Old Stuff Publisher Can Be Your
Unofficial Hawaii Travel Guide
A visitor to the Big Island of Hawaii is offered lots of opportunities to participate in activities, and most of them are well advertised: snorkel trips, whale watching trips, helicopter rides over the active volcano of Kiluaea, tours to the 13,700+ summit of Mauna Kea, and much, much more. In the past, we’ve enjoyed some of the publicized tours, rejected others, and in general find that relaxing and watching the sunset over the ocean is just as great as any other activity.
On a recent trip, however, we decided to spend our time on a few less well-known activities and enjoyed them all. I pass them on for you to consider if you’re on a visit to this southernmost part of the United States. Some of them are free; the other three are very inexpensive. (You can spend hundreds of dollars on those planned tours!)
South Point (free) is the very southernmost point of the United States. If you stand on the cliffs at the point and look south, there’s nothing but water between you and Antarctica. The remains of some canoe loading docks are still there; this is probably the place where the early Polynesians first made landfall on Hawaii. It’s a windy place, and quite barren, but well worth a small side trip.
Greenwell Farm, just south of Kailua-Kona, is one of the many coffee farms on this island. The 200-acre farm, operated by the fourth generation of the family, offers a short free tour, and an explanation of how coffee is grown and what makes Kona coffee so special. There are several kinds of coffee available for coffee lovers to taste.
The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, also just south of Kailua-Kona, is the only place in the entire United States where cacao beans are grown and converted to chocolate all in the same location. [All the other chocolate companies (think Hershey) buy their beans from a variety of sources and blend them to make their products.] This is a small operation, but the tour of the grounds and the explanation of what goes into making good chocolate is fascinating. You need to call for directions and tour times – it’s a place one would have a very difficult time otherwise. In fact, I asked owner Pam for the address to use my GPS and she said it would just take us to the wrong place. There’s a $10 charge for this tour.
Anna’s Ranch, located in the town of Waimea, has been open to the public for just about two years. Anna was both a cowboy and the grande dame of Waimea. She ran her ranch, doing everything from branding to butchering, rode her horse in the Rose Festival parade in Pasadena, and entertained her Rockefeller neighbors for dinner. She died in 1995 at the age of 95, and her ranch is now on the Historic Register. The one-hour tour of the house and grounds is also a modest $10.
In Hilo, just south of town, is Paha’ewe Zoo – and it’s FREE. There are several animals we don’t usually see in zoos; our favorite was the pair of anteaters. It’s not a big zoo. You can easily see it in an hour or two. There are a lot of tropical birds, several species of monkeys, lemurs, a white tiger and more. It would be a great stop for kids, but the four adults in our group thoroughly enjoyed it, too.
Another stop, which can be free or not, depending on whether you make a reservation for one of the meals, is the Hawaii Vanilla Farm. It’s the only place in the United States where vanilla beans are grown. They are actually the seeds of an orchid! The farm is located on the north shore, about midway between Hilo and Waimea.
My final offering of an interesting visit is a little bit more of a cost, $35, but also well worth it. On property adjacent to the Kailua-Kona airport is the Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm. This is another small operation in size, but one that is doing its part to try to stem the diminishing number of seahorses in the wild. For years, all the seahorses sold to aquariums, both public and personal, have been harvested in the wild. This “farm” is raising seahorses, many different varieties, to sell to those who want a pair of their own. There are also some leafy sea dragons and a pair of weedy sea dragons there. Fascinating creatures!
So there you have it – a few small but intriguing activities that we just don’t have in the Pacific Northwest, and you won’t spend your entire vacation budget on them. I recommend them all.
Donna Miller
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Antiquers Are Early Pioneers In Having
A ‘Green’ Attitude
by Debbie & Randy Coe
Do you remember what happened 40 years ago that could have an influence on your collecting today?
A gallon of gas cost 36 cents and a postage stamp was 6 cents. In music, the Beatles announced that they were disbanding; Jimi Hendrix & Janis Joplin died, Mariah Carey was born and one of the top selling songs was “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
For news reports, it was the launch of Apollo 13, the Kent state shootings, and the voting age lowered from 21 to 18. In technology, fiber optics was developed. A nuclear meltdown in South Carolina was another cause of pollution on our environment. How many of these things influence your life today?
Another event that occurred in 1970 was the founding of Earth Day. It was decided to honor the earth by picking a special day, April 22, to focus on the need of being eco friendly. This idea came from Gaylord Nelson, a US senator from Wis consin. The Presidential Medal of Freedom was given to Nelson for his work on creating this day. This award is the highest honor given to a US civilian. Also as a result of Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency was created, along with the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Clean Water Act.
Today, residents of the Pacific Northwest are more conscious of our environment. As collectors, our biggest impact comes from recycling and reusing treasures from our past. By purchasing antique items, we eliminate the need for additional resources to be used and they don’t cause any new pollution. And there is no excessive plastic packaging.
We have time tested items that have withstood the many years of use and are still here for us to use, too. Earth friendly consumers need to see the antique industry from a whole new point of view. We offer the best alternatives to all kinds of shopping needs from furniture and home décor to cooking utensils.
Collectors have more fun in their searches for prized treasures for their homes. As we venture out to antique shows, shops or malls we are sort of on a scavenger hunt. All sorts of antique items can fit in with our modern life. Different types of furniture can be used in our homes. For our kitchen, there are a variety of items that can be used to make cooking and serving our meals safe from the toxic plastics of today. Corning and Pyrex offer a wide range of patterns and sizes in glassware. Wagner and Griswold cast iron pieces are another alternative for cooking our food. Wonderful examples of linens for the table and quilts for beds can easily be found. Books of all kinds can offer a variety of reading material. Many different lighting companies produced a wide variety of lamps for us to use. A large number of glass companies such as Cambridge, Fenton, Heisey and others manufactured a large quantity of glass items to use and decorate our homes. All of these are just ideas to get you thinking about what type of antique item fits your style.
As Earth Day approaches, one of the best ways a collector can contribute is buying and using items from our past. Vintage treasures can be part of every home. The impact on the environment is tremendous. Another advantage is that by buying second hand, we can often save a lot of money.
Saving our planet from added pollution should be a goal for all of us. Encourage collecting as one of the big ways to be a “Green” advocate. Antiques are already a recycled product that should give us an industry label of being “Green”.
What will you do for Earth Day? How about venturing out to a shop or show to find a recycled heirloom to use in your home? There are many Spring shows coming up that will offer a wide variety of items that may interest you. Local shops and malls can also be a destination for finding that vintage treasure. Refer to the inside first pages of Old Stuff for show and shop listings. Remember, collectors always have more fun in how they shop. Get out and share your passion with others!
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