January 3, 2016

Island of Hawaii



Many years ago, when I was still a college student, I hitchhicked around the island of Hawaii, the biggest island among the Hawaiian Islands. I slept on the beach most nights, but one time I was in the mountain, in the middle of barren lava field. The sun was setting and the air becoming chilly to cold,  and there was no sign of human habitation. I ended up sleeping in a small lava pit, which was warm with the earth heat, and I was able to sleep through the night. 

As I was web-searching the island, I happened to find a small hotel called Manago Hotel. It looks old, retaining the feel of wooden buildings I used to see so many in my college days. It has a restaurant and frequented by the tourist as well as the locals. Further web-searching revealed that the nearby town called Kaelakekau is the birth place of Ellison Onizuka, an Japanese-American astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle desaster in 1986. 

These search results inspired something in me. I might come up with another story.


3 comments:

vegahelp said...

"I ended up sleeping in a small lava pit, which was warm with the earth heat..."

Where we end up (as opposed to what we intend) has always fascinated me.

Kuni Shimizu said...

I did not notice your post. Thanks for the comments.
Sleeping in a lava pit is some experience. Dark, middle of nowhere, countless stars above.
It is like you returns to a primitive creature.

Kuni Shimizu said...

Oh, BTW, I did come up with a story the other day. It is tentatively titled "Manaka Hotel", and is about 100 pages in Japanese count.