Some vacations are just wunderbar! I grew up eating fried SPAM, and still love same. Imagine my surprise and glee when exploring back roads on the Big Island of Hawaii yesterday when I found this sign!!! (very near the southernmost point in the United States … not just the Lower 48).

Actually as we left Bowman’s Guest House yesterday morning, after a delightful stay of ten nights with Kent and Melanie, I convinced Molly that I might be allowed a quick bird right outside the gate. My five minutes were well spent, as the Java Sparrows posed nicely for me.

Our last dinner was a picnic on the Pacific Ocean where these Yellow-Billed Cardinals were a photographer’s dream in terms of image locations. We also watched sperm whale breaching completely out of the water, and performing some great flipper flapping (more on this fantastic sight later in its own post).

In closing, not only did we find SPAM on the South Point Road, but when I spied a small pond next to the road I finally was rewarded with seeing the Hawaiian state bird … the Hawaiian Goose or Nene.

We are now on the real touristy side of the island … quite the contrast.