Just got back from Hawaii, pics and a few questions. (pic heavy)

[Locut0s]

So we just got back from Hawaii and we had a fantastic time. It was a rather short vacation, just 7 days, and we only did the Big Island. Because of time constraints we only did the Kona Coast, north to the Kohala coast (Waimea and to the north) and Volcano National Park, we did not do the Hilo side. The highlight of the trip was unquestionably the snorkeling. We went snorkeling a total of 4 times. One of these was a guided tour (got to see Dolphins swimming along the boat!). Having never actually seen coral reefs or swam with tropical fish the experience is just magical. Unfortunately my camera is not water proof, just water resistant, so I don't have any of my own pics to share of the actual snorkeling. But to give you an idea it looked just like this:



Though unfortunately we didn't have a heck of a lot of sun. Not that this made the snorkeling any worse. We even got to swim with a turtle!! He didn't seem frightened at all, just moseyed along and even swam right towards us:



Aside from the snorkeling we went down to Volcano National Park and did some hiking. We walked along the crater floor of Kilauea Iki "little Kilauea". This was a volcanic lava lake that formed in 1959 and has since solidified. The trail takes you down right into the lava lake and you get to walk along the hardened lava. It's like walking on the surface of the moon. In fact despite the fact that the eruption happened in 1959 the rock bellow is still hot enough that there are steam vents along the crater floor. Of course we ate a lot as well, a lot of junk food and good hamburgers and fries, (hamburgers seem to be something of a staple on the island lol), I'll give them one thing they know how to make a killer macaroni salad, thankfully I only put on 1 or 2 pounds because we were quite active as well. No Luau this time I'm afraid but I'll be sure to do it in the future. Had some traditional shaved ice and a few other traditional snacks at road side shops. Stopped at a tropical fruit stand on the side of the road and had a number of really good snacks, Jackfruit being the best. I absolutely love Jackfruit as it reminds me of my time in Malaysia! So all in all it was a great trip!

A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS:

It seems poverty is an issue on the Big Island. In general poverty is a bigger issue and more visible in the US than here in Canada but it seemed especially prevalent on some areas of the island. I'm not talking about grinding poverty but I did see for example a lot of run down housing and corrugated metal roofs. It seems to be an issue especially among the native Hawaiians which is sadly not at all surprising as such is the case with native peoples the world over. How prosperous are the Islands in general? I know tourism brings in the big bucks but I mean for the resident population.

How democratic are the Islands in general? I know that they are a very strong democrat state historically but I was thinking more how liberal in general is the populous? I didn't have time to speak with anyone about anything so all I can go by are stereotypes.

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Instead of going through and editing all the photots I took in Hawaii I thought I'd just dump them all on photobucket at 800x600ish and let you guys and others take a look. I'll be going through these in the coming months and touching up some of my favs. None of these are quite the best work I've done but there are a few that I like that I'll post bellow. Take a look and let me know what you think:

Remember his is just a raw resize and dump of ALL the pics I took so there are some shitty ones in here.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v333/Locut0s/Hawaii/

Some of my favs:



























Oh and here's some of my other fav pics I've been collecting over the years. Hope you like them:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v333/Locut0s/Favs/

[NoSheep]

1. Thank you for sharing these.

[mahina]

2. Howzit.

Yes, many of us are struggling. But we also don't care much (generally) about impressing anybody, so it's hard to know about the housing you saw. There's kind of a different asthetic. Small plantation style homes are perfect.

We are very, very democratic. The Big Island particularly is heavily D. We went 73% for Obama in the primary for example. Our state Senate has maybe 2 Republicans. And one of them is retiring. Not to say that all who put a D behind their names are progressive, as I'm sure is the case elsewhere too.

Our education is not so premium. It's been a problem for a long time. Hopefully Neil Abercrombie will be elected Governor, and he'll help us sort it out.

So happy that you enjoyed the islands. It makes me happy to hear. Don't miss Oahu, it's such a beautiful island. There is much more to us than Waikiki, and Waikiki gets a bad rap.

Aloha, a hui hou...

[FrenchieCat]

3. Simply beautiful!

Super photos!

[KonaKane]

4. Big Island resident here....glad you enjoyed your stay.

As to your questions:

Poverty? I thought so when I first came here too, but I think it's a bit of an illusion. Alot of the corrugated roof dwellings you find are islanders who are running farms or plantations here on the B.I. Even some mainland transplants who decided that wanted to "do it island style" (anybody who has lived here will know that song).

I'm not saying there is no poverty, but the islands are a very different place. It seems like time even moves differently here. Alot of people don't seem like they have much but when you take it all into account, the beauty of this place, they have everything. I would say the real problems here are ice (meth) and a growing rift between the Kanaka Maoli (the "true" people) and the interlopers who tend to be transients but end up grabbing alot of the community/political power. They dont have a great reputation here, they are seen as nosey busybodies. The good thing is, they usually are booted back to the mainland.

Democratic? In general. But there are pockets of conservatism and not surprisingly they are in rich white areas like east Honolulu. Here in Kona town there is a loud and obnoxious gaggle of teabaggers but I laugh because they are made of up mostly rich, bored white folks who dont know what else to do with themselves here but bitch about taxes they don't pay. For the most part Hawaiians dont like to be bothered with national politics, and are more locally involved with their businesses, families and issues.

This truly is paradise and I wouldnt live anywhere else.

Mahalo nui loa.

[scubadude]

9. Interloper's eh? Kanaka Maoli... Sounds like you have the Arizona problems to me.

When one ethnic group lays claim to a territory, "true" people, then says "and the good thing is the others are usually booted back to the mainland", how is that any different than racism anywhere else? Forgive me if I'm wrong and perhaps you were just mimicking locals, but your message comes across a bit bigoted to me. It almost sounds like you are saying "Glad you enjoyed your stay, and glad you left..."

Scuba

[chill_wind]

5. It is pure paradise, isn't it?

We had the fortune to visit The Big Island for a week just shortly before 911. (It was the longest flight of my life-- from Ohio. Never so glad to get off a plane finally, in my life, lol. I can only imagine what that same kind of flight trip would be like, now)

What incredibly beautiful and amazingly diverse terrain, all in one small place. The people who live there are truly blessed.

And the Kona coffee-- omg :-)

Beautiful pictures!

[Locut0s]

8. Yeah it is really nice! Not a Coffee fan myself though :-( I'll take the fruit instead!! nt

[G_j]

6. beautiful

thanks!

[Locut0s]

7. @Howzit & KonaKane - Thanks for the info! That's sort of what I ended up thinking myself...

I can tell there is a much more laid back atmosphere there. It's typical of so many tropical locals. I should have clued in faster as I lived in Malaysia and southern China for several years as a youngster but it's been a long time. I never visited any of the other Islands. Only the Big Island and of that mostly only the Kona Coast. Would like to go back some day and do the Hilo side, see the Waipio valley and do some of the other islands. If anything just for the snorkeling, I'm now seriously thinking of taking up scuba just from this one holiday :) And of course if I get back to the Big Island I HAVE to do the telescope atop Mauna Kea as I'm something of a science and astronomy buff. That's the one site I regret not seeing the most.

[snagglepuss]

10. Incrediable pics. So uplifting. Thanks so much for sharing them. nt

:applause:

[MelissaB]

11. Really beautiful photos!

We're going to Hawaii for the first time this summer. We can't wait!

[Scurrilous]

12. Nice pics.

:thumbsup: