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Where else on the Big Island of Hawaii can you find rambutan fruit, British scones and a palm reader all at the same locale? Wednesdays and Saturdays, the place to be is at the Hilo Farmers Market, on both mauka (inland) corners of Mamo Street and Kamehameha Avenue in downtown Hilo. Vendors sell myriad items there: fresh lei, jackfruit and soursop, Filipino coconut desserts, cut flowers, bracelets from India, locally handmade jewelry, pickled mango, Tongan mats. There's even a massage table for a quick respite from stress. And lots of items sell for only one dollar to the locals, as well as the cruise-ship visitors. Across the street (makai, toward Hilo Bay) is the Mooheau Bus depot, with free Hele-On bus service to many places on the island. I think it's the best deal in town.

Over the last 30 years, my husband and I have enjoyed visiting and living on the Hawaiian Islands. We have become familiar with all of the islands and their many charms.

Interestingly enough, one of our most unexpected and out-of- the-ordinary adventures for us is located on the main tourist island of Oahu.

Not far from the community of Laie on the windward coast is an offshore island called Goat Island. One can actually wade over to this small, low- lying island when the tide is right. The island is covered with scrub growth and scattered ironwood trees. On the leeward side is a crescent-shaped white sandy beach good for snorkeling and swimming. It is shallow, well-protected, quiet and far from the crowds of Waikiki. There are no goats on the island, but it is a bird refuge, being the nesting grounds for local tropical birds. An added pleasure has also been finding some fairly beautiful and good-sized shells.

One can always paddle out on a boogie board or surfboard with a picnic lunch. Be sure to wear reef slippers and be careful of the currents.

We began our morning with delicious papayas, sweet rolls and coffee, and then traveled south from the comfort of our bed-and-breakfast, The Dolphin Bay Inn.

We were out to explore the coast and see what it offered. We traveled the twisting road down to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the lava flow. Then on to Wood Valley to see the white peacocks and meditate at the Buddhist temple.

After lunch and a short stop at Punalu'u Beach to see the turtles and bask in the sun on the black sand beach, our car seemed to take a life of its own. It pulled us (literally, my foot was not on the gas pedal) past Green Sand Beach to Ka Lae (South Point).

We were at the southernmost tip of the United States, and my daughter insisted on jumping off the high cliffs into the pristine, undulating waters waiting for her over 50 feet below.

When one thinks of Hawaii, images of balmy weather, secluded sandy beaches and friendly people who wave to strangers come to mind.

There is one island where this still occurs.

I grew up on the island of Lanai, which is 14 miles from Lahaina, Maui, with a mass size of 13 miles by five miles.

Lanai is truly an island that offers one an escape from the hectic pace of life. Everyone knows everyone on the island. At night, when I would see the headlights of a car approaching me, I would automatically know who was driving.

You can fish from any shore on Lanai and can almost certainly be guaranteed to catch something. Lanai also now has two outstanding golf courses and many hiking trails, as well as several beautiful Hawaiian petroglyphs. And, the best cheeseburger I have ever eaten is made in a small restaurant on Lanai.

Visitors can fly to Lanai, or if you are visiting Maui you can take the boat to Lanai from Lahaina. An added bonus for using the boat during the winter months is all the whales you can see on the trip.

A visit to Lanai can be a day adventure, or there are three hotels. The oldest and most economical hotel is Hotel Lanai, which is located on a slight rise overlooking Lanai City. If you want to tour around the island, you can call ahead to have a rental car at the harbor or at the airport with the keys in the ignition waiting for you.

When you do visit Lanai, please show respect to the land and the people and have a great adventure! You will not regret a visit to the island I love dearly!

Aloha!

On a trip to Maui in February 2005, we discovered that the road around the south part of the island is now passable. Our car rental agency did not prohibit driving it.

At the Haleakala National Park, we talked to a ranger who assured us that the road was an easy drive. There are only about seven miles of unpaved road. This part of the Maui coastline is a wild, wide open space at the foot of Mount Haleakala. The views are spectacular, with no tourist attractions to mar them. The Kaupo Store is a small, real Hawaiian general store where refreshments can be purchased, and the St. Joseph Church (built in 1862) is a lovely small church with views of the ocean.

One area where we could get to the ocean was at a lava-strewn beach. Undertows were too severe to attempt swimming.

The drive ended in the "Upcountry" at the Tedeschi Winery, the only winery on Maui.

The Kaanapali Beach Hotel was built in 1964 at the center of one the best beaches on Maui.

During the 1980s, it became surrounded by corporate names such as Sheraton, Westin and Hyatt.

As a smaller independent resort, it succeeds in maintaining a laid-back, old Hawaiian ambience. The staff is required to study the culture of the islands. There is a nightly show of Hawaiian music and dance in the expansive open courtyard. The rooms are large and comfortable, but, like a favorite chair at home, they show some wear around the edges. The manicured lawn slopes down to a golden sand beach at the edge of the turquoise ocean.

The restaurant has an outstanding menu. It features the use of local vegetables such as fiddleneck fern. Where else can you order a meal of fried pineapple and bananas, sweet potatoes, taro leaves, with mahi-mahi baked in banana leaves? Of course it comes with a bowl of two-finger poi.

We had stayed there almost 30 years ago. When we entered the lobby recently, we felt like we hadn't been away. I mentioned this to the grizzled bellboy. He said, "I was here then. Aloha to you — again."

Unlike my idealized memories of earlier trips to Hawaii, it is getting very built-up, with plenty of traffic lights, strip malls and cookie-cutter housing developments.

You'll have to do some searching to get a serene tropical island experience. I would recommend going to the rainy, more tropical northern shore of whichever island you visit if you seek beautiful scenery (e.g., Hilo, not Kona).

I was also disillusioned by the general attitude of locals there, who advertise an "aloha spirit" that embraces all who visit. Instead, many locals seemed to resent tourists.

Finally, the price-gouging was even worse than I had expected.

A hidden gem is Nahiku, near Milepost 25 on the Road to Hana (Maui).

At the end of an unmarked dirt road, a beautiful coastline is complemented by a nearby small natural pool fed by two small waterfalls.