Hawaii Diary
Monday, March 30 - Hilo with the Olsons
Part II
Following our visit to the Lyman Museum and Mission House we had a very pleasant lunch at Bears, at 106 Keawe. Once again we were impressed by the fact that Hilo is the type of town where the residents actually know each other and speak to each other. That is becoming so rare today.
Following lunch we made a whirlwind tour of some of the really pretty as well as a couple of the sometimes overlooked sites around Hilo. We visited Rainbow Falls, which is a major tourist attraction, but we then ventured to some more off the beaten track sites such as Boiling Pots and Kaumana Caves.
Kaumana caves is a really neat lava tube - far more impressive that the Thurston Lava Tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and well worth a visit. As a hint, remember to take a flashlight and explore the cave to your right as you descend the stairs.
From Kaumana it was north along the coast past Honoli'i Beach Park to Onomea Bay and the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Gardens.
Let me say that a visit to the Hilo area without a visit to this place. The Botanical Garden is filled with wonderful flowers and other plant life from around the world including all of the major plants and flowers found throughout Hawaii. You will also find stunningly beautiful waterfalls and views of the ocean which are breathtaking.
As an amateur photographer these gardens are heaven.
By the time we finished our walk though the gardens it was already late afternoon. We returned briefly to our room at the beautiful Hawaii Naniloa Resort and then it was off to a very pleasant dinner with Bob and Gayle at Uncle Billy's Hilo Bay Restaurant. Let me tell you, if you visit Hilo and are looking for a place for a good, inexpensive breakfast or a very pleasant dinner with great food, good prices and super entertainment, check out Uncle Billy's. This is really a good, fun place to dine that catches the spirit of Hawaii and of Hilo very well.
After dinner it was time to bid farewell to Bob and Gayle. Once again, we could not have asked for better Guides for our visit to Hilo and it was such a pleasure to meet folks in person with whom we have chatted and shared e-mail for many months. We send Bob and Gayle all our best wishes and we'll keep our fingers crossed for you in your future endeavors.
Well, tomorrow we're back on the road on the final leg of our Hawaiian journey. We'll be driving the southern route around the island to the west side of Hawaii and the resorts at Waikaloa. I'm sure that we'll be making plenty of stops along the way, so stay tuned for tomorrow's report.
