Caving, snorkling, stargazing...must be Hawaii!

I spent three weeks on the Big Island again this December. It was the first time I'd seen my mom in 2 months and my dad in 10 months, so this trip was far overdue!!

We spent most of the first week and a half in the water snorkling. The waters on the East side of the big island are not particularly known for their clear snorkle worthy water, but we do know some great places that rival any other spots I've seen in the rest of the islands. The Kapoho (Vacation Land) area, for instance, is a series of crystal clear tide pools. They are full of a kaleidascope of colorful corals and tropical fish. You need to be there when the tide is in, and be willing to swim in some areas only a couple of inches deep to travel from pool to pool, but it is so worth it! This area is a opehe preserve and fishing is strictly not allowed, but that makes it all the more wonderful.

Another great place to go, just up the road from Kapoho, is the warm ponds. While the selection of fish is less diverse than other areas, this natural warm spring was walled and resembles a swimming pool, but has a ocean inlet that feeds cool water in which is warmed by the geothermal springs. The water is rarely below 80 degrees.

We enjoy an area in Hilo called Richardson Center which is a cove protected by a sea wall a few miles from the Hilo bay and marina. This area is not a clear as others, but we have frequently swam with green sea turtles (honu) in this area. We saw several picasso triggerfish, also known as humuhumunukunkuapua'a, the Hawaiian state fish. There were Christmas wrass, a psychedelically colorful fish, yellow tangs, parrotfish, etc. This is a frequent stopover for tourists off of the cruise ships so there are often large groups visiting, and mom loves to talk to the newly visiting, sharing her island home with them. Someday, she will be a fulltime tour guide, I'm sure.

My dad and I went spelunking in a 2+ mile deep lava tube just outside of Hilo. The lava tube dates back about 100 years or so, and travels upward into the mountainside. It is about 15 feet wide, with a 25+ foot ceiling. After bouldering over a small cave in and ducking through an opening about 3 feet tall, we began the journey uphill, all the while imagining the 2500 degree lava that had once careened through this tube. We got about a quarter of a mile up and turned off our flashlights to truly experience the deep, inky blackness. There were no creatures that we saw, and no plant life, except the roots of plants far above us. There was some sort of powdery fungus on the walls, and it was very wet and drippy. It was a thrilling experience. I plan to explore more caves and lava tubes in the future. The photo is me just outside the opening of the tube.

We also took advantage of the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center, a fantastic museum and planetarium run by University of Hawaii-Hilo. We watched their presentations on Mauna Kea and Black Holes and enjoyed the children-centric hands on museum which had several areas dedicated to Hawaiian History. I love planetariums and this one was great. The young lady who was our host for the shows also walked us through what we might expect in the night sky over Hilo (if it weren't always raining!)

Ashland 2008

I just got back from Ashland Oregon, and had the priviledge of seeing A Midsummer Night's Dream on closing night. The show was very imaginative and beautiful, and the fairies were essentially portrayed as gay disco dancers which I thought was really cool.

The weather was what I always expect when I go to Ashland--chilly and rainy. I always feel cheated when I go in the Summer and it is hot in Ashland. It just doesn't seem right!

We had salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks and enjoyed a chilly but relaxing political discussion on the porch. The hot cocoa is soooo good. I just love this drink. However, our political talk encouraged another pair to begin a discussion that was, well, racist at best and downright infuriating.

We again ate at the Standing Stone Brewery, and enjoyed some hearty salads with grilled chicken and some honey cream ale, which was quite tasty. I just really enjoy the atmosphere.

We stayed at a really dumpy Econolodge, really run down, not terribly clean, etc. They did have a free breakfast with a waffle bar, but as I am insulin resistant, I cannot eat such sugary foods. It was nice to have a steaming cup of coffee as we had to leave pretty early.

I look forward to next season and enjoying a new set of plays and more great food in this cute little town.

Weird Weather We're Havin'

It looks like rain when you get up, but turns sunny and warm--but not too warm--as the day wears on. It is not hot by any means--not like it was a few weeks ago. The weather is WEIRD.

My parents are in Hawaii now. Weird weather there is actually normal. It is no big thing to have a major rainstorm every day around 4, or to have a chilly day followed by a balmy night. They had been in drought for a few weeks prior to my mom going over there, but it began raining in earnest almost as soon as her plane touched down. We have dubbed her the Rain Goddess, since she has had that effect on the island numerous times. They ought to pay her for her rain giving services!

Non-Shakespeare Fun in Ashland

Lithia Park is a beautiful attraction in Ashland. With a roaring creek running through it and lovely vegetation, it is a very relaxing place to hang out. You will invariably run into interesting characters around the park, musicians, jugglers, folks practicing fencing...

Festival actors hold talks in the park for free, and prior to most evening performances is the Green Show, a fantasic dance show. There are also fairly low cost attractions that are put on by OSF, like backstage tours and play previews.

The shopping opportunities are amazing. Their are several highly eclectic shops, specialty foods stores, bookstores, vintage clothing stores.

If I were an outdoorsy type, I'd ski at Mt. Ashland, or hike or raft. But I am not. So I haven't.

Ashland part 2

During my last trip to Ashland, culinary experiences were nearly as important to me as theatrical ones. I took my brother (the other theatre geek in the family) with me, for our almost annual trip together. We had lunch one day at Pilaf, a spectacular poly-ethnic restaurant. I particularly enjoyed the Mediterranean selections, including fabulous pita bread and hummus, and so many of their selections are vegetarian, and so healthy. Really tasty food, and my brother, a confirmed meat-and-potatoes person, was satisfied. The restaurant was closed for a while, but their website says that they will be back up and running.

We had dinner at Standing Stone Brewery. That was fantastic, despite the long wait to get a seat. The atmosphere was exhilarating, with live music, beer brewing paraphernalia adorning the walls and the noisy, talkative clientèle. We had a beer sampler, a cute tray of shooters containing their 7 brews, arranged from lightest to darkest. Their Honey Ale was sweet and refreshing, and my favorite, though the stout was particularly interesting, strong and complex. That was my bro's favorite. The food was great, too. He had buffalo burger, and I ate yellow thai curry. Both dishes were strong enough flavors to really stand up to the beer.

We had another lunch at a little deli on the main drag, but I forgot the name of it. Its a shame, since it was such a great little place. We had hearty soups and some really tasty sandwiches made with excellent bread and cheeses. Attached was a little culinary shop featuring hard to find spices and condiments, a wide selection of wines and other treats.

In the next installment: What else to do in Ashland

Ashland

I am practically salivating to get to go to Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this year! I want to see their Midsummer Night's Dream. It is difficult to justify the travel costs, the membership and the tickets when everything is so expensive and I am struggling to save money and pay down debt, but Ashland and OSF really rejuvenate my spirit.

Last year I saw The Rabbit Hole, a beautifully done drama about a family coping with the accidental death of their toddler son. It was heartrending and funny, and the tragedy was dealt with in a very real manner, and with a light touch rather than being over the top. It was staged in the New Theatre, which I love. It is so intimate that it makes me feel like we are in the know, we are part of the action. I have always loved black-box staging. The first show I saw there was Macbeth, and it was brilliant! They pared it down to bare-bones, with a mere 6 actors in the cast, no set besides a round stage with a blood pit at the center, plus thrones and other items brought on as needed. It was staged in the round, so actors entered and exited right next to you. During fights, actors would dip their hands into the pit and mark their opponent with blood. No weapons were used, just the pantomime and the blood, but it couldn't have seemed more realistic. It was magnificent.

We also saw On the Razzle last year in the Angus Bowmer Theatre, and I must say, I was a little disappointed with it. It was a farce, with mistaken identities, crooks on the lam, and young lovers trying to elope. All the makings of a great comedy, but it just felt hollow to me; it was over the top with the acting (yes, I realize a farce ought to be over the top--this was cloyingly so) and overdone. The set, I must say, was magnificent, as were the costumes. I just didn't really enjoy this show.

More later on my Ashland favorites!

Graffiti=Art?

In the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, there was an article recently outlining a new rewards program for tipsters informing on graffiti taggers. The issue of graffiti has reach epidemic proportions in some areas of the Big Island, frustrating public officials and local business owners and costing a considerable amount of money to cover it. The taggers are becoming more and more bold, leaving larger tags in more prominent areas. It is an issue in Red Bluff too, with gang rivalry being expressed in tag speak. I studied graffiti a great deal for my master's thesis, and note the destructive nature of such vandalism as it instigates violence in some cases. But I also see the beauty of graffiti.

I have always been mesmerized by boxcars covered in tags, the cryptic messages, the color gradations, and the flowing design of graffiti. It is beautiful, and created using just a couple of colors and the difficult-to-control spray can. In Pahoa, there used to be a wall lining an alley (on the side of JoMaMa's, across from LaQuin's) that was a designated graffiti spot. Many local youth artists would create this cacophony of color and design. It was one of my regular pilgrimages to visit the wall, take a picture and see how it has changed. There was very little graffiti in other parts of town. The last time I was in Pahoa, the wall was white; the lovely little graffiti tradition had been lost.

Graffiti can be a major hot-button issue. So, yes, discourage the destruction of public property. Place bounties on tagger's heads if you must. But give these artists another venue to display their work. I can't say that it will eliminate their need to exhibit in more dangerous and visible locations, but it will give them a legitimate location for their work and it will not deprive the rest of us the opportunity to marvel at such gritty, interesting art.

Unexpected Art part 2: Hawaiian Cuisine

Culinary opportunities abound in Hawaii--though you have to be up for anything. Last time we were there, we went snorkling with our neighbor, Fish, who disappeared for a while during the excursion and returned with a giant fish, which he proceeded to clean and we ate. I have never had sashimi that fresh in my life.

This trip I discovered haupia, a coconut jelly/pudding snack. It is made with fresh coconuts and is just amazing. We had haupia cheesecake, a tart/sweet cheesecake topped with the thick, rich and creamy haupia. They also sell it in bricks at the farmers market.

Some of the best Thai food I have ever had came from a restaurant truck at the Hilo farmer's market. I had some fabulous chicken satay, basil chicken and pepper pork.

Our favorite Hawaiian BBQ was at the Pahoa farmer's market. We had the usual smokey/sweet BBQ pork and some spicy grilled Hawaiian sausage--ono grinds!

Fish and his wife, Faith, fired up the imu (BBQ pit) and grilled ham and turkey with taro and breadfruit. I'm still not sold on taro, but the breadfruit was okay when eaten with ham. Both are very dense starches with very little flavor on their own.

We've gotten over the novelty of hibiscus growing everywhere--even the Wal-Mart parking lot. But there is still something magnificent about wild white ginger, anthurium and orchids growing unchecked in our backyard. Sitting at Pohoiki--Isaac Hale--beach and watching the waves is awe inspiring, not just for the surfers but for the crystal blue of the water. The coastline bears many similarities to Northern California in that it is mostly rocky with little beach. Remember, Big Island is the newest and is still growing, so there hasn't been enough time to break it all down into sand. But most of the beaches you visit (on the East side, anyway) are black sand.

Our favorite ocean activity is to snorkle, and our favorite place to go it the tide pools at Vacationland. It is like swimming in a giant aquarium. The water is clear blue and the fish are relatively undisturbed as the area is a nature preserve, so there are huge tropical fish everywhere. There is also coral, a whole rainbow of it in greens, pinks, blues and electric purple. Another favorite spot, Richardson Center in Hilo, gave us a solid half hour swimming with two honu--green sea turtles. We got some great photos.

Unexpected Art

A visit to the Big Island usually means artistic opportunities not found in Northern California. And maybe its the tropical weather, the laid back people, the beauty of the island--or, more to the point, the fact that I don't have to work--but while I'm there, I am more artistic.

Arts opportunities pop up in the most unusual places. In our Hawaiian hometown of Pahoa, almost all stores and restaurants feature local art. In the Aloha Outpost, an internet cafe, the art is African in theme and done (I think) by the owner. Malama grocery store features large posters of various types of palm trees and reproductions of vintage postcards. The cafe downtown has some hippie art--fitting as Pahoa is indeed a Hippie town.

On Friday the 7th we attended the opening reception for a miniatures display in Hilo. Dozens of artists created eclectic and magnificent exhibits. Some favorites were the Little Grass Shack by Lee Manoni-Steiger, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Humpty-Dumpty (pictured) and the Princess and the Pea, all by Carol Hocker, and the Snow Maiden by Dorena Bennett. Another favorite, though I didn't get the artist's name, was the Ugly Duckling as Cinderella. The best part of this exhibition was downstairs, where a room was dedicated to children's art.

Not an art exhibit per se, but seriously cool was the Pahoa Christmas Parade. It was kicked off by the community band playing--they were wonderful--and followed by various floats and exhibits. The only thing marring it (besides an excruciatingly long wait in the rain for it to start) was the fact that, as it is an election year, several floats were dedicated to political hopefuls.

An unexpected artform came from our neighbor, Fish. He is Samoan, has lived on Big Island most of his life, and is a very skillful fisherman. He also weaves wonderful and very functional baskets out of palm fronds. We were given one filled with avocados from the numerous plants on his property (those things grow like weeds). We also met a young woman in Hilo who weaves bowls of palm fronds. We now have two of them as well.

The theatrical offerings on Big Island never cease to amaze me. Two and a half years ago we saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Akebono theatre in Pahoa. This year we saw The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at the Kope Kope Espresso Cafe in Hilo. This production, in the very intimate setting of the tiny cafe (great mochas!) was performed by the Hilo Community Players. It was a highly disturbing and very funny series of monologues which try to unearth the truth about allegations that Santa has sexually harassed Vixen as well as other reindeer. Particularly notable was Mark DeMoss as Dasher, a by-the-books company man dedicated to "The Eight;" the very delightful and funny Dancer, portrayed by Keiko Suda, who told of her hiring, her dismay at reindeer not getting time off for Hanukkah, should it fall on the 24th, and how reindeer are brilliant dancers; and Cupid, the only openly gay member of "The Eight" played by Jake McPherson, a hilariously catty gossip with stories that would curl your hair.

We spent one Saturday at the Hilo Farmers Market attempting to sell my paintings and our family crafting favorite, seashell ornaments. We had very little luck, but did meet some fascinating people in the process. A woman named Linda makes beveled glass boxes filled with sand and shells. These beautiful little gems are a great piece of Aloha to take home. There was a mother/daughter team next to us that wove mats, purses, and flowers out of coconut fiber. The teenaged daughter was also a phenomenal singer, and entertained us with Christmas carols and songs accompanied by her 'ukelele. It was a poor sales day for everyone, but a fun adventure.

While I was on island, I mad a few new paintings specifically for the house; one giant 20"x30" painting of anthuriums, and one 9"x12" painting of Lobster Claw flowers. Real tropical flowers are almost as wild and fantastical as my favorite subject, the fantasy flowers. And I have been working on black backgrounds recently, which is a great effect.

Yesterday we took a drive through Volcano. This lovely but tiny town reminded me a little of Trinidad, CA. For such a small place, it is rich with art and artistic offerings.
I'll write more of my Hawaiian adventures in Art soon.
Love,
Tina

Hawaiian Art

I had a great time all day today viewing Hawaiian art. I'm in Hilo, on the Big Island and there are a couple of really neat eclectic galleries here. I started out at the Farmers Market, where there were a few booths selling prints--one Hawaiiana style stuff and the other Asian stuff. The gallery near there had a wide variety of styles, mediums, and abilities displayed--from pencil drawing to wire mesh sculpture, oils, etc.

I hadn't noticed before how much local art is displayed in all of the businesses I frequent here. I was just in Hawaii Pizza in Pahoa and there were several peices.