Tag Archives: Hilo

Coconut Island

Coconut Island, seen from the waterfront of Hilo, Hawaii

Coconut Island, or Mokuola, is a small island in Hilo Bay. It’s connected to Hilo by the footbridge seen on the right in this photo. I took this photo when I was in Hilo recently and realized that I’ve never been across the footbridge. I didn’t have time that day, but it’s definitely on my list to do next time I’m in town.

Going up

Pumping concrete at a construction site at Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii
A pumper funnels concrete to the new building.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Things under Construction.’ See more responses here.

Last Friday, I had cause to visit the hospital in Hilo (Don’t worry, they say the leg will grow back!). The hospital is now called the the Hilo Benioff Medical Center. That’s because Marc Benioff, the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, donated a chunk of the money to build the addition to the hospital seen in these photos. The addition will greatly expand the Intensive Care Unit and add additional hospital beds.

Pumping concrete at a construction site at Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii
Got to get it in the right place.
A crane at a construction site at Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii
There’s heavy lifting to be done.
New construction at Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii
Putting the building together is like assembling a puzzle.
Moving materials at a construction site at Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii
Got to have supplies for all this activity.

Trouble boiling?

A sign at Boiling Pots in Hilo, Hawaii

I was in Hilo yesterday, and I visited a few places I hadn’t been to in a while. One was Boiling Pots, part of Hilo’s Wailuku River State Park. It’s a beautiful spot, but the river can be dangerous when it’s roaring, so it’s plastered with warning signs.

As you can see, the signs don’t impress everyone. In truth, this group was probably perfectly safe. The river was as low as I’ve seen it. It’s been dry all over the island and the forecast for the day was more of the same. But it’s not the rain in Hilo that causes the river to run, it’s what’s happening on the slopes of Mauna Kea. And while the forecast was good, forecasts can be wrong, as I think we’ve all experienced. But people will be people.

Frankly, the signs at Boiling Pots are something of an eyesore, but the county has to try and cover itself. If those folks did get swept away, their next of kin would likely lawyer up and hold responsible anyone and everyone, except for those who should have known better.

Dendrobium Smiliae orchid

A Dendrobium Smiliae orchid in Hawaii

I had seen this flower some time ago and thought it would be easy to identify. No such luck. At the time, I didn’t realize it was an orchid. But then I saw this one at the Hilo Orchid Show with a handy tag attached. Problem solved.

It’s also known as the bottlebrush orchid and hails from northeastern Australia and areas nearby.