Hometown Series - Gwen saying Aloha

Oh Thursday you are finally here, which means tomorrow is Friday. Did you enter the giveaway for a rosette necklace and the winner picks her choice of color either teal or red. It ends tomorrow! Also reminder that next week is Christmas cookie week here on my blog!

 Last night at our weekly bible study, things were funny. I haven't laughed that hard, you know the kind when you stop making noises and tears come streaming down your face. It is good you know, good to be with a group of people who can provide humor and laughter in your life. It is good to be with a group of people who can pray for you, hold you accountable and then hang out outside of bible study too.

Also, have you ever gotten a lump in your throat when you realize just how blessed you are. I caught that lump in my throat yesterday, feeling blessed with my husband and our two puppies and the many awesome people and things in my life.
One awesome thing in my life is this series called From My Hometown to Yours and the wonderful bloggers who have made this series great!



Today, Gwen is talking about her hometown on the Hawaiian islands. So grab your pineapple and coconut bra and let Gwen show you around.


Aloha Henning Love readers! I'm so happy to be a part of the "My Home Town"series here on Meg's blog and have enjoyed reading about all of your home towns, too. Thanks Meg for creating such a wonderful space for us to share.

I write for my blog, Saturdays with Maggy, way out here in the middle of the Pacific on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island is one of eight major islands in the Hawaiian chain and we are lucky enough to live in the town of Kailua-Kona.

Of course we enjoy the sun, surf, and sand but there is so much more to our wonderful island that I want to share with you.

Halape beach
To the South lies Kilauea, an active volcano where you can witness lava flows and experience walking over newly created land. It is one of my favorite places to camp and hike.

Slopes of Kilauea volcano
In the middle of the island rises Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world if you take into account its height starting from the sea floor. Soaring to over 13,000 ft it is best known for it's international collection of observatories and is quite possibly the world's best place to star gaze. This mountain even gets its fair share of snow every winter. Last Christmas we went to the summit to go play in the snow.

The summit! Observatories in background.


We brought home snow and made this guy

And let's not forget the "ono" food! Hawaii is a fantastic blend of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and many other food cultures. Not only do we enjoy island produce and seafood, but the various food traditions that have blended together to form its own unique offerings. 

SPAM musubi


Seaweed salad

Lilikoi (passionfruit) infusion

Okinawan sweet potatoes out of the garden

Papaya


Garden pineapple

Come visit me anytime over at Saturdays with Maggy for loads of recipes and even more aloha. Any Hawaii related questions are always welcomed! 

Mahalo for reading about my home town,

Gwen

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

i lived in hawaii for two years when i was younger and definitely remember eating the spam musubi...yum! such beautiful pictures!

xoxo,
megs [at] Shine On

Michelle said...

Pretty pictures!

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said...

I always felt like people who lived in Hawaii must feel like they are on a permanent vacay..LOL I hope to make it out there sometime. The food looks delightful & I love your little snowman.

Ruthie Hart said...

I told my hubby last week that sometime in our life I want to spend Christmas at the beach, preferably Hawaii!!!!!

The Bases said...

I want to go!! I am shocked there is snow in Hawaii!!

Kate @ Daffodils said...

Glad you had a great night last night! We all need those every now and then. Beautiful post on Hawaii, o how I wish we were heading to warmer weather instead of cold next week!

Unknown said...

mmm... I think I'd like this hometown! Especially with how cold I am at the moment, this sounds good! :)

Unknown said...

What an awesome series! I love hearing about other people's home towns! If Hawaii wasn't on my bucket list before (it was) then it sure is now! Beautiful pictures, I still can't believe those pineapples are from the garden!!

Laura said...

I love Hawaii...such a magical place!!!

amy b.s. said...

i so want to go for a visit.

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

I can't even imagine living in such a beautiful place. It's so gorgeous!

Hilliary Meisner said...

Beautiful beautiful pictures! I would love to see the active volcano! Fun fact did you know the spam museum is in Austin Minnesota! I just thought of that when I saw the spam musubi!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful place to live. I would love to visit someday!

Mandy@OrangeAutumn said...

Meg- It makes me smile that you're so thankful for what you have. Wonderful friends are the key to having a happy life!
Maggy- Great post!! It looks like you live in a beautiful place. The pictures are wonderful and the food looks super yummy!

Alexa said...

Gotta love Hawaii. Great post. And Meg...I know that lump you're talking about. We're very blessed and fortunate! Thanks for the reminder. xo

Val said...

Two Words - Spam Musubi! WOW

SymbioticLife said...

Congratulations on the guest post Gwen. This is awesome. I've only gotten to visit Hawaii once. I completely fell in love. I've wanted to move there ever since. I never got to visit all the Islands. My best friend lived on Oahu for years. I doubt I'll ever get to live there at this rate but it is such an amazing place. So glad I get to see it through your eyes.

... said...

I wish I were in Hawaii right now!! :)

Bree said...

Those pictures are gorgeous :)

Amanda said...

Amazing hometown! I love this series too Meg! So glad to hear you're feeling so happy and blessed.

Megan said...

Oh wow, these pictures are SO amazing!!! What a beautiful place!

Simply LKJ said...

We've made several trips to Hawaii, and I have ALWAYS loved the food!

Ana Costa e Silva said...

great photos :)

http://dressedcrisis.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments! And yes, the pineapple really is from my garden!

REBrown said...

What an amazing place to live!

BeckyJo606 said...

I know what you mean!! I sometimes have to take a big step back and think about all of the wonderful, beautiful things in my life.

And, of course this post is amazing. I am really, really jealous--especially now that I am suffering through the winter!!