This U.S. National Historical Park located in the Kona District on the Big Island of Hawaii was established on November 10, 1978, for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of traditional native Hawaiian activities and culture and includes the National Historic Landmarked archaeological site known as the Honok�hau Settlement. In 2000 the name was changed by the Hawaiian National Park Language Correction Act of 2000 observing the Hawaiian spelling. (Shown at top are some reconstructed agricultural structures, essentially large planters, being used by the site staff to grow taro and other traditional crops. Below that is a much larger area in the park that appears to have been used for the same thing.)
"Kaloko and Honok�hau are the names of two of the four different ahupuaʻa, or traditional mountain-to-sea land divisions encompassed by the park. Although in ancient times this arid area of lava rock was called kekaha ʻaʻole wai (lands without water), the abundant sea life attracted settlement for hundreds of years. (Many of the fruit-bearing trees shown here appear throughout the park. They are known as noni and have a pungent, bitter fruit that was used only when needed as a "starvation food.")
Kaloko (meaning "the pond" in the Hawaiian language) is a site of fishponds used in ancient Hawaii is on the North end of the park. The first reference to the pond comes from the story of Kamalalawalu, about 300 years ago. The kuap� (seawall) is over 30 feet wide and 6 feet high, stretching for 750 feet. Constructed by hand without mortar, the angle and gaps between the stones deflected the surf better than many modern concrete seawalls.
Several restored trails include about one mile of the M�malohoa Trail. It was built in the mid-19th century, and evolved over the years into the Hawaii Belt Road which encircles the entire island. The coastal trail is part of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail. The Honok�hau boat harbor provides a launching area for traditional canoes, fishing boats, Scuba diving and snorkeling tours of the area.
Honok�hau means "bay drawing dew" and refers to the ancient settlement on the south part of the park. This area can be reached via trails from the park visitor's center, or from the small boat harbor access road on Kealakehe Parkway. Features include loko iʻa (Ancient Hawaiian aquaculture fishponds), kahua (house site platforms), kiʻi p�haku (petroglyphs), h�lua (stone slides) and heiau (religious sites). The ʻAiʻopio Fishtrap is a 1.7-acre pond, with a stone wall forming an artificial enclosure along the naturally curved shoreline of a bay. Small openings allowed young fish to enter from the sea, but as they grew larger (or at low tide) they were easily caught with nets inside the trap as needed. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 as site 66000287.
ʻAimakap� fishpond is an important wetland area protecting native birds including the koloa maoli (Hawaiian Duck, Anas wyvilliana), ʻalae keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian Coot, Fulica alai), �eʻo (Hawaiian Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), auʻkuʻu (Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax), among others. The area is currently under reforestation, after the removal of non-native invasive plants. It was added to the Register of Historic Places in 1978 as site 78003148."
Text in quotes is courtesy of Wikipedia and will be replaced with my own words as I have the time! All the photos are my own and were taken as of this posting.
Delicious smells of grilled and smoked delicacies of all sorts will fill the air Saturday, April 30, at the 13th Annual Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce BBQ Cook-Off, where more than four-dozen teams will compete to have their favorite food items judged best. The event will be Lazy L&L Campground on River Road, along the banks of the Guadalupe River and about three miles south of Sattler, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 
Highlights of the popular event will include award-winning BBQ and other delicacies prepared by world-famous cookers, homemade desserts, live and silent auctions, arts and crafts, and a jail where people could have their friends locked up, requiring them to post bail to be released. Live entertainment will also be going on all day and include presentations by the Solid Gold Dancers and “Original Texas Music” by the band 277 South. And just walking around and looking at all the neat outdoor kitchens, grills, smokers, displays, and award-winning food items in progress is a special treat unto itself. 
“We come out every year for the chamber’s barbecue event,” said Jennifer Tharp, Comal County Criminal District Attorney and a member of the Final Justice cooking team (whose motto is “Sentencing Never Tasted So Good”). “We just have a blast out here!” 
Other longstanding participants in the event include Hampton Pratka and Jim Gallagher of Bottle Cap Cookers, out of Bulverde. 
Visitors to the cook-off can buy brisket and ribs at the food tent prepared by the various competitors, and many of the participants are amenable to giving tastes of the items they are cooking at their outdoor kitchens, to include in some cases samples of the items they were entering in the various cook-off categories. (One of my personal favorites last year was a whole jalapeno pepper stuffed with cream cheese and lobster, wrapped in bacon, and grilled, by the Saddle Tramps). 
One of the hottest and hippest events being held this summer is for sure the Colonial Beach Blues Festival, and anyone who is going to be on the mid-Atlantic coast or passing through the Washington, D.C., area in late June would be remiss in not stopping by for it. 
Texas Confidential author Michael O. Varhola will be giving a number of presentations at Comicpalooza!, a gaming, comic book, fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal convention being held Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. 
I was actually stunned to see Casa Bonita’s webpage describe their food as “mouth-watering.” I was in Denver last week with my two daughters and grandson. My daughter had read about the restaurant in a Frommer’s guide and, even though I read online that the food was not particularly good, we gave it a shot. 
Back in March, I stayed at the one in Clovis, New Mexico (4521 North Prince St., Clovis, NM 88101). While the room was clean and quiet, the breakfast left a lot to be desired. I am not referring to the quality of the food, because there was very little offered even though we arrived only 30 minutes after the start time. The waffle machine was covered in burned and encrusted batter and there were no muffins, no bagels, and no fruit. I decided to have a bowl of cereal only to discover, once it was in my bowl, that there was no milk either! We finally gave up and went up to get our suitcases. Once we got out to the car, I grabbed my commuter mug and took it back inside to get some coffee for the road … and discovered that the coffee urn was also empty. Once we returned home, I completed their evaluation and received a message almost immediately apologizing and indicating that I would be given extra La Quinta Returns points. But, not only did I not receive the promised extra points, they didn’t give me any points for the stay! 
Last week, I spent four nights at a La Quinta near Denver (La Quinta Inn & Suites Denver Tech Center, 7077 South Clinton St., Greenwood Village, CO 80112). This place was simply not very clean. On the first day, we returned after 6 p.m. to find that our room had not been touched. The maids had come in and left a stack of clean towels and some soap and shampoo but had not made up the beds or vacuumed. We called the front desk and they curtly informed us that the cleaning staff was gone for the day and that their check sheet indicated that the room had been cleaned. We actually sought out the maids each day and asked them to please clean our room. Two of the four nights of our stay, we only received three towels even thought there were four registered in the room. And clearly, the maids only did a superficial clean even between guests, as indicated by the dried urine pooled on the bottom of the toilet and floor when we checked in that never disappeared during our stay. 
The item that people most often comment on is my impressive-looking “Irish Blackthorn Walking Stick” from Cold Steel, a three-foot long shillelagh with a knurled haft and a polished head that was a gift from my brother Christopher (shown at right). The most impressive thing about this accessory is that it is not made from wood at all, but rather a durable, non-metallic composite. Sensing its connection at least in name with St. Patrick, my wife Diane calls it a “snake-whacking stick” and likes to carry it when we are out together. 
Some of the best Mexican food in San Antonio is located just off of Highway 281 and the 1604 Loop (18747 Redland Road, San Antonio, TX 78259; (210) 497-8000). Opened in 2004, La Hacienda los Barrios is the second restaurant to be opened by the Barrios family and brings to the edge of Hill Country cuisine the family has been serving at its downtown San Antonio location since 1979. It is managed by Diana Barrios Trevino, daughter of the restaurant’s founder, who is a world renowned chef in her own right. 
My wife Diane and I had heard good things about La Hacienda from some of our neighbors and recently decided to check it out. We were pleased to discover that the restaurant has a beautiful outdoor eating area and chose to enjoy our meal there. 
I opted for the fish tacos, one of my favorites if they are done right, and was pleased to discover that they were made with blackened tilapia and accompanied by rice, a vegetable relish, and slices of tomato and avocado. My wife opted for a platter with three different enchiladas, one each filled with cheese, chicken, and pork — and each topped with a different sauce — and accompanied by beans and other sides. I had a Victoria imported beer with my dinner and my wife had a margarita with hers. 
One item we had never before encountered anywhere else was something called chimichurri, a condiment made with parsley, garlic, pimentos, and oil, that our waiter brought to our table with the complimentary chips and salsa and which went well on just about anything (and which I enjoyed on both my fish tacos and the salad items that accompanied them). It was just one of the things we enjoyed about this terrific restaurant and which will bring us back to enjoy it yet again.
Dear Michael,
It is a fairly dry, full-bodied wine with a complex palette of flavors and complemented both meals perfectly. I have been partial to Alexander Valley wines since about 2000, when my friend Chip Cassano and I drove through it during a road trip up the West Coast, and recommend this appelation in general and this product of it in particular. 
Tangent Winery "Sauvignon Blanc," 2009, c. $16 (February 29, 2012). My wife selected this wine to accompany spaghetti with a vegetarian sauce made with artichoke hearts, tomato, onion, and garlic, and in that it was tangy and not sweet it paired perfectly. We had some dried pineapple for desert with our second glasses but, while this sort of fruit is a nice accompaniment to many white wines it was a bit too sweet to go well with this one. "This vintage is bright and racy, with flavors of passion fruit, pear, lemon and grapefruit," says Christian Roguenant. "Minerality notes, lively acidity, and green grassy elements balance the wine nicely. It finishes long with a touch of zesty lime. My favorite wine with oysters, it pairs well with most all seafood." I agree on all counts and look forward to trying this one with some fresh oysters! 
Carinena "El Bombero Seleccion 15% Especial," 2008, c. $16 (February 24, 2012). This is a fun and particularly potent Spanish red grenache wine, in that it has a 15% alcohol content, as compared with the almost universal 12.5% for other vintages. We enjoyed this with grilled pork shortribs -- a fairly heavy meal -- and this full-bodied, slightly hot-to-the-tongue wine paired very nicely with them. 
While it had a bit of a fruity finish, it was dry enough that it paired nicely with our broiled steelhead salmon (I loathe sweet wine with most food and so was sensitive to how well this would accompany a meal). For desert we had some strawberries and dried pineapple, both of which compliment many white wines in general and a decent sparkling wine in particular. According to the vintner, it is "gently pressed and vinified at low temperature to retain the lively, fresh, aromatic orchard fruit, white blossom, and sweet almond character."
Just about everyone these days likes to claim that they "support the troops" but once in awhile I actually come across a company that puts their money where their mouth is. And, as two separate experiences on a recent trip indicated, airline AirTran Airways would appear to be one of those companies.
The Alamo
Aurora Cemetery
Eastland County Law Enforcement Museum
Enron “Old” Headquarters Building
International UFO Museum and Research Center
Jean Lafitte Home
Johnson Space Center
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park
Marfa Ghost Lights "View Park"
18 ½ East Concho Avenue
National Border Patrol Museum
Robert E. Howard Museum
White Sands Missile Range Museum