December 2, 2006 3:33 pm - Moving to Kona
10 years ago today I moved here to Kona. A lot has transpired in the last 10 years. It just seems like it was yesterday to some extent. Living in perpetual summer tends to make one lose track of time.
Kona has been very very good to me. While it's not the easiest place in the world to make a living, it was definitely worth the struggle.
In the last few years the population has exploded here in town, making it rather difficult to get from point "A" to point "B" sometimes.
I'm lucky for once in my life I was at the right place at the right time and made the right choices, so my work and my home are located on the same property. I don't drive to work anymore. It's been that way about a year and a half now. Halleluiah!
Basically in Kona, if you have a business that provides a useful service to folks and you do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it, customers will line up around the block. I've seen this demonstrated time after time here.
And to prove my point, I'm going to set up a new business shooting video ads that will be shown here on Konafriends. The topics will range from real estate to dive boat companies and everything in between.
Eventually I will transition from an auto repair business to a full time multi-media operation. It probably won't be easy. It will require a huge effort. But in Kona, all things are possible!
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December 3, 2006 10:53 am - Reminder of 4th Annual Kona Surf Film Festival
Kona Surf Film Festival Information
Starts this Thursday.
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December 6, 2006 6:30 pm - Plumeria and Other Tropical Flowers
I've added a new page to the site here: Plumeria, Anthirium, Hibiscus Flowers.
With the exception of the Plumeria photo at the bottom of the new page, I took all the pictures of the Anthirium, Hibiscus and Plumeria flowers seen there.
I love the beauty of Hawaii's tropical flowers, they're something I try to never take for granted. The Plumeria fragrance is supposed to be more noticeable at night. I don't know, I always smell them during the day when I can see them.
The Wahine here wear them in their hair above the right or left ear, the side depends on whether their attached or not. Just like a wedding ring.
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December 6, 2006 6:43 pm - Kona Store Update
I've change the store for the better I think. It has 3 links to 2 sites that only sell cool Hawaii stuff and are located in Hawaii, this way your purchase goes to help support local business here in the islands.
Kona Store
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December 10, 2006 1:31 pm - Farrish Media Christmas Party
Mason and Regina Farrish threw one of the best Christmas parties we've ever been to. They are the people behind Farrish Media here in Kailua Kona.
The party was held at The Mixx here in Kona and I estimated about 70 people showed up. It was first class all the way, drinks and heavy pupus were included.
This photo is of Regina and Mason "cutting the rug". Ed Geer was the DJ. Farrish Media is who you call if you need a TV commercial or if you have a corporate event you need video taped. If you looked at their site and read their bio, you'd be hard pressed to find folks with better credentials. Their site is HawaiiVideo.com check'em out, you'll be impressed.
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December 14, 2006 6:18 pm - Things to do in Kona
How about snow in Hawaii? About a week or so ago was the first dusting at the top of Mauna Kea.
I think one of the top Kona activities you have to do when visiting the big island is going to the top of Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world if you measure from the sea floor.
It's definitely in my top 10 of things to do in Kona. At over 13000 feet tall, the best and safest way to get there is by Tour Company. The road up the mountain requires four wheel drive and expertise that is best left to the expert tour operators who know the road up there.
The view is spectacular during the day and at night the best view of the stars in the world. There are about 10 world class observatories up there to back up my claim.
Read more about Mauna Kea mountain here.
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December 17, 2006 1:41 pm - Winter Surf in Kona
It's that time of year when the winter swells arrive and bring big surf. This morning I looked out the window and could see huge white water crashing at the beach.
This guy had great form! This picture was taken at Honl's beach. You have to know what you're doing there because of the reef.
When the swell comes from the North West we are usually a day behind the huge surf hitting the northern islands which is great if you're a surfer then it gives you time to figure out a story to tell your boss why you can't come to work that day. :-)
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December 24, 2006 10:25 pm - New Kona Web Cam
Kona Web Cam Only Works With Internet Explorer Web Browser
For a preview of the Kona Web Cam please be patient, it takes about 20 seconds to load.
The zoom feature does not work with Explorer 7.0
The good news is the webcam has 22x zoom but you must be using Explorer 6.0
I'm pointing the camera out the window until I get the permanant mount installed. Once installed the camera will have a great view of the coast.
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December 26, 2006 8:03 pm - Went to Honolulu For a Vacation, Reporting from Waikiki
When you live in Kona it makes it a challenge to find a better place on the planet to visit. I'd like to go to New Zealand I think I'd like it from what I've seen and heard about it.
But right now I don't have 2 weeks, so I opted for a close to home short vacation. Where to go? I've wanted to shoot some big surf video over on the north shore of the island of Oahu, so that settles it. Off to Honolulu we go.
Day 1: Fly over to Honolulu on the new "GO" airline. Cheap, 45 bucks each way. We check into the brand new Embassy Suites in Waikiki. Fabulous. Decide to head over to the Ala Moana shopping mall for the day after Christmas sales. Oh my gosh... Us and 10 million other people. What was I thinking? Last time I had seen that many people in one place was Guangzhou China.
Some folks in Kona grumble about our traffic problem. One trip to Honolulu and I guarantee they'd have a whole new attitude about what traffic really is. I know I do and I've only been here a few hours.
There is a huge swell headed this way Thursday, so tomorrow I will be practicing with my new Sony prosumer camcorder for the big event. The waves could be 25 plus feet. So stay tuned...
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December 31, 2006 9:23 pm - Happy New Year!
The wife and I just returned from 6 days in Honolulu. It's good to be back in Kona. Nothing like a trip to the big city to get some perspective on your life in Kona.
Things you don't see in Honolulu:
Geckos.
Plumeria trees along side the road with flowers.
Beautiful Bougainvillea
These are things you do see all over Kona on a regular basis.
The Good Things About Oahu
Ala Moana Shopping Mall
Free WWll Army museum in Waikiki
Great New Years Fireworks Show
And some other things I'll be telling you about over the next few days.
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