Kona In The Big Island

After spending busy days in Waikiki, we headed for Kona in the Big Island.  On this day, my husband came from Japan and joined us.

Interisland Terminal

When I got to the island, I was surprised.   There was no building at the airport.  The gate has only a roof.   I thought it must have little rain in this area.

The taxi ran on one long road.   The scenery was very impressive for me because there was nothing there, no building, no traffic light,  even no grass.

I saw such a strange landscape for the first time.   The other day, I heard the news that astronauts are living on isolated Mauna Loa volcano in the big island to simulate life on Mars.   Yes, it makes me imagine Mars!

This video was taken from a resort area toward the airport on our return trip.     The scenery suddenly change from green grass land to black gravel.

 

Hawaii Report #10

My Cursed Car Part Ⅰ

I got into a car accident in January.  Lo and behold, I got involved in four accidents over a few years.  In all cases,  the accidents were 100% the other side’s fault.

The first accident happened in the spring of 2007,  only one week after I bought a new car.  When I was in a parking area at a gas station on Sunday morning, a car went into reverse to park and bumped into the rear bumper of my car.   The driver was an old man.  He said he couldn’t see my car.   He was an unpleasant man.  He asked for a discount on  the repair charge at the garage because he didn’t want to use his insurance.  But after all he failed to pay and the insurance company paid everything.   I was shocked that my new car got in an accident so soon.    The accident decreased the value of my car!   However, there was no compensation for it.  I just had a bumper replaced.  That was all.

Then,  on a sunny Sunday morning the next year,  another accident happened!    The place the accident happened was near my house.  While I was waiting for a gap in traffic to turn right,(the left-handed traffic in Japan) I heard loud braking, then a car suddenly hit mine from behind.    The person who caused the accident was another old man.  He said it was too late to notice my car and couldn’t hit the brake.   It seemed he didn’t see my car.  But the weather was good and the road had good visibility.   The damaged part of my car was the rear bumper, the same as the last time.  It was paid for by the old man’s insurance.    As for my body,  I was almost OK though I went to a clinic to heal my neck several times.

So, I decided to go to a shrine so as to purify my car.   A priest purified my car, especially the rear bumper, with salt.   Nevertheless, he said “ This rite doesn’t mean you will never have an accident in the future.  Drive safely.”   As he said, the third accident happened.

To be continued.