Hello Hilo

There are 3 main roads on the Big Island:
1. A semi-boring one across the top, Rt. 19.
2. A curvy, car-sick potential one around the bottom, Rt. 11.
3. A partially paved rollercoaster style one that goes across the middle, Saddle Road.

Each takes the same amount of time

to get from Kailua to Hilo: 2-4 hours depending on traffic. ( I was thinking about how many states we crossed in that amount of time in New England!)

First stop was Akaka Falls State Park. The falls drop about 450 feet and they are pretty, but I think this would be a much more worthwhile destination for someone who's never seen an impressive waterfall.


The coolest part of this stop was the Hawaiian man weaving palm leaves into baskets at the entrance. The kids were in a trance watching him, and he indulged their inquisitive minds knowing we weren't going to purchase one.

As usual, it had been a few hours, and we were all in need of a shave ice. A funny little one-street town called Honomu is just outside the Falls. While we waited for our shave ice, I tasted several of the nearly 100 home-made jams for sale. Then I bought several bottles each of coconut and Jaboticaba (a kind of plum that grows right off the bark). They were to die for!

Peanut gets sucked into markets and antique stores like lava in a lava tube. This tiny town had a musty antique store with shelves upon shelves of old glass bottles, dug up around the island. Of course, this island doesn't have any sand to make glass, so all the bottles have their own unique history.

(Note to Texas: I thought this was a really clever concept for a store -- and one that my history-loving-brown-bottle-collecting sister should visit some day!)

When we heard the Big Island had a Botanical Garden we considered it a must-see for the kids. They enjoyed hiking through the cool rainforest -- it felt like a jungle to them. But I longed for a guide; it makes such a difference. (If you ever go to Kauai be sure to visit their little Botanical Garden -- it's a gem.)

Our final stop was Hilo, the biggest city in many ways: size, population, orchid production, port, amount of rain...

We found the big market and picked up a few trinkets, headed to a guitar shop where Tomcat bought his own ukulele (so he and Little Man can play together), and then I found our best cup of joe thus far at Sharks.
Boy, did we need it.