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Hawaii’s Painted Church

by Brian on November 6, 2013 in Hawaii, Travel, United States

St Benedict Painted Church, Kona, Hawaii

(click to enlarge)

Tucked deep within the jungles of Kona, Hawaii, this simple wooden chapel is hard to find and even easier to overlook. There is nothing about its exterior that commands attention, except maybe for the stunning views of Kealakekua Bay that are seen from just about everywhere in the area. To understand why travelers go out of their way to get here, you have to step inside.

Once you do, the reason the officially titled St. Benedict’s is more commonly known as “The Painted Church” becomes clear. Colorful murals, depicting both biblical scenes and architectural elements mimicking grander cathedrals, canvas the interior of this humble church from floor to ceiling.

St Benedict Painted Church Exterior, Kona, Hawaii

St Benedict’s Painted Church, Kona, Hawaii

It is said that the self-taught artist and priest John Berchmans painted the murals with ordinary house paint to help teach biblical stories to his illiterate congregation. Translated bibles and Hawaiian newspapers, however, predated Berchman’s arrival on the island by 70-odd years, indicating the paintings were done at least as much for their aesthetics as for their utility. And if beauty was reason enough for him to spend years painting it, it’s more than enough reason for us to go out of our way a bit to see it.

Meet Tim

by Shannon on November 4, 2013 in Travel

I’m no Jacques Cousteau, but for a brief while I felt as if I might have been. Gliding by just a few feet below me was a several-hundred-pound manta ray, his winged silhouette illuminated by bright lights shining down from the water’s surface.

Tim is one of numerous manta rays that come to feed in a cove off Hawaii’s Kona coast, one of the few places where you’re almost guaranteed a sighting. The ocean dwellers—whose wing spans generally range from three to twelve feet—know that a buffet awaits them there each evening. The lights in the water attract plankton, which in turn make a tasty meal for the manta rays—and great spying ground for snorkelers and divers.

Bite Sized Debauchery

by Brian on November 2, 2013 in Miscellaneous

For a tasty sampler drawn from Shannon’s new book, Writers Between the Covers, check out her latest article printed over at The Huffington Post: 8 Literary Heartbreakers.

Money Quote

The jerk gene was also shared by fellow Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who dumped his pregnant wife to elope with 16-year-old Mary Godwin.”

The argument I’m glad I lost

by Brian on November 1, 2013 in Hawaii, Travel, United States

Something Shannon neglected to mention in her awesome retelling of our Hawaiian lava trek is that we almost didn’t go. And had we not gone, I’d have been to blame.