was there and we started talking about the process and, almost simultaneously said, “It looks like a circus.”

And it really does look like that, though the second photo suggests it’s one of those circuses with very scary clowns.

Signs: Banana Leaf Coffee & Tea

A sign for the Banana Leaf Coffee & Tea shop in Hawi, Hawaii

Back in the early Covid days, work began on converting a space in downtown Hawi for Banana Leaf Coffee & Tea. I was interested in the project from the start. For one thing, it seemed not the best timing given that the number of visitors to Hawaii was hovering around zero with little prospect for change. Also, the location for this enterprise is across the street from Kohala Coffee Mill, a very popular stop for visitors and locals alike.

The project chugged along and seemed to be close to completion when this sign went up. But in the months since then, not much has happened. The building appears ready to go but the business hasn’t opened. I suspect it never will and one day I’ll be driving by and notice the sign has gone.

That’s a pity. I quite like the sign, in part because when I first saw it, my immediate reaction was, “Mmmm, jelly beans.”

Signs: Evil

A couple of days ago, my wife called to alert me to the presence of this truck in Hawi, so I scurried over there and took some photos.

The message was on both sides of the board, but what was it there for? Were they upset with one of the stores, but which one? Was it a court ordered sign for a terrible driver? Was the truck several steps beyond a lemon? Was it a Google Street View vehicle?

If I still had my truck and the necessary materials to hand, I would have fashioned a similar board, painted a word on it, and parked it across the street. One option was ‘Good.’ Another was ‘Knievel.’

It was a mystery, but I’m happy to report that when I passed by later in the day, the evil had been driven out of Hawi.

Downtown Hawi

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Urban.’ See more responses here.

North Kohala is mostly rural, so in this part of the world Hawi and Kapaau are the only urban centers and pretty small ones at that.

The top photo shows downtown Hawi on a moderately busy day. Some days, the traffic and crush of visitors can make it almost impassible. Downtown is mostly shops and restaurants, though there’s a small local grocery store and, of course, real estate agents.

One kind of store you don’t get in most downtowns is Hawi’s Aloha Man which features items made in Hawaii. There’s even a hammock just out of sight to the left of the store, in case walking the two blocks of downtown is too much for you!

Jade color

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Monthly Color Challenge: Jade.’ See more responses here. I think these photos are in the ballpark.

At the top is a selection of colorful kayaks available for rent on the beach at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay. The one on the left looks jade to me, maybe a couple of others, too.

The middle photo is a sign at a business in Hawi.

Finally, this building in Kapaau, housing L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and other businesses, has some jade as well as a multitude of other colors.

It’s bright, it’s white, it’s Sunday Stills

The turbines of Hawi wind farm with Mauna Kea in the background

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘White.’ See more responses here.

In the top photo, frothy surf barrels ashore at Upolu in North Kohala. Below that, a cattle egret surveys the scene in the middle of a water fountain. The third photo shows turbines at Hawi Wind Farm against a backdrop of snowy Mauna Kea. And the bottom photo features a bee collecting on a Maiapilo flower.

Heavy rain

We had some strange weather here a week or so ago when a very wet system hung around the island for several day. One of the results was that we would get some sudden downpours such as this one.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii