Happy New Year everyone! It’s this time of year when Wisconsin is cold and, well, colorless that I get to dreaming of warmth and color and I miss long days spent outdoors. This time in particular, I’m thinking of a rare vacation my hubs and I got to take to Kona and the Big Island of Hawaii last October. As I’ve finished up client photos, I got to go back to my own and relive the utter beauty, color, and diversity of life that is found on the Big Island.
How does one describe such a place? As any guide or resident will tell you, the Big Island has 10 of the world’s 14 climate zones. You could quite possibly ski and surf in the same day. It seems that every corner of the island has a totally different landscape to explore from gorgeous white, silky soft, sandy beaches dotting the west, to barren dessert land baked with black lava flows on the south, to the windswept and wave crashed, black sand beach of the northern tip. (Apparently there’s a green sand beach too that we did not get to see.) There’s lush rainforest overflowing with waterfalls on one side of the island and clear sunny days and breathtaking sunsets on the other. Flowers are everywhere. Bright, vibrant, interesting flowers on bushes, in trees, and petals covering the ground; even on the top of a volcano. Did I mention the active volcano? With real lava. Liquid hot magma, people! All on one island! Snorkeling in the sea to admire the multitude of colorful fish swimming about and gazing up at the sky to view the most stars you’ll ever see in your life, add even more to this magical place.
Along with all of this beauty are of course the wonderful people of Hawaii. Everyone we met was kind, gracious, and proud of their island, eager to share it with us. To a food loving Midwestern girl leaving the tastes of the fall season behind (apples, potatoes, squash, carrots etc), it was a real treat to find avocado, lychee, mango, and starfruit at the farmer’s markets. Some of the northern neighborhoods had adorable roadside honor stands with whatever was ripe to share with passers-by, including the sweetest strawberry papaya I’ve ever had and the spiciest little pepper my husband has ever tried. A daily cup of Kona coffee was a pretty fabulous way to start the day too.
It is truly an incredible place with much to explore. I’m so glad we got the chance to visit and I’m happy to share some of it’s beauty with you here.
If you like what you see, I’m offering gallery style prints & canvases for sale online at http://carolinemariephoto.zenfolio.com/hawaii (Please do not crop out my logo if sharing as this is copyright material and that’s just not cool ;)).
Thank you so much for your continued support! I look forward to what’s to come in 2017!! I hope you enjoy this little trip across the ocean! Think warm thoughts! XO
Caroline Marie Photography 