Day 6

Finally, it was time to leave the resort and explore the other side of the Big Island.  This day would be predominantly a road trip. I had decided on a souvenir, so we stopped at a shoe shop in the market area where I picked out a pair of authentic locally made flip flops which are known on the island as slippers.  Normally, I'd never pay $50 for flip flops, but these were very nice- thick soles and cushy floral printed fabric on top and no between-the-toe- pieces.  I can't wear thong style flip flops- they hurt my feet.  I was on a mission to find made in Hawaii products. Even the plastic hair flowers were made in China!

As we headed out in the car, we drove past more variety in the landscape.  We saw rolling green hills that looked like sleeping giants under grassy blankets.  We reached a town called Waimea.  Since we didn't have to be anywhere by any particular time, we got out of the car when we arrived at a farmer's market.  The weather was a bit drizzly but not too bad.  It was fun to see a farmer's market in Hawaii with all it's unique vegetation.  One tent had all sorts of different flavored macadamia nuts.  I nibbled on so many samples, we figured it was only fair to make a purchase.  We decided on mango, kona coffee, and coconut curry.

As we continued to travel, the landscape changed.  Soon, we were driving through lush rainforests with deep gorges.  We came to a look out stop and got out of the car again to gaze at a distant shoreline.

We got to Hilo around lunch time.  It turns out Hilo was actually named for all the rain it gets...mark that on the list of things I wish I'd known before we arrived!  Sure enough, we were greeted with a rain shower.

On the Travel Channel, I'd heard about a popular Hawaiian dish called the plate lunch.  Basically, it's a pile of rice, meat, and eggs.  I kept saying I wanted to try it.  Our guidebook suggested a place called Cafe 100.  It was just a large counter service dive, but lots of locals ate there.  Derek and I both ordered variations of plate lunches- I think mine had spam, sausage, and a hamburger patty- yummy!  But oh- way too much food.  I should have gone for the smaller loco moco.

We explored the town a bit, parking among a strip of shops.  We caught the tail end of another farmer's market.  There was also a little candy shop with lots of different flavored taffy.

Our last part of our afternoon in Hilo was the Lyman Museum- a historical museum attached to an old mission house.  The house itself was closed for the day, but we didn't know if we'd be back in the area so we decided to just go through the small museum.  It gave a quick overview of the island plus a special Korean house exhibit- a hands on mock up of an old Korean home.  Hands on things are always fun to explore.  In the museum's giftshop, I found a locally made Hawaiian synthetic flower hair scrunchie- another item on my quest for local souvenirs.

Our bed and breakfast for the next few nights was at the Lotus Cottages in Volcano Village about half an hour from Hilo.  It was in a very secluded area surrounded mainly by private homes and rainforest.  What a difference from staying at a fancy resort!  The air was so quiet.  All you could hear was the patter of light rain on the leaves.  There were a few cars parks on the patch of grass by the entrance.  We found our host- a man from Korea I think- in one of the little huts.  He gave us a key and led us to our cottage.  It was like a tree house!  There was a set of wooden steps to get up to the entrance.  I never saw any other guests the whole time we were there.  The room was gorgeous!  The mattress was plush and soft, the bedspread was fluffy.  A kitchen nook took up a corner and had bottles of water waiting for us.  There were huge windows with bamboo blinds and a loft overhead.  Little Asian and Hawaiian knick knacks filled the shelves.  I even found a leg massager!

We were in such a secluded area that there were few dining options- a Thai place, a lodge, and some quick service sandwich place.  We chose the lodge- although it was very busy and we had to wait.  It was a German place.  The menu had some exotic meet on it- ordering antelope was an option!  Derek and I both played it safe and ordered chicken.  Derek later read that the antelope was from a range on the mainland...what fun is that?

We made it an early night that night.  Derek planned to drag me out of bed before dawn the next morning in order to photograph the glow of an active volcano at the park the next morning.

Day 5

Today was the day we had reserved for general exploration of the area.  We started with another cereal breakfast at Lagoon Spoon, then took the rental car out in the same direction we had ended up going the day before surrounded by rock writings.  We passed what looked like a place to tum in and explore last time, so this time we decided to check it out.  The sign said Kekaha Kai State Park.

It wasn't much of a road.  It, in fact, was really just a path formed out of the lava rock and was completely unpaved.  We slowly inched the car along, bumping and jolting and vibrating for what seemed like ages, hoping the tires could take it. Eventually, we got to a little paved parking lot so we got out and explored.  We found a small beach with few people around.  The most interesting thing there was a sign on a palm tree that read "Caution falling coconuts."  I took off my shoes for a moment to wade in the water.

We saw a sign to what was supposed to be a trail, but as we walked, all we saw was more lava with the occasional green plant sticking up.  The lava was brittle.  It felt like walking over slabs of plaster.  It amused us for a bit, and we found some funny places to pose Stitch, but it didn't take long for us to get our fill.

We drove the car back through the rocky road and returned to the main highway.  A little farther down, we found another inlet.  This time a parking lot and visitors center were clearly visible from the road.  We talked briefly with the ranger then headed down a paved path.  This trail was much nicer.  Instead of resembling the surface of the moon, it actually had plenty of plantlife- flowers, fruit, grass, etc.  Nothing amazing, but it was a nice walk.  We even passed through a boardwalk area where you could see some ancient drawings on the rocks.

After a while, we reached a little beach area.  It had a recreation of a native council house.  We paused there for a while and watched a sea turtle swim at the edge of the tide.  Then we walked back through the trail and returned to the car.

We continued down the main highway until we arrived at the same area we had found the day before.  We wanted to visit some of the places that had been closed for the day last time.  Having a guidebook helped us find a place to eat.  We chose a place called Annie's Burgers where I, oddly enough, ordered a chicken sandwich.  We also had an order of their signature onion rings- so good!

Because we had an earlier start this time, we had the chance to go on a tour at one of the local coffee plantations.  We ended up at a place called Greenwell Coffee where we arrived just in a time to join a tour group.  It was just a small group with a handful of couples.  We were by far the youngest.  The guide told us that their particular coffee farm had existed since the 19th century.  Many coffee farms exist in that area because it is one of the few areas on the island with just the right amount of rain.  They showed us how the coffee beans were still handpicked to make sure they only used the best ones.  Coffee fruit before the bean is removed looks a lot like cherries.  We saw huge surfaces covered in beans being dried out in the sun.

When we returned to the little shop at the beginning, they had several stations of free samples.  I tried them, but all coffee tastes bitter and gross to me- even ones marked chocolate flavored!

After our tour, we drove back to the strip of shops we had stopped by the day before.  This time, it was early enough that they were all open.  One of the shops was called Just Ukes, and that is exactly what it was- a shop full of ukeleles and everything that goes with them- including real life versions of the hula outfit American Girl made for Kanani, big full skirts made from layers of colorful fabric.  I was tempted to buy one, but they were not cheap, and where on earth would I wear it?  I did buy a little wooden ukelele shaped magnet.

Soon we needed to head back because we had tickets for that night's luau at the hotel.  I think if we return, I'd like to try a less touristy version, but this was fine for an introduction.  We followed a path down to the staging area where they threw leis and a uke at us for the mandatory photograph they try to sell you later.  We didn't even get to keep the leis!  They tried to sell them to us.

The luau was in a big courtyard filled with rows of picnic tables with a stage at the front.  Everyone sat together family style.  Buffet tables were set up in the back and included a full roasted pig.  Our show tickets included two alcoholic drinks, but our server never showed up a second time for another order!  I had a strawberry swirled pina colada.

The tables were called up one row at a time to start the buffet lines.  They had a lot of good items at the salad bar- I jumped at any chance for coconut!  I finally tried poi which looks like purple pudding but has more of a vegetable taste- not my favorite.  I did try the poke too which is raw tuna, but not surprisingly, I didn't care for that either.

The other food included pork, purple sweet potatoes of some sort, chicken, yummy sweet bread, etc.  I, of course, favored the dessert table with even more coconut in the form of cake and flan.  And there was no absence of chocolate either.

At first, they just had some random Hawaiian people singing in the background or a woman teaching everyone a little hula, and I thought- this *can't* be it!  It wasn't....once everyone was eating, the real show began.  It was everything you'd expect- hula, high energy Tahitian dancing, fire dancing, etc.  It made you want to get up and try it.

We didn't interact a whole lot with our table mates.  We found ourselves in the middle with conversations on both sides of us and no one making any effort to bring us in.  The two of us both being shy didn't help.

After the luau, it wasn't too terribly late- I don't think it was even 9pm.  So we spent the rest of the evening strolling around the resort.  The wind whipped around us, and some of the pathways were surprisingly dark.  The next day we would finally leave the resort and see the other side of the island.