My 2013 Trip to Hilo, Hawaii
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       God blessed me again in February of 2013 by allowing me to visit Honolulu in Oahu and the Big Island for two weeks. I first went to the island of Oahu. Then three days later I headed over to Hilo on the Big Island and saw some awesome things.

Above is one of my favorite photos. This is a sea turtle that I photographed at Richardson Beach in Hilo. Sea turtles live all around the Hawaiian islands and sometimes come out to sun bath on land. The turtles get really big, so big in fact that there are signs in Hawaii forbidding riding the turtles. The turtle in the above photograph is about 2 1/2 feet long. They stay close to shore to eat the algae on the rocks. The turtles are very friendly and swim right next to people snorkeling in the ocean. There are also natural sea lions and dolphins that are often seen. The sea lions warm themselves on the sand and rocks as do the sea turtles.
 

Above is Richardson Beach in Hilo. The area to the left is where I found the turtle eating lunch. The turtles are protecting by Hawaii law and people are forbidden to touch them. The mountain in the background is Mauna Kea. It is much taller than it looks from a distance. You have to have a 4-wheel-drive to get up the steep mountain side. One man told me that he went up to the mountain and filled his pickup truck with snow, and then drove it down so that his children could see what snow looks like. It never snows at sea level in Hawaii. The Big Island has every type of climate in the world: desert, snow, tropical and rainforest. The black rocks in the above photo are lava. The Big Island is the only Hawaiian island that is still growing in size. Over 500 new acres of land have been added in recent decades to the Big Island from the continuous lava flow down south of Puna.
 

Above 2 photos: Here's some amazing exposed tree roots at Richardson Beach. The roots also extend below the ground. They're beautiful trees to look at and admire God's handiwork.
 

Above: Cooled lava forms the entire east side of the Big Island, composed of black rocks and sand.

Below: The curious black sand is powdered lava, seen in the amazing photos below. The texture of the sand is about a number 2 grade, not fine and not too course either. It is relaxing on the feet to walk upon.

Below: A local resident fishes from his surf board. The Jack fish stay a little farther out away from shore and this is a popular method used by locals to catch their dinner.

Below: More beautiful pictures that I took from the tropical shore of Richardson Beach in Hilo. From Banyan Drive it's the last beach all the way at the end of Bay Front Drive.

Below: Not all of Hawaii is a beautiful paradise. In fact, you've got quite a bit of third world ugliness. I was considering living in Hilo and responded to an ad on Craigslist.com for an apartment. Take a look at what I saw in the next door neighbor's front yard (the photos are panoramic from left-to-right)...

THIS IS IN DOWNTOWN HILO!!!

I haven't stopped laughing (and crying...lol) since I saw this garbage dump. Can you believe that people actually live here? Gee, let me think for a while if I want to rent the apartment next door! It was a tough decision, but I decided not to rent from the guy. Don't get me wrong, there are some pretty areas on the Big Island, but this isn't one of them!

Below: The fire trucks in Hawaii are bright yellow. They held a public demonstration on how to put out fires along Bay Front Drive. I was just driving along and noticed the pretty trucks and thought some photos would be nice. Look at those beautiful, healthy, coconut palms.

Below: Some pretty flowers located at Uncle Billy's Hotel on Banyan Drive.

 

Below: Here's a pretty local tree in Hilo. I don't know the name of the tree, but the colors are pretty. The tree is in the same place as the firetrucks, but along Bay Drive as seen in the picture.

Below: This amazing tree is across the street from where I took pictures of the firetrucks. I love the width of these trees. They remind me of an African variety of trees.

Below: Large ocean-liners cruise right into Hilo Bay, where the water is very deep. The water is cooler than other tropical destinations, about 65-70 degrees I believe. I felt the water and it didn't seem to cold, but definitely a chill. The visibility in Hilo's water is reduced because of the run-off of fresh water from the mountains mixing with the ocean's salt water. Hilo is infamous for unpredictable killer tsunamis, which has killed hundreds of people in the past, the most notable one being in April of 1946. Hilo is usually overcast skies due to the weather effects caused by the mountains, which keeps the temperature mild and produces 125 inches of rain per year in Hilo.

Below: Here are some more cool photos of Hilo sea turtles. These were about 3 feet long. Look closely in the second photo down and you'll see three sea turtles swimming together. In the same second photo below, you can see one turtle extending his left fin out of the water, almost as if he's waving for the camera.

Turtles only stick their head out of the water for air about once every 5-minutes, so you have to be ready with your camera. It never fails, after 10-minutes of nothing I put my camera away, and then find the turtles tap dancing until I get my camera back out and then they're gone. Well, they don't really tap dance, but you have to spend some quality time watching if you really want those few awesome pictures. There were about seven turtles in the area where I was taking pictures. God is truly awesome!

Above: This is a sea turtle's delight ala carte... fresh algae on the rocks! When high-tide comes in and the water level rises a few feet, it allows the turtle's to feast on the algae.

My 2011 Visit to Oahu, Hawaii | 2011 Hilo

More Photos From My 2013 Trip To Hilo

My 2013 Trip Around The Big Island