Because of the different hours — extremely limited for a few of the post offices on the Hamakua Coast — I've never been able to take my time in Laupahoehoe. One day, I want to drive down to Laupahoehoe Point. The tragedy and history of that place set the stage for a Pacific-wide transformation of prepardness for tsunami.
The actual town is, like most of the other rural areas, built along the Old Mamalahoa Highway. Another spot I need to visit one day is the Laupahoehoe Train Museum. I did stop in one of the mini-gulch areas and filmed the stream. It was serene as can be. I looked it up and it was called Manawai opae stream. Opae, as in freshwater shrimp? What a trip.
Laupahoehoe reminds me of former Konawaena boys basketball coach Lew Fukui, a retired police detective. He was a prolific left-handed scorer at Laupahoehoe back in the day. My memories of the high school gym there are like no other. I still remember seeing aunties and grandmothers sweeping the court after games. The school was small, the community shrinking, but everything in that aging gym was pristine, clean and shining.
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