Quote of the day: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Akiko’s welcoming kitchen

Big Island Memories

On a cold and snowy winter morning in Minnesota, I thought it would be fun to look at photos from my walk-about in Hawaii that I began December 3, 2012. What wonderful memories! It is the people and the “Aloha” feeling of the place that I cherish and miss the most.

Akiko (left) likes to laugh!

Such lively conversations we shared around the kitchen table at Akiko’s and in the shared dining room. Guests came and went, and I often struggled with feeling shy but everyone I met was so interesting and unique. By the end of my time there, I was initiating conversations with strangers in Hilo and everywhere I went, quite a change for me.

Rain forest at Akiko’s

Bananas growing at Akiko’s

I loved wandering around the rain forest area around Akiko’s. Breadfruit, banana, orange, lemon, and tangerine trees all grew and produced fruit plentifully. The small apple bananas that grow there are so much better than the bananas we get in the grocery store here. There is something magical about just taking a walk and coming back with luscious fresh fruit whenever you want.

Linda

Mishka

Breakfast

Maile

Many special people shared their stories and fun with me while I stayed at Akiko’s. They were the best part, by far of the whole trip. To learn how others experience the world helped me understand and value our differences and similarities. No matter where we come from, we all share a need to connect with others, to feel valued and loved, to grow and learn.

Great gratitude to the many people who so generously greeted and befriended me while I was in Hawaii.

Hilo – a town that time forgot

Visiting Hilo was sort of like going back to my childhood before chain stores and chain restaurants, when small stores thrived. The downtown of Hilo feels architecturally like going back to the 1960’s (although we had no palm trees growing in Ida Grove, Iowa, where I spent my early childhood).

There is so much to discover and learn about walking around different areas of Hilo. I discovered interesting restaurants, a wonderful place that made and sold many varieties of mochi. My favorite was strawberry mochi—a big strawberry covered with sweet bean paste wrapped in soft sweet mochi. There were museums and the farmer’s market.

Center of a strawberry mochi

A local farmer’s market near Akiko’s was my favorite place to buy food while I was there. Local farmers brought eggs, milk, yogurt, goat cheese, fresh vegetables, fruit, and my favorite, taro burgers (made from cooked mashed taro and other savory ingredients). Each week I would take my basket and shop for my food for the next week while local musicians played and sang, neighbors talked and visited and kids rode bikes and enjoyed the festive gathering.