If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen several of my images taken in and around the Hilo area while on the Big Island of Hawaii.
I also shared a post with some tropical images for my recent post Thursday’s #Hilo Doors with a View.
It makes sense (at least to me) that this week’s Sunday Stills theme is “tropical.”
I celebrated my spring break in Hawaii at my husband’s urging. He wanted one more week off before the summer rush begins at his work. We own a small house in up-country Hilo that needs some major repair and construction, right up hubby’s alley. Apparently working on his house is therapeutic for him.
With hubby working on the house 20 miles away, I was left to my own devices back at the B&B where we stayed. I spent two days alone working on a variety of projects, took walks, and of course, took hundreds of pictures! Did I mention the 75 degree temperatures? Hilo can be very rainy but the weather cooperated most days, with overcast skies only part of the time.
While enjoying the tropical surroundings, I also had the chance to meet up with fellow blogger, Graham, from Graham’s Island. If you enjoy reading about the Big Island of Hawaii, Graham takes amazing photos while explaining something interesting about his subject.
Graham kindly offered to make the two-hour drive from the North end of the island to meet me at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.
With cameras in tow, we walked the trails and shot oodles of flowers and plant life. One of the first flowers we spotted was this purple hibiscus hybrid called “Blue Bayou.” Stunning!
A tropical garden path overgrown with flowers and plants paved the way for more sites than I could possibly see!
We came across this Crimson Medinilla from the Phillipines hanging like Christmas ornaments.
Of course, we stopped every few feet to capture these amazing plants with our lenses. A great photographer like Graham here leans in for that special shot!
We came upon the Malaysian Bat Plant, which really is this color black!
Another hibiscus flower, this one a peachy-orange. Yellow hibiscus is the Hawaii state flower.
The iconic Hawaiian flower, the plumeria, was not in bloom quite yet, but here is one just for fun! Graham has a yearly pass to the gardens and says he sees different flowers each time he visits. There is a chance we may go back to the Big Island to work on the house this Fall, so I hope to see these gorgeous, fragrant flowers!
Walking through the gardens yielded views like this if you stopped and looked up!
This image of the tropical forest with its spikes, spires and jagged edges is submitted for Becky B’s last day of March Spiky Squares.
I am also sharing these banyan and palm trees with Becca’s Sunday Trees!
Here is one more beautiful little flower, an orchid perhaps?
I’ve lost count of the many bloggers I have met in person over the last few years and was so pleased to be able to meet up with Graham in Hawaii! We had an enjoyable time and ate lunch in Hilo before he drove me back to the B&B! Visiting the botanical gardens was one of the highlights of this trip to the Big Island.
Today, I am also sharing these tropical blooms for Cee’s Flower of the Day!
April themes are available for view on my Sunday Stills page so you can plan ahead. Remember you can post any time during the week for each theme.
I can’t wait to see your tropical-themed images, poems, stories, even music this week!
Aloha!
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That is one of the best things about blogging, is meeting the people behind the words!!
What a wonderful time Terri…
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
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Thanks, Jodie, one of these days, I hope we can meet!
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[…] Entry for Terri´s Sunday Still Challenge. […]
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Lovely selection of tropical plants, flowers and views.
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Thank you, Maria! So many flowers, so little time!
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Looks beautiful, Terri.
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And the weather was wonderful, not as humid I as expected 🙂
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Wow, what a beautiful place filled with fantastic pieces of mother nature. The colours are glorious, Terri, but tell us about the aroma and the sounds of the place, too. Having never been to anywhere quite like Hawaii, I can only imagine what they were like. Those flowers must have smelt wonderful.
So pleased that you met up with Graham. Blogging makes our world seem like a smaller place than it is. Distance doesn’t become a problem, whilst friendships blossom.
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Funny, Hugh, not as much in the sound and aroma department. The air smelled fresh of course, and I could hear birds…perhaps I got used to it all after being on the island for a few days. It was great meeting Graham in person. He really knows his stuff…a true journalist!
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I know what you mean, Terri. When we first moved to live by the coast, the noise of the seagulls kept us awake. Now, we don’t notice them anymore. The same can be said of when I lived in London. I could often hear the underground trains rumbling under the various houses I live in, but I would soon forget the noise was there. When I had family staying, they always heard every single tube train!
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[…] I saw this orchid at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden during a visit with Terri, from Second Wind Leisure Perspectives, who was visiting the Big Island for a week. Terri hosts the Sunday Stills challenge and her theme this week, coincidentally, is ‘Tropical.’ See more responses here. […]
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[…] stills today is tropical, and i go with bananas! i got these ones yesterday at the grocery store, they are from Colombia and […]
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Everything is so pretty, you really had a wonderful ‘me time’ in there! Here is my link for today.
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It was a beautiful day to walk through the gardens!
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[…] For: Sunday Stills: A #Tropical Garden Vacation […]
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lovely photos, Terri 🙂
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Ah Hawaii..,,,if only it weren’t so far away! I have very fond memories of my visits but haven’t been in years. Beautiful images Terri. And I agree it’s been great fun to meet up with bloggers these past few years!
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Thanks, Tina! Only a short flight (5-6 hours haha) from the West Coast. I’m still dealing with 3 hour jet lag!
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Stunning gardens, and your forest is a wonderful addition to spiky squares 😊
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So many spikes, so little time, LOL! Looking forward to June…any hints?
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I can’t hint yet because I’m still narrowing down the options!! As soon as I decide though I will let everyone know 😊
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Your pictures are divine, Terri. I love hibiscus the best of all flowers.
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Thanks, Robbie! Both colors of hibiscus were such a delight to see!
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Terri, I’m really enjoying these jaunts around Hawaii, and thank you for the gorgeous photos. I’ve lived in Hawaii twice as a kid, both times on Oahu. We moved to the mainland (California) on my 13th birthday, and I’ve never returned, not even for a visit. But I’m planning to take my entire family in summer 2020, to Kauai or Maui – friends campaigning for each. We’ll have 4 kids from ages 5 to 15, so taking that into consideration.
Anyway, your photos are tantalizing. I adore the pic of Hamakua Coast, with touches of teal and mauve in the ocean. The Blue Bayou hibiscus is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, and I love the plumeria as well – special significance for me. My favorite photo is of the path into the botanical gardens: layered lights and darks, perfect composition, graceful arcs of plants leading us through. Yes, I’ll go.
You and hubby have chosen a wonderful place to retire, and it seems he’s making the new house ready for his bride.
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Oh, thank you for your uplifting words, Shari! We may or may not retire there, but we’ll get the house ready for rental at least. I’m excited for you that you are going back to your childhood home. I was obsessed with all things Hawaii as a young adult. I do want to visit Kauai and Maui some day, we’ll have to plan some island hops. A friend of mine tells me she ordered plumeria from a reputable seller on Amazon and it is flourishing here in Sacramento! So guess what I ordered? Yay!
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Breathtaking photos, Terri. How wonderful to meet up with Graham! I’ve been to Maui and it truly is a paradise. I want to go back!
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Thanks, Molly, I would love to visit Maui and capture some windsurfing action (at least in photos)!
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Oh what a lovely, lovely theme!!! This theme I can’t miss – I’ll have to do a post as soon as I get a minute!!! 🙂 Beautiful flowers, great shots!
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Oh join anytime this week, Snow! I’ll bet you are ready for some tropical fun!
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Definitely – any kind of fun really. Right now I’m listening to my twins cry like it’s the end of the world, first one for 45 min then the other one woke up… I guess no sleep tonight either, as usual! if I can muster up the energy, I’ll definitely participate!
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What a beautiful series of photos. Absolutely gorgeous. I’m both envious and jealous! Tropical today is only one layer of clothes.
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Thank you! I’m back to allergy central with the blooming trees here in my neighborhood!
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I know what you mean. I washed my car yesterday. Shiny clean. Go out this a.m. it’s completely covered in the green yellow dust that will soon be making my eyes water!
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Beautiful photos and the editing on north of Hilo is great
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Thank you, Alice! I used the Painnt app filter for that one just to mix it up a little.
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Came out beautiful
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thank you!
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Hi Terri
Maui is our island of choice. But it’s all beautiful. I love all of the flower photos especially the one of the Crimson Medinilla. For aromatherapy it’s definitely Plumeria
Laura
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Laura, I love plumeria so much I ordered cuttings from Amazon! Hawaiian airlines now flies direct to Maui from my area! On my list!
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[…] /sunday-stills-a-tropical-garden-vacation/ […]
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[…] Tropical Garden – Sunday Stills / Vertical – One Word Sunday / Retro – FOWC / Pickle – RDP / Jinx – WODC / Day 31 – The Final Spiky Month of Squares […]
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What an awesome trip, Terri. Very well-deserved! Your photos are stunning! I hope that you do get a chance to return in the fall…and share more photos with us!
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Thanks, Donna, I’m happy Hans got some well deserved leisure time, although he was pleased with what he accomplished on the house.
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Sounds like a great trip. Meeting up with cyber friends is always so much fun. Your flower pics are beautiful. Nice job!
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It was, Ingrid! Some of those flower close- ups looked better with my phone.
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[…] week’s Sunday Still’s theme “Tropical,” reminded me of my own first trip to Hawaii, to the Big Island to celebrate our 25th […]
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Oh so beautiful! And what fun to get a tour from a fellow blogger and photographer! I love that garden too and couldn’t resist revisiting my own trip there long ago! 🙂 https://catsandtrailsandgardentales.com/2019/03/31/hawaii-tropical-botanical-garden-on-the-big-island/
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[…] Tropical just happens to be the theme for Sunday Stills this week and, as you know, we are settling into Autumn/winter with nary a tropical pina colada or coloured paper umbrella in sight. […]
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What a great post Terri, beautiful tropical flowers, nice weather, meeting a a blogging friend in person, Hawaii!!! What’s not to love 🙂 I’ve joined up this week from my not so tropical location with some little friends https://debs-world.com/2019/03/31/going-troppo-with-my-nanoblock-friends/
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Certainly needed the pictures of warmth and sunshine — looking forward to spring. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad to help, Janet 😎😁🌺🌸
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[…] For the Sunday Still Challenge: Tropical […]
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These are fantastic! Now I want to visit Hawaii … (well, it is on my bucket list but I think it just got bumped up a few places…)
Here’s my tropical contribution, from a visit to an orchid garden in Thailand this past summer.
Absolutely stunning place, that!
Na’ama
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I was obsessed with Hawaii from a young age and any of the islands are spectacular. The orchid from Thailand is probably in the botanical garden I visited! I hope you can go some day.
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I hope I can go someday, too!
🙂
Na’ama
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Terri — what a lovely collection of photos. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for the kind words, and I’m glad you enjoyed your visit. It was nice meeting you and having a fun tour of the gardens. You have some great shots from the garden (well, except for the old duffer getting the way in one of them, of course!). I almost went with the Crimson Medinilla but decided on this orchid: https://grahamsisland.com/2019/03/31/coconut-orchid/. The flower in the bottom photo is some kind of ginger, don’t know exactly which one. I hope you’re happily settling back into your regular world back in Sacremento.
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It was a great visit to the island. We got home and promptly got colds, then my allergies kicked in. At least it’s warmer now!
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Hi Terri
Thank you for initiating this challenge. My Sunday Stills was a visit to two sculptures as below
https://wordpress.com/view/littleborneogirl.wordpress.com
Cheers Jess
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Here’s the correct link. Thank you. 🙂
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[…] This week Teri has challenged us with: […]
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[…] SUNDAY STILLS PHOTO: Tropical […]
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You came home with so many beautiful photos! But I think the most fun part may have been meeting Graham.
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It is always special to meet fellow bloggers, Aixa, I hope to meet you in person some day!
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That would be wonderful!
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We have a lot of hibiscus bushes around here (as you know) but I’ve never seen one with purple flowers. It really is special. Hopefully your next visit will be in plumeria blooming season!
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San Diego has a lot of Hawaii’s flowers. I believe that purple hibiscus was a hybrid, with what I don’t know.
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[…] Sunday Stills – Tropical […]
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Gorgeous pics – love the hibiscus!
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Thank you, I wish I could grow these where I live!
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Hi Terri! Count me in as one of the fortunate ones who has gotten together IRL with you. And it looks like you had a wonderful break, saw some gorgeous flowers and landscapes and I hope just relaxed and enjoyed yourself! I think we all LOVE Hawaii so any chance to see beautiful photos of it remind us of all the times we have been fortunate to visit too. Thank you! ~Kathy
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It was a great time, Kathy! I meant to do some more writing but you know how that can go!
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Oh wowwwwwww Terri, those are absolutely spectacular photos. And the whole tropical theme had me longing to get back to warmth and palm trees! 🙂
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I bet, Deb! I was a little envious of your long trip to Mexico. Thank you!
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Now you have your own new memories 🙂
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Oh, Terri, how you inspire this fledgling photographer. I can almost smell the plumeria from here. That bat plant is very aptly named. My second graders always studied bats. Would have enjoyed sharing your photo with them. Nature is truly amazing. And you capture it so well, my friend.
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Thank you, Leslie! That bat plant was really neat to see and my photo of it could have been a little better.
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Beautiful photos, Terri. The hybrid purple hibiscus is unusual. I love Hawaii and had done the island hopping before. I hope you return in the fall and share more stunning photos. #MLSTL
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Thank you, Natalie! I just heard today that Hawaiian AL flies direct from Sacramento to Maui!
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So very beautiful and wonderful. Thanks for sharing it with us. #MLSTL
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Thank you, and you are welcome! 😁
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Absolutely stunning photos. And I think it is very exciting for the opportunity to meet up with a fellow blogger in person. That’s wonderful you have friends all over-especially ones that have so much in common with you.Will you be sharing any renovations on your house?
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Thank you! Once I meet a blogger in person, seems we become fast friends! Our poor little house needs a lot of work. It’s boarded up for now to keep vagrants and critters out.
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Gorgeous flower pics Terri – and how lovely to be able to spend time with another blogger where you both get to do something you love. Glad you had such and enjoyable time while you were away.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
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Thank you, Leanne! It’s amazing to think I could go just about anywhere and meet up with a blogger I know!
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Wow! Amazing! I wish I could visit Hawaii someday.
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Forgot to mention I’m visiting from MSTL.
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Thank you! It’s worth the trip. I still have Maui and Kauai to visit 🌺
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[…] Terri’s Sunday Stills – yes, I’m aware it’s not Sunday anymore but I couldn’t pass on this […]
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Better late than never:
Love this topic, can’t believe I’ve never seen it in any other challenge before! 🙂
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Oh, that is good to hear, in a few months you can add it to your photo challenge 🙂
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Sounds like a dream trip and the weather was very kind to you! I can think of no better place to visit a Botanic Garden than the Isle of Big and you have shared an extravaganza of ‘wow’ here today. My favorite is the pouter of the Crimson Medinilla.
I hope I have the good fortune of meeting you in person someday. Getting closer to you every day. Ahoy from Brazil
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Ah, you are in Brazil…much closer! How exciting for you! Lisa, our trip was wonderful even though there was a lot of work for Hans!
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Your photography, as always, is stunning Terri. How lovely to own a home in paradise that you can escape to. We have an apartment on the Gold Coast on the ocean. I love to escape to there and soon we will be living there full time. Thank you for sharing your paradise with us at #MLSTL
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Thank you, Sue! How amazing to be able to move to your Gold Coast apartment soon!
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Hawaii is lovely with something beautiful to look at around every turn. What a great place to indulge in your photography! These are beautiful pictures. That Bat plant is interesting. I don’t know that I would want it in my year, but it is unique! It would be a conversation started for sure. I have never seen plumeria in person, we were there at the wrong time for it too.
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Thanks, Michele. Unusual flowers make for lovely images. The Big Island has just about everything!
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[…] theme for her Sunday Stills Challenge this week is Tropical. The birds in the tropics are so bright and […]
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I can see why Graham has an annual pass at the botanical gardens and why he took you there! A photographer’s paradise! Hawaii is so lush that just about anywhere one can find pretty flowers.
How is the house in Hilo coming along? I’d love to house sit or go on vacation in Hawaii one year, but not when I have work piled up. 🙂
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It was a great trip, Liesbet. The house has a long way to go, Hans basically boarded it up so no one tries to camp in it, which caused some problems. Definitely a work in progress. And yes, you may get distracted and end up on aloha time while visiting.
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wow! those flowers and plants are amazing
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I have scads of photos but would blow up the internet if I posted them all. Thank you, I was happy to see them in person!
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yeah, I have a ton of photos too. Half the challenge is organizing them in a way you can find them again for a photo challenge, lol.
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[…] https://secondwindleisure.com/2019/03/31/sunday-stills-a-tropical-garden-vacation/ […]
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Great Post, thanks!
Probate, Estate Planning and Real Estate Attorney in DC & Maryland
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