This one starts with a sea shanty — first heard in Maine, on a Tall Ship where every day, someone new would be playing the banjo. By the last day, I thought it might be my turn…

You can watch the sea shanty here.

I was in Hilo, staying at a B&B run by an Aussie. It rained. Which it will a lot in Hilo. She raved about the scented Mrs Meyers cleaning products she used, which apparently made housework a joy. The garden was beautiful, with an outdoor shower upon stone pebbles. The frog-sounding night birds all night, not so good.

I liked Hilo. The kind rental car lady upgraded me to a convertible, and so driving around Big island (which would take 9 hours if you did it in one go) was a dream. Top down. The Boss playing. From the haunting, wind-worn fields of Ka’u (where trees are bent over and meth addicts abound, or so I read), down to the Southern most point of the US… and its green sand beach.

It’s here I found macadamia nuts in wasabi and spam flavors. I’ve not been the same since.

I returned to Hilo again after two weeks over on the Kona side and stamped the circling of the island with a small tattoo before continuing on to the Mainland.