Kailua-Kona Sunsets

Yesterday after working and scouting out the wonders and mysteries of the local Costco, Super-K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot, I made my way back to city to watch the sun set over Kona. Thai takeout was on the menu that evening and turned out to be just 'ok'. There's a Thai restaurant on Maui that is completely authentic and sports some of the best food I've ever had. There simply must be 'the one' somewhere on the island.


Over the past few posts I've lamented over not having a home base. This particularly irks me when I pass by a nursery. I stopped at this orchid nursery at the International Market (a place mainly dedicated to ensnaring tourists), but found the most breathtaking orchids at a somewhat out of place flower shop with the most stunning flowers I've ever seen - all for about $12 a pop, plus $5 per great ceramic pot. I'm in awe of just how inexpensive extremely beautiful plants are here.

I've seen some of the most wonderful fruit trees, organic local grown herb and vegetable plants for sale at the local Wal-Mart for very cheap prices - no doubt if I find a local grower I will be able to get some of these cheaper and start planting out my garden - once I have one :) The great thing about Borders here is that it has a very good selection of books on topics particular to this island. From historical books, to poetry, lei making, canoe building, etc, there are also books on how to grow fruit, herbs, and vegetables specifically on the Big Island of Hawaii. This really helps a new gardener get familiar with where the best places to source seedlings are, as well as which fruits grow best at which elevation. Unfortunately Kamuela's elevation is too high for some of my favorite fruit like Lychee.




Working kept me out of trouble yesterday - i.e., spending money or exhausting myself driving places for no particular reason or another. Today on the other hand, there was no such salvation. I bought an office three-in-one printer and an external HD for my photography.

After researching all sorts of photo printers I decided against buying one simply for the reason that the cost to run one is greater than the cost of having them printed professionally without a more significant investment in the printer itself.

Today I read about which places are best for snorkeling and decided to go on an expedition. It was definitely great fun, and I saw many things which were weird, odd, and beautiful. After 20 minutes, however I realized just how out of shape I am and swam back to shore rather exhausted. Tonight I get to pack up, do laundry and drag my ass to the next hotel for a fortnight. My life has become rather uninteresting while I stay in one particular area for a while. Well, such is life - what goes up, must come down. The next stay should be interesting, however, because it is close to Volcano National Park. I hope to catch some great night shots of Lava.

I did manage to snap a few fun shots while in Kona. I'm not happy with their framing - and for the most part this shoot was more experimental than with the hopes of getting any pro photos out from it. In either case - of the 300 or so shots I took, only the following made the cut for my blog. Some of the night ones came out pretty well.



I stopped by the local farmers market and got a pound of lychee and a pound of rambutan - two of my favorite fruit. They are indeed just what the doctor ordered.