Kona, Tsunami, and Fiddle

I traveled over to Kona on the west side of The Big Island with my neighbors two days after the tsunami devastated parts of Japan.  Apparently, and I just found this out, The Big Island saw the most impact from the tsunami of any of the Hawaiian Islands.  A house in Kealakekua Bay was swept out into the bay and another badly damaged, and many shops and hotels were damaged in Kona as well.  I talk about Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook) in an earlier post.

I searched Youtube and found this video shot by a guy who was standing on a break wall in Kona.  You might say this guy's a fool for standing there, but keep in mind that this was shot more than three hours after the first tsunami wave was expected to hit the island.  Most people assumed the worst had already passed by this time. It goes to show that the effects of a tsunami are long lasting; and successive, large waves can arrive long after the original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOSulxinFkQ

Here's a pic I took of the street where that guy was taking the footage.  You can't see much from the pic, but most of the concrete beyond the barricades needs to be replaced.

This structure is a shrine called Ahu'ena Heiau and was actually part of the original capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, built by King Kamehameha I in the early 1800's before the missionaries arrived.  It received some damage as well.  Here's what it looked like prior to the tsunami.  Most of the damage occurred around the base.  It's actually amazing that this little thatched building remained standing.

We went to Kona for the Kona Brewery annual Brewfest, which was a lot of fun.  The highlight of the evening for me though was when I got back to the hotel at about 2am, a fiddle player was sitting in the lobby playing tunes.  My neighbors and I sat down next to him and we ended up requesting and singing along to a countless number of songs well into the morning.  This is not something you would find at most "resort" type hotels on Maui or in Waikiki.  The hotel staff probably wouldn't allow it!  But the Big Island is a little different that way. This guy was good too.  He knew a ton of songs, was an amazing fiddle player,and had an excellent voice to go with it.  He played everything from Dylan to Van Morrison to classic Hawaiian songs.
We went back to the room and since people were scattered about, I took my blanket and camping pad out onto the balcony and slept outside.   

Aloha