Photo Friday: Big Island Getaway Part 1

I don’t post a lot of travel photos here, but today I thought I would share a few recent ones. My wife and I escaped the frigid cold of Indiana last month and made a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, where it was warm and sunny. We started our trip on the east side of the island in Hilo. It’s less ‘touristy’ than many other places in Hawaii, plus they have what I think is one of the best farmer’s markets anywhere. We enjoy eating on the fresh fruits and vegetables during our stay, and the ripe papayas are a special treat for sure. They also have a great selection of locally grown avocados, bananas and other fruits unlike any you might buy in a grocery store on the mainland.

Our condo complex was landscaped with many colorful plants, including an amazing assortment of hibiscus plants in every color imaginable, except blue.

While there we took a tour of the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, which is about an hour’s drive north of Hilo. They fed us a vanilla-themed lunch, and we learned about growing, processing and cooking with all things vanilla. They grow the vanilla orchids under cover in large structures, where the plants are trained to grow on bamboo and wire supports. The blooms must be hand pollinated to form a pod, and the blooms usually begin appearing there in March. There were a few precocious blooms coming on in time for our visit though, and they had been tagging them with pink ribbons to make them easier to find.

On our last day in Hilo we visited Lili’uokalani Gardens, which is a 24+ acre Japanese style garden. Located on Hilo’s Banyan Drive, it was dedicated in 1917 as a tribute to Hawaii‘s first Japanese immigrants who worked in the sugar cane fields. The landscaping of the area was beautiful as well as peaceful and serene, and everyone was taking turns getting photos under the big banyan tree in the middle of the park. The gardens featured several ponds, bridges and sculptures along with the lovely plants and trees.

While in Hilo we had several great meals at restaurants, including fresh-catch local fish and pizza loaded with arugula. We ate most of our evening meals in the condo, and they featured lots of vegetables we got from the farmer’s market, usually roasted in the oven.

I’ve got more photos to share from our stay in Kona, and I’ll be back next week to share them too. Meanwhile, Harvest Monday starts again next week so be sure and check out what me and other gardeners are harvesting.