Instead of doing our usual walk in the park yesterday afternoon, the hubby wanted to do something else. He'd been actually bugging me for a while now to go walking on the breakwall...a one and a half mile long, maybe about ten feet wide, partition that separates the island from the mass Pacific Ocean. Situated outside of the Hilo Bay area near the boat harbor, the breakwall was built in the early 1900's as a protective measure for tsunami's.
I was a little hesistant at first and tried to back out at the last minute. My concerns were of the storm Daniel that was due to pass the island that evening and the possible winds, rain, and high surf that was suppose to accompany it. Buuutttt, hubby was very dissapointed by this "news" and we ended up going anyway. I'm happy to say that I'm glad we did!
I grew up in somewhat of a country life. Hilo itself is a slow paced town, but further out towards Hamakua side, life moves even slower. The only time we'd come into Hilo was to do our grocery shopping. I was very sheltered and limited with experiences. My childhood was nothing like my hubby's.
My hubby grew up in Hilo and the breakwall holds many memories and significance to him. Most outstanding is the fact that his grandfather helped to build the breakwall. As we slowly climbed, jumped, and walked, my hubby talked fondly of childhood memories of camping in the area with his family and venturing out by himself onto the breakwall. It was nice learning new stories from him and seeing his face light up like he was reliving the moment again. It felt even better being there with him as he recanted his memories with each step we took. It made me feel like I was a part of it.
Paddlers coming in from their practice.
The views were amazing!
Hilo Harbor
