On the west side of the big island of Hawaii, you find clear blue waters, mountain vista’s, killer beaches, coffee plantations and history that goes back centuries. In a word — you find paradise. Kailua-Kona was once the home of Hawaii’s Kine Kamehameha.

And it’s also home to the oldest christian church in Hawaii — Mokuaikaua Church. Built out of lava rock and mortar made of coral, it is being rebuild to preserve the structure built in the 1830 — but pummeled by volcanos, hurricanes and earthquakes. The four year project — funded by millions in donations, will help preserve this fantastic building, modeled by Massachusetts missionaries after a church in Boston. None the less it’s a dramatic icon of the towns small harbor.

In that harbor you will find the old outrigger canoes. Each day hundreds of people paddle into open ocean in the canoes  — designed centuries ago. We followed member of the Kai’Opua Canoe Club. The Club was founded in 1929 and now sees people of all ages loving the sport.

In the high country, you can go right to the source of Hawaii’s famed Kona Coffee. Here, clouds, sunshine, sea breezes and just the right soil have made for a wonderful formula shipped the world over. At Heavenly Hawaiian Coffee, in Holualoa, you can tour a working coffee plantation. See the “Kona Snow” flowers that will become the beans. You can learn the secret of the Paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) roasting techniques.

You can watch the modern process for processing  Kona Coffee and why it’s so famous.

Here’s a hint — it’s less bitter because of less stress — remember, this is paradise.

You also find flowers all over the island — and some that you can take home and keep for ever. At Nana’s Clay Flowers, you can find art work — made of hardened clay — that looks just like the real thing.

It’s an old Japanese art form catching on in Kona. Just another experience that makes this place a special piece of Small Town Americana.