Wordless Wednesday : Honu Sea Turtles

Black and White Night in Hilo

Fabulous and crazy fun prevailed last night on the streets of Hilo. Thousands of people showed up dressed in black and white and enjoyed multiple bands and artists throughout town.

Here is a video I took of a performance group. Sorry it is sort of grainy, but it was quite dark, at least you can get the idea of what they were doing. Interesting stuff:




Here are some more pictures from the evening, taken totally at random as we strolled through Hilo...

Come join us next year for the fun!

The Octopus's Garden

Yesterday I headed over to Kona for the day. I felt like I had become complacent living here in paradise and that I was not taking full advantage of where we are. It's true that when you love someplace this beautiful and you look out at the ocean every day the amazing beauty of this place does become routine. I want to continue to explore and enjoy the island as much as I can.

We had lunch at the Fish Hopper . Then visited the newly opened Huliehe'e Palace and the old Moku'aikaua Church. The palace which was the Hawaiian Royal Family's Summer home had been damaged in an earthquake 3 years ago and had to undergo extensive renovations. It recently re-opened. 

Then we went to Kahalu'u Beach County Park for some snorkeling an reading on the beach under the trees. This beach is one of my favorite for snorkeling because there is always an abundance of fish and coral, easy ocean entry, lifeguards, a protected area for snorkeling because of a large reef and there is lots of shade as well as restrooms, lockers to rent and even shaded parking. However, because it is a very popular place, I only visit it on weekdays and not on days when there is a cruise ship in town. There are plenty of great snorkeling beaches all over the island to choose from. So here are some pictures I took when snorkeling yesterday:

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Wordless Wednesday : Hilo's Reflections

Moonrise

The moon has been spectacular for the last several nights. It's reflection on the water is incredible, but difficult to capture on camera. It has been just bright enough to show up in these pictures. Here is last nights "moon rise" looking out from our lanai.

Crispy Kale Chips

This is one of my favorite snacks and something that gets immediately grabbed at my dinner parties. It is so simple to make and very healthy too. The crisp leaves of the kale have better flavor than any potato chip you will ever eat! It is also a good way to get kids or husbands/picky eaters to eat their greens. I wish I would have known about this when my kids were small, I had to rely on zucchini fries and fried green tomatoes that we called "Tomato Chips" as disguised veggies.

All you do is take some Dinosaur Kale, also known as Tuscan Kale and toss it is a bit of olive oil sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I use a silpat sheet on my baking sheets, but you do not have to, you can also place baking parchment on the baking sheets. If the kale is mature, the leaves are 10-12" long and the rib in the center is quite thick, so you should cut the rib out, making two smaller leaves. If it is young kale, you can leave it in. We have several organic growers that grow the Tuscan Kale and it is available here year round at our farmer's markets.