Yesterday, while on O‘ahu for a couple of business meetings, I made a run up to Hawai‘i Kai to get a first-hand look at the King Lunalilo Senior Care Home, and visit with some of the residents and staff. The home’s director, Peter Higgins, is eager to share the work that his dedicated team (some have been working there 30+ years!) do.
Lunalilo Home was founded in 1883, under the terms of King William Charles Lunalilo’s will.
Of course, given the economic challenges of the day, Higgins is working dutifully to make sure they’re doing everything in their power to maximize their efficiencies, while maintaining a “Hawaiian home” environment for the residents.
After meeting a few of the kupuna onsite, I joined them in their main living room area and played a few tunes on the piano. Their appreciation for song was heartwarming; looking around the room, broad smiles broke out on faces rich in life experience, joyfully swaying along to the music. It was a touching break in an otherwise hectic day in Honolulu traffic.
As I was ending my visit, I walked by one resident’s room and saw the sight below. I couldn’t help but take a snapshot of this lovely tutu’s room - her collection of posessions most dear lovingly arranged with pride. (Thank goodness for my Mobi camera phone!)
A picture does paint a million words, woudn’t you say?

We’re pleased to pass on an invitation from our friends in the charming village of Wailea, just north of Hilo, for everyone to attend an event they’re calling “Wailea-Hakalau: A Walk Back In Time.” Its a wonderful mix of kupuna talk story, reflections on plantation life, and a hearty beef stew plate-lunch from Cafe 100. Sounds like a great way to spend a Sunday.
Held at Akiko’s Buddhist Bed & Breakfast in Wailea, visiting this place takes you way, way back in time. We covered their annual Mochi Pounding community event at New Years, and completely loved it. Below the poster, watch the segment we produced in its entirety — you’ll get the jist of life in Wailea. For more, plan on attending their “Walk Back in Time” gathering on June 29.

To view the YouTube version of the segment we produced on the Wailea Mochi Pounding event, click on the image below. To download a higher quality, larger Windows Media Player of the segment (83 mb) click HERE.

Our good friends Sammy & Brian (Sammy is a talented video professional, model, and actor [watch him in the lead of “HAIR” at the Theatre On The Square] in his own right) recently visited us from their San Francisco home. They’re the hardcore outdoorsy types - competing in triatholons, soccer tournaments, etc. While on the Big Island, they did that night-time hike-from-hell to the current flow way past Kalāpana, where this incredible image what shot.
Sammy tells us “…walking out to the volcano was utterly breathtaking. The first thing we were startled by is a young man and his brother leaping over the lava rock. As the approached we noticed one was bleeding from the knee, he advised us to be careful. We had our flashlight and water as well as jeans so we weren’t too worried. But having that visual was a nice reminder that we basically were walking on shards of glass. It took us about an hour to get really close to the lava- about as close as we felt safe, which was still a hundred or so feet away. Plumes of methane shot from random holes and the surface we walked on seemed to change it’s feel- kind of like it was hollow underneath.The heat would randomly arise from cracks in the surface, which was also unsettling.
As the sun disappeared the embers of the volcano quickly illuminated the shore. We could hear crackling as the magma entered the ocean. It was like being at the edge of the earth and watching the world create itself all over. Truly remarkable.”

With the current concerns about certain mainland tomatoes involved in a salmonella outbreak, we’re very pleased to pass on the news that Hamakua Springs tomatoes aren’t just spectacularly delicious, they’re safe. There’s an excellent article about it in today’s Hawaii Tribune Herald. Read it in its entirety HERE
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