A hiker’s view of the “backside” of Hualalai as seen from Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park.

A green sea turtle (honu) surfaces in Kailua Bay.

My family is not big on eggs, but they do love a nice slice of quiche. Luckily for me, the savory egg custard baked in a pie crust is easy to make (especially if you use a refrigerated crust) and easier still to personalize with favorite meats, vegetables and cheeses — often all the above at the same time.

And now come the regrets.

I was looking for a new way to dress up boneless, skinless chicken breast. Everything but the Bagel spice is becoming very popular. It adds lots of flavor by just using this spice blend for the chicken. It can be found in the spice section of the supermarket. It’s a mixture of sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, garlic powder and poppy seeds. You can make your own using equal amounts sesame seeds and poppy seeds and a little less (about 3/4 amount) of the remaining ingredients.

Sunrise is seen from the Pololu Valley Mule Station in North Kohala.

Kona foam

Another magical holiday season has come to a close. The holidays may still not feel quite like “normal” yet, but I still enjoyed bringing out my favorite decorations from Halloween to Thanksgiving to the Christmas finale. Having holiday decor around the house brings in an extra dose of cheer, and I think that was especially called for this year.

A man climbs out of a North Kona lava tube.

Colorful wild amaryllis is seen in front of Macaranga, an invasive, noxious weed.

ROME — Pope Francis suggested this week that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a “moral obligation” and denounced how people had been swayed by “baseless information” to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives during the pandemic.

The New Year started off with a beautiful sunset for Kona.

The waters of Kealakekua Bay are seen from Manini Beach.

This year, start the New Year with a bang — or how about a flambé?

Two humuhumunukunukuapua’a swim through Kahalu’u Bay.