Sunset from Walua (standard:travel stories, 543 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Feb 17 2013	Views/Reads: 2872/1939	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The daily walks on Walua road in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii is more than just a walking experience.

Sunset from Walua 

Subba Rao 

Walua road runs south and north connecting Kuakini highway to 

Ali'i drive, the popular tourist attraction along the seal wall on the 

Big Island, Hawaii. Walking south on Walua road could be strenuous 

since it is uphill but it is a scenic route to watch spectacular 

sunsets.  Living at the bottom of Walua road, Juggernaut made a habit 

of taking daily walks on Walua. 

Listening to Reggae, Calypso, R& B or Bollywood music, a walk 

from the bottom to the top of Walua takes around 9 minutes uphill and 7 

minutes downhill. The evening walk is cooler and offers glorious 

sunsets to watch over the condo complex towards the west.  During one 

of the walks, Juggernaut found an old Lincoln penny minted in 1940 

turned black from decades of oxidation.  A search on Google shows its 

worth around 35 cents to 5 dollars depending on the condition, 

apparently just over half million Wheat pennies were minted in 1940, 

those minted in San Francisco mint carries a letter ‘S', the 

Juggernaut's find carried the letter ‘S' indicating it was minted in 

San Francisco in 1940.  More than its current market value, just to 

find a 70 years old coin in Hawaii was exciting. It was ironic that 

Juggernaut found a gold wedding band with a date in 1940 in the 

crevices of lava rock in the ocean at the Spencer beach two years 

earlier on the Big Island. “A gold band and a Wheat penny from the same 

era both were found on the Big Island, any connection?” thought 

Juggernaut placing the penny in the pocket for safe keeping. 

The downhill walk on Walua is easy since it demands less energy 

and pleasurable looking west to catch the last glimpse of the setting 

sun. Sometimes, the tour buses stop to allow the tourists to take the 

pictures of the spectacular sunset scenes from the top of the Walua 

Road 

The daily walks along the Walua road reminded Juggernaut of his 

long walks along the Collins Avenue in Miami Beach or along the beach 

road in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  During the daily walks on Walua, 

Juggernaut crisscrossed several other walkers some energized and quick 

and others walk slowly pushing themselves step by step. Over the last 

few months, some walkers became familiar faces, one of them, a 

diminutive woman of oriental origin walking with a characteristic jump 

in her footing as if she was thrusting forward with energy dwindling 


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