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What's the name of that Asian grocery store over by Beaverton? It was around the corner from my brother's house and a really fun store but I forget it's name. Oh well, Google to the rescue! "Uwajimaya" No wonder I have trouble remembering the name. But, anyplace that has shops like that nearby is probably a good place to move to Hawaii from and Beaverton and Aloha are close, I think?
Given a choice between HPP and Hilo, opt for Hilo itself if you can. The traffic past the Keaau corner has gotten crazy. Actually, go to the other side of Hilo and no more traffic and a lot less crime. No Uwajimaya, though.
What's the name of that Asian grocery store over by Beaverton? It was around the corner from my brother's house and a really fun store but I forget it's name. Oh well, Google to the rescue! "Uwajimaya" No wonder I have trouble remembering the name. But, anyplace that has shops like that nearby is probably a good place to move to Hawaii from and Beaverton and Aloha are close, I think?
Given a choice between HPP and Hilo, opt for Hilo itself if you can. The traffic past the Keaau corner has gotten crazy. Actually, go to the other side of Hilo and no more traffic and a lot less crime. No Uwajimaya, though.
Yes, Uwajimaya is great! It specializes in Japanese food. We also have another huge Korean grocery store called H-Mart, a huge Chinese store called 99 Ranch, and many smaller Vietnamese, Filipino, and Indian stores. Portland has become quite diverse, which is one of the great things about it. For my wife, though, there's nothing like the local food she grew up with. We have only a couple of Hawaiian restaurants that meet with her approval.
Aloha is an unincorporated area west of Beaverton and east of Hillsboro. The name's origin is disputed. One story is that it was named after Aloah, Wisconsin, but that two letters were transposed during the naming-application process. The Aloha High School mascot is King Kamehameha, which amuses the Hawaiian transplants who live here. We have quite a few of them here. Over the years, my wife has randomly bumped into four people she knew in Hilo and Honolulu, including a college roommate she hadn't seen since the 1970s.
Yes, Hilo is our preference over HPP. We'd get more for our money in HPP, but nothing beats the convenience of Hilo.
If I recall correctly, aren't you the person who raises Angora rabbits? We've had many pet rabbits over the years, but we're currently down to one. It took a long time to find a way to get her to Hawaii (along with our cat), but if anyone ever asks you, it's a company called Island Pet Movers. The cost is much less than I feared.
"The traffic past the Keaau corner has gotten crazy. "
Actually its substantially better than it was 10 years ago. The road was widened to four lanes with actual shoulders all the way to HPP. There is congestion at Ainaloa during rush hour (past HPP) since they added the new roundabout.
The irritating hiccup now is the new traffic light at Shipman park, but it's only a big problem during rush hour.
Another quality of life improvement is that they built a mall in Pahoa so there is dining and shopping available that previously required a trip to Hilo. They are getting ready to open a second Kaleo's location in Orchidland.
ETA: "The name's origin is disputed. One story is that it was named after Aloah, Wisconsin, but that two letters were transposed during the naming-application process."
Some old newspaper clippings have been posted on a Aloha FB page that put the Aloah theory to rest. The town was named during a naming contest and Aloha was the winner due to the popularity of the song Aloha Oe at the time. I had never heard that the AHS mascot was Kamehameha. Maybe that rumor surfaced when Oregon outlawed mascots of Native American nexus and Aloha had to prove a Hawaiian heritage so as not to be forced to change the Warriors name. Interesting thing about that high school, is that it was constructed with a rifle range in the basement. It had a student smoking area when I graduated. Times have changed!
Last edited by terracore; 09-02-2021 at 08:36 PM..
I left out quite a bit, but I figured I'd vented enough negativity for one post.
You live in Aloha. That is a suburb of Beaverton, which itself is a suburb of Portland.
How much of the protests are affecting you that far out? I have heard reports from people who live in the city that the protests are centered around a pretty small area of the city. If it was not for all the news reports, which will always sensationalize anything, would you have even been aware of it out in the suburbs?
We lived in the suburbs of an east coast city for a long time. Often heard about violence, crime, protests, etc in the city. It made almost no difference to our quality of life in the suburbs. We just had to be a little selective about when and where to go into the city.
"The traffic past the Keaau corner has gotten crazy. "
Actually its substantially better than it was 10 years ago. The road was widened to four lanes with actual shoulders all the way to HPP. There is congestion at Ainaloa during rush hour (past HPP) since they added the new roundabout.
The irritating hiccup now is the new traffic light at Shipman park, but it's only a big problem during rush hour.
Another quality of life improvement is that they built a mall in Pahoa so there is dining and shopping available that previously required a trip to Hilo. They are getting ready to open a second Kaleo's location in Orchidland.
ETA: "The name's origin is disputed. One story is that it was named after Aloah, Wisconsin, but that two letters were transposed during the naming-application process."
Some old newspaper clippings have been posted on a Aloha FB page that put the Aloah theory to rest. The town was named during a naming contest and Aloha was the winner due to the popularity of the song Aloha Oe at the time. I had never heard that the AHS mascot was Kamehameha. Maybe that rumor surfaced when Oregon outlawed mascots of Native American nexus and Aloha had to prove a Hawaiian heritage so as not to be forced to change the Warriors name. Interesting thing about that high school, is that it was constructed with a rifle range in the basement. It had a student smoking area when I graduated. Times have changed!
When my wife lived in Hilo, they referred to Pahoa as “Dodge City.” It was where the pakalolo growers and other outlaw types lived. It’s taken a lot of convincing from friends of hers for her to believe that parts of it, at least, have been gentrified. I’ve seen the website for the Punakai Shopping Center, and it looks pretty cool. I’m particularly interested in that Mexican restaurant, as Mexican is my comfort food.
That’s interesting to learn that the Aloah story has been debunked. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Kalama, Washington was founded by Hawaiians, or so the story goes. They were shanghaied sailors from Hawaii who jumped ship in Washington. And supposedly salmon was brought from the PNW to Hawaii, which is where lomi lomi salmon came from. (I’m too tired to fact check this at the moment.)
You live in Aloha. That is a suburb of Beaverton, which itself is a suburb of Portland.
How much of the protests are affecting you that far out? I have heard reports from people who live in the city that the protests are centered around a pretty small area of the city. If it was not for all the news reports, which will always sensationalize anything, would you have even been aware of it out in the suburbs?
We lived in the suburbs of an east coast city for a long time. Often heard about violence, crime, protests, etc in the city. It made almost no difference to our quality of life in the suburbs. We just had to be a little selective about when and where to go into the city.
We’re pretty unaffected out here in the ‘burbs. The protests have been mainly in the downtown area, especially by the Justice Center, where the Portland Police Bureau’s central precinct is located. My wife retired just as things started getting really bad. She got stuck one afternoon when they locked down the building because a mob was trying to break in. My company’s office also is in the protest zone, but everyone has been working from home since March 2020. We had 100 consecutive days of protests last year. Some are mostly peaceful Progressives, although I disagree with their tactics of intentionally blocking roads and bridges. Most of the violence had been between Antifa and the Proud Boys. It also draws a core group of about a hundred hooligans who use the crowds as cover to riot and vandalize. I have equal distain for the Far Right and the Far Left, and Portland has become an example of the Far Left at its worst. Aside from the protests, the tent cities, homeless, garbage, and graffiti extend throughout the city and to the inner suburbs. Beaverton and Aloha aren’t bad, though.
I’m particularly interested in that Mexican restaurant, as Mexican is my comfort food.
Luquin's (across the street) is better. And Pancho's Tacos food truck (deeper in Pahoa) is better than Luquins. JMO. There is another Mexican food truck near Orchidland, but I haven't tried it yet.
Luquin's (across the street) is better. And Pancho's Tacos food truck (deeper in Pahoa) is better than Luquins. JMO. There is another Mexican food truck near Orchidland, but I haven't tried it yet.
Great! I recently researched restaurants in the Hilo area, and I was surprised and pleased by the variety of cuisines available compared to when I first visited in 2001.
<SNIP>
If I recall correctly, aren't you the person who raises Angora rabbits? We've had many pet rabbits over the years, but we're currently down to one. It took a long time to find a way to get her to Hawaii (along with our cat), but if anyone ever asks you, it's a company called Island Pet Movers. The cost is much less than I feared.
Yup, there's insanely fuzzy rabbits here! Shipping rabbits in from the mainland is pretty straightforward, although there's the usual SNAFU or two along the way. They don't quarantine, but they do need a vet certificate that states they're healthy before they can fly. They also land in Honolulu and the airline drops them off at the agricultural inspection desk. You need someone on Oahu to go to the Ag desk and pick up the rabbits and shift them off to Aloha Air Cargo to continue the journey.
Since there's that rabbit virus on the mainland these days, I'm not importing any more rabbits. I started with a pair and then imported three more pairs. That's been enough to keep them from being inbred by careful record keeping and breeding. There was the addition of some new genetics several years ago from someone who had brought in an unpedigreed buck which helped lower the ratio of inbreeding. Now several other folks have started their own English angora rabbitries so I can bring in descendants several generations away from my stock to keep the levels of inbreeding low. Which is kinda odd when you think about it since most of these are descended from those six imported rabbits.
I've noticed over the years that it's getting more restrictive on what can be brought in, no more ducks and turkeys, for one. Seems it would be good to get some folks specifically breeding different varieties of livestock and pets so if they ever shut the door towards importing more there would be sufficient genetics here to work with.
I'm hoping someone will bring in small woolly sheep. Something around fifty to sixty pounds what has nice wool and will mow the lawn. I tried to bring some of those in (miniature Cheviots) last year but the planes weren't flying due to Covid. We have two sheep now, Clun Forest, and they're excellent at mowing and fertilizing but they're pretty big at about 150# each. I've now learned not to pick tomatoes with sheep nearby and they like lychee, too. And bananas, although they leave the banana plants alone and just want the fruit.
Maybe if you end up in HPP or somewhere on the outskirts of Hilo there will be enough room for you to have lawnmowers? I like the Ainaola area (note: it's 'Ainaola' not 'Ainaloa'). There would be room for critters there and it's still close to Hilo.
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Given a choice between HPP and Hilo, opt for Hilo itself if you can. The traffic past the Keaau corner has gotten crazy. Actually, go to the other side of Hilo and no more traffic and a lot less crime. .
Agree about choosing Hilo over HPP. A lot less crime though? Not sure about that.
About the Keaau-Pahoa highway, my thoughts are that it's become both better and worse in the last few years. Better due to added lanes and especially the roundabouts. They are a huge improvement.
Worse due to the newer light at Keaau end of HPP. That sucker can bring Pahoa to Keaau traffic to stop and go at times. Actually, the last two times I've been on it this has occurred. No fun.
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