Hawai'i, day 4. Some of the Hawai'i the tourists don't see

[DFW]

Away from the immaculately appointed resorts, there are real people who live there, get by as best they can. My daughter's former roomie at high school is one such individual. Her parents moved here from the mainland before she was born. Her dad engineered some kind of water conduit from one place to another, and the grateful locals invited him to seek out a patch of land and live there. Being true sixties style hippies (I have met them, and they are still that!), they stood at the lava at the water's edge and two dolphins jumped out of the water toward each other right in front of them. This was interpreted as a sign and her dad was encouraged to live at the spot they were standing on. He had no money of his own, and the community have none to give him, so with a saw, a hammer, some nails and some local vegetation, he built himself a----well, I don't know if you could call it a house, exactly, but a dwelling, at any rate. Sofas and beds on slats protected by screen doors is more like it. In the 19 years since we first visited, there is now a paved road that goes close to where they live, and the house now also has what might pass for walls in some places. The parents make their living by leading alternative yoga tours to places like the Andes, Bali, and who knows where else. My daughter's roomie has managed to find sponsors for her alternative travel documentaries (called "Alison's Adventures" ), and has done spots on something called "Naked and Afraid" and even has some kind of project under discussion with a famous (I'm told) actor known as "The Rock."

The "beach" in front of their house is a solid formation of hardened lava flow, with some black sand a few hundred meters away. Dolphins really do cavort right in front of the place, and a casual jump into the water, if you have a snorkel and a mask, showed a variety of tropical fish, including angel fish, yellow somethings, a green starfish, and even the state fish, the Hawaiian trigger fish, which is a lot easier to say than "humuhumunukunukuapa'a."

Roomies reunited:


Everybody:


Locally grown (as in 500 yard radius) lunch:


The "house"







The "beach," our two granddaughters and their father


A pod of dolphins came to put on a show (we're not supposed to approach them)



Some of these won't upload, so I'll have to do some editing.

[Doc Sportello]

1. I've been following Alison Teal for awhile now

First learned about her when she was one of the first to do the Naked and Afraid thing (on an island where her big tough guy fellow contestant would have died without her) and became a big fan. She is a pistol.

https://alisonsadventures.com/

[DFW]

2. I had no idea anyone here would ever have heard of her

When I met her, she was of course just my daughter's 16 year old roomie who happened to be from the same island where the school was. I guess she has made a name for herself in the meantime, how should we know?

Anyway, I'll pass it on. Ali will be thrilled to know. She lives all the way at the other end of the island, past South Kona, but we have another week here, so we figure we'll meet up again before we leave. My daughter had dinner with another of her classmates last night. She took over some fragrance-making operation from her mother, who owned a tiny shack in Waimea. In the meantime, the daughter has expanded the business to have their products sold for big money to visitors at the big resorts here, and is making a nice living for herself. What a diverse bunch that class turned out to be!

[in2herbs]

4. I cut and pasted your HI travel adventures and emailed them to my friend who is in HI on

vacation right now.

Based on your one post I hope she took a heavy coat!

[DFW]

6. All the islands here have their own "specialties"

The Big Island seems to be by far the most diverse. At least, that is how we have perceived it, though we never spent much time on Maui. I would have liked to spend more time on Kaua'i, but there are lots of places I would have liked to have seen more of. Plus, La Digue is still waiting for me.

[FM123]

3. Wow. Wish I were there too....

[DFW]

5. Since we have personal ties to the place, it's a little different for us from typical tourists

I hope that if you come here, that you do NOT have to spend 27 hours to make the trip. We are still not over the time-climate difference. It's 12 hours difference with Germany, and the earth only has 24 time zones (some subdivided into half hour differences, which doesn't facilitate things), so if our plane had overshot the mark, we would have started to head back to Germany from the other direction.

[mainer]

7. oh this makes me miss the islands

I lived there for 12 years and my sons were born there.

[cilla4progress]

8. What a delight, DFW -

thank you!!

[KS Toronado]

9. "humuhumunukunukuapa'a." is easy to say, LOL

Last dish looks tasty.

[DFW]

11. It's a LOT easier to say than it is to write! n/t

[beaglelover]

16. What is in it? Looks like insect larvae to me?

[DFW]

17. Just a salad made with plants that grow there

Ali is a vegetarian

[beaglelover]

18. Thank you for the clarification.

[Hekate]

10. Aloha. Gives me so many good memories ❤️

[DFW]

12. Once a kama aina

Always a kama aina!

[Ligyron]

13. If I lived there, I swear, I'd eat fish every day and end up healthier.

[DFW]

23. We pretty much do.

Except on those days when we go full vegetarian

[Bev54]

14. Looks like a wonderful place and very peaceful

[DFW]

24. Very peaceful!

I understand why people here--especially those who grew up here--are content with little or no off-island contact.

[honest.abe]

15. Nice! hoping to retire there.. if we can afford it!

[DFW]

22. I hear it's wicked expensive

Ali's parents were given their land in return for services rendered to the local community, and had to build their house themselves, as they had practically no money to pay anyone else.

[honest.abe]

25. The Big Island is somewhat in our price range but barely.

We may have to have Mauna Loa in our backyard however.

[FakeNoose]

19. Oh my goodness it's breathtaking! Thanks for posting photos

What's the temperature there?

I'm in Pittsburgh and it just got up to 80 degrees today - first time since last year.

It looks like there's no sand on the beach, but maybe it's the the angle of the photo. How do you wade in the water if there's no sand?

Looks like a memorable time with your family. Enjoy!

[DFW]

21. There is no sand at the end of the beach where Ali's house is

Just hard recent black lava flow. But there is a black sand beach about 200 meters further on.

It is about 70-75° F the whole time at sea level.

[niyad]

20. Thank you so very much for sharing your adventure with us. That feast looks

amazing. And the dolphins! Reminded me of the time dolphins invited me to play with them in Ventura.