Hilo

I imagine distint, misty volcanoes… trees with ripe fruit to be eaten… high surf and clean water… waterfalls… hidden groves in the forest… flowers everywhere… ahhh I imagine it to be like heaven!

Someday, someday soon, this is going to be my city. My place. It is everything I want in my city. It has first of all the friendliest people in the world living there and being there. It is all about aloha.

Hilo is th e gateway to the rest of the Big Island, and the gateway to the rest of the world.

It has Cafe Pesto, one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. You sit in there and look out on Hilo Bay, through palm trees, and eat yummy food and drink tropical drinks. Across the way is a fabulous gallery, and down the street, the Hamakua Coastline. Waterfalls, botanical gardens, dreams come true. The other way, big city beaches where you can swim with sea turtles. OK, you don’t think Hilo is big city? It has Ken’s House of Pancakes and a Harley Davidson rental place. Is that not big city for you?

And did I mention is it gorgeous?

And has the Tsunami Museum?

I love Hilo.

I met my father for the first time in Hilo, Hawaii = February 2007. What a beautiful place = I can’t wait to go back next year.

Things I liked
1. Overall, friendly patient people, very down to earth.
2. The food: Farmers market, Ken’s House of Pancakes, Hiro’s, 1 Plus 1 Cafe were all good. Lots of food for cheap.
3. University of Hawaii at Hilo.
4. Downtown Hilo with restaurants, small shops, and the farmers market.
5. Rainbow Falls close to town.
6. Hamakua Coast on the way up to Waimea/Waipio, one of the nicest drives I’ve been on.
7. Close to Volcano, reasonably close to black sand beaches, even driving around the island and back can be done in under a day.

Things I didn’t like
1. Coqui frogs.
2. Beaches are rocky (which makes sense, given that parts of this side of the island are really young), though a black sand beach is fairly (~45 min.) close by.
3. While there’s not a lot of people per se, and while places like the shopping malls have a lot of parking, everybody goes there creating (relative) parking problems.

Check out the Japanese lunch spot on the main drag (facing the bay)!