Nearly four and a half years ago, I launched “Rare Air” on a whim, but it was something I was pretty excited about. At that time, I had the feeling that many momentous happenings were passing by in ways I underappreciated. Suspecting that the sentiments, experiences, and artifacts were worthy of more time and attention, after contemplating a captured memory from earlier in life, I became inspired. With what effect? Something I can share with others, to inspire them to engage with the world in ways they might have missed; something that can open doors and add vital dimensions. Also, more simply, an homage to the gifts I have received, which might positively move others.
Rare Air was conceived to live on my personal blog as more polished feature content, at a time when we were heeding a call from PBS, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan to get out and experience America’s national parks. Since then, that has become a bi-annual family undertaking… and for 2018, we set our sights on Hawaii. Beth and I had dreamt of visiting that exotic locale since moving to LA in 1998. In 2017, the planning finally began. How does one nail-down the trip of a lifetime to a long cherished dream destination? In our case, it involved a vast amount of research, which included surveying others.
Writing this entry at the end of 2018, several months after the conclusion of our trip, I can report that, to us, Hawaii’s most tantalizing mysteries remain enshrouded in a veil of volcanic ash. Our experiences from Saint John in the U.S. Virgin Islands reflected here through volumes of words and recordings are largely irrelevant. In size alone, the expanse of Hawaii’s Big Island exceeds St. John’s mere 20 square miles by a factor of 201.4. Weigh in The Big Island’s two active volcanoes, and their combined effects, and the Polynesian formation’s uniqueness soars exponentially. After considering the Hawaiian islands in their entirety, we chose a base very near Volcanoes National Park – a home in Pahoa, very close to the center of Kilauea. Thanks to fate, it was actually too close to Kilauea, where the geothermal activity so intensified that we ultimately had to choose a different locale, about a month before our scheduled arrival. The park itself wound up being closed throughout our stay, and it’s still closed today.
Nonetheless, thanks to Andrew Doughty’s amazing book “Hawaii The Big Island Revealed,” we were able to plan and enjoy a phenomenal vacation from our alternate home base in the village of Puako. Given our “national park” objective and all the planning, switching from the Southeastern to the Northwestern facet of the island was something of a let-down. In the end, I am left with the feeling that any trip to any Hawaiian island is bound to be its own epic adventure, and it all seems well worth seeing.
Arriving on Monday, July 23, our accommodation was the Blue Dragon Beach Bungalow, where we spent six nights. Before noon local time that day, our plane from LAX made its bee-line approach into the Kailua-Kona Airport. Walking down the stairs to plant feet on asphalt and survey the sights, the sweltering heat and the ruined earth around us brought Mars to mind; as you can guess, those are not my ideas of paradise! Suffice to say, between that moment and the one where I captured the footage appearing in Rare Air Episode 30, my ability to appreciate the island’s offerings rose.
Overall, our island explorations were limited but highly memorable. I have five more installments planned, so if you follow along here in the months ahead, I hope you’ll be entertained by the highlights from Akaka Falls, Kolekole Park, and our home base in Puako. Here are some July 27 journalings.
“By about 10, we were at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, looking out at the bay from our lounge chairs on the pool deck. The pictures I posted through the course of the day got some recognition: According to some well-traveled friends, that is one of their family’s favorite places in the world. With all due respect, in contrast, I love that my family seems to prefer this more humble little villa in Puako Bay. Lasting at the resort until about 3 pm, we landed back here by 4. I was pleased yesterday to come to the idea that our family photo could commemorate this very spot, here in the ‘front yard’ of Blue Dragon Bungalow. We ate our dinner, set up the tripod and caught everyone dressed for the show… then made the drive up to Waimea Community Theater to witness their adventuresome staging of ‘The Hobbit’ on opening night. The family photo will soon grace the new editions or Rare Air. And in that way, everything has come together quite nicely.
“I am feeling spoiled in excessive luxury, and so magnificently treated that I am almost guilty. Closing my eyes, I breathe deep, and the breeze honors me from every direction, even showering me with some of the leaves that have done their time aloft and now begin a transition back to dust. The present is so hard to latch onto completely… it seems so transitory and elusive. But after all, what we have is the now. Thank you God: I am grateful.”
Hawaii Big Island, July, 2018
. December 2018 desktop calendar: Slideshow featuring select photos from our trip
. Rare Air Episode 30, Part 1: You are here
. February 2019 desktop calendar: Waipi’o Valley Lookout
. Rare Air Episode 31, Part 2: Video from Akaka Falls on 7/25/18
. April 2019 desktop calendar: Kolekole Stream Bridge from Old Mamalahoa Highway
. Rare Air Episode 32, Part 3: Video from 7/25/18 at Kolekole Stream Bridge
. June 2019 desktop calendar: Kolekole Beach Park
. Rare Air Episode 33, Part 4: Ka’ahakini/Kolekole Streams
. August 2019 desktop calendar: Kolekole Beach Park
. Rare Air Episode 34, Part 5: Kolekole Beach
. October 2019 desktop calendar: Undersea in Puako Bay
. Rare Air Episode 35, Part 6: Video from Puako Bay on 7/28/18
