Coming to Hawaii

[yaris-me]

I'm coming home for a week, May 7 to 13. I'll be in the Pearl City area. If anyone wants to meet, let me know.

[yarisugi]

You have friends/relatives in Pearl City?

[yaris-me]

Friends and relatives.

[PETERPOOP]

are you a boy or a girl? lol

[Loren]

Right behind you! I'll be there from May 12-20, but will be staying in the Hilo area on the big island.

[bkrownd]

Originally Posted by Loren

Right behind you! I'll be there from May 12-20, but will be staying in the Hilo area on the big island.

I see that you are keen to get far away from Sun and tourists. ;) Congrats on bypassing the trendy artsy hamlets and beachy plastic mega-resorts, and heading straight for the real thing. Your cholesterol will rise like a rocket within hours of landing at the home of moco loco, spam musubi and fried-gristle bentos. (heh, kind of like going to the state fair...)

Unfortunately you'll miss our famous rainy season. Nothing is more snooze-inducing than the "WOOOOOSH!" of a passing squall on thousands of corrugated roofs, and that gentle cool breeze it pushes in front of it, followed by a restful drip-drip-drip sound. You can sleep all day long here in the rainy season (under thick blankets). May and June can get pretty dry, before July brings a little blip of wetness again.

Car break-ins are common here, so leave it spotless inside and with the empty glove compartment open. Sitting on broken glass is a bit of a bummer.

You are probably already well-acquainted with lizards on the wall and centipedes. Please don't bring any Florida critters to add to the menagerie.

[Loren]

Yep, we're going to HI to see those things uniquely Hawaiian. Tourist traps and beaches? We've got those here! Volcanos, desolate lava fields, mountains and seaside cliffs... we don't have stuff like that.

We're on the "rainy side" of the island, but we're hoping it won't be TOO wet.

My wife has scoped out lots of places to go, things to see and do... and food to eat. But, if you know of any places on the big island that we're not likely to have found on the internet, we'd love to hear about them! Maybe we can hook up for dinner some evening?

[yaris-me]

Originally Posted by PETERPOOP

are you a boy or a girl? lol

I'm a man. You're not my type, unless you have a Vagina.

[yaris-me]

Originally Posted by Loren

Right behind you! I'll be there from May 12-20, but will be staying in the Hilo area on the big island.

Hamakua has always been my favorite area. I thought that if I had money I would retire between Waimea and Hamakua.

[Loren]

Originally Posted by yaris-me

Hamakua has always been my favorite area. I thought that if I had money I would retire between Waimea and Hamakua.

We plan to spend some time in that area. If the weather cooperates, we may even venture down into Waipio Valley.

[yaris-me]

Originally Posted by Loren

We plan to spend some time in that area. If the weather cooperates, we may even venture down into Waipio Valley.

Have a nice vacation.

[nemelek]

Originally Posted by Loren

Right behind you! I'll be there from May 12-20, but will be staying in the Hilo area on the big island.

We were there for our 10th wedding anniversary on March 1st. Hilo was too wet and Kona coast was too dry. However, I loved it. If I were to buy a second home anywhere in the US, the Big Island would be my choice.

Because astronomy is a huge passion of mine, seeing the telescopes was well worth the trip.

Have a great time.

[fujiwaru]

Originally Posted by yaris-me

I'm coming home for a week, May 7 to 13. I'll be in the Pearl City area. If anyone wants to meet, let me know.

woohh!! thats my last week of school for me since I'm a senior and just about to graduate! XD The 13 is my last day of school

[bkrownd]

Originally Posted by Loren

But, if you know of any places on the big island that we're not likely to have found on the internet, we'd love to hear about them!

I spend all my time in the wilderness, doing fairly esoteric wilderness things. I can give you info on places that are not near the coast. I don't ever get near the coast - I'm very busy up there on the mountainsides.

Unfortunately there aren't many restaurants here that I like - only a couple unassuming places in Hilo like Miyo's. I'm not much into eating out these days. An interesting read about the local food options is www.bigislandgrinds.com

[bkrownd]

Originally Posted by Loren

Right behind you! I'll be there from May 12-20, but will be staying in the Hilo area on the big island.

Can you smell the vog already?? Weather is stabilizing a bit recently...

[Loren]

Dude, I've become totally worthless at work, obsessed with this trip. My wife is even worse, she's like a little kid waiting to go to Disneyland! Good thing we're leaving Wednesday.

We've got a handful of "must do" things and a long list of possibilities for anywhere that we happen to find ourselves on the island, but we're mostly going to try to take a casual "island" approach and just take it as it comes. If you know of any really cool places inland that don't require 4WD to get to, lemme know. I think most of the inland stuff we're doing is waterfall-related except for a trek up to Mauna Kea.

Might rent a 4WD for a day or two to hit the summit of Mauna Kea if we deem it worthwhile, plus a couple other out-of-the-way places down south I'd like to see. But, with the horror stories I've read about people getting screwed over for "damage" from the rental companies, I'm leaning toward skipping that. Again... taking it as it comes. If it seems like the thing to do, we'll do it!

Hey, here's a question for you... we're going to be on the island for 9 days, but only one weekend. What high-traffic areas should we try to hit on that weekend to avoid crowds as much as possible? Read somewhere that weekends are dead in a lot of places because people tend to arrive on Monday and leave on Friday. Is that true? If so, I was thinking we should probably hit the busy Kona area on the weekend... but the wildcard is, what if the locals spend their weekend time there, and it's actually LESS busy during the week? I just don't know. Thoughts?

So far, we know we're devoting Thursday to seeking lava. (starting the day with a boat tour, and most of the rest of the day exploring the area east of the current lava flow) Friday, Cathy wants to do some Vanilla farm lunch thing and we'll roam the area north of Hilo taking in waterfalls and botanical gardens and whatever. Nothing beyond that is set in stone.

[yarisugi]

Originally Posted by Loren

Dude, I've become totally worthless at work, obsessed with this trip. My wife is even worse, she's like a little kid waiting to go to Disneyland! Good thing we're leaving Wednesday.

So funny! Sorry, I don't know much about Hawaii, but lava is flowing like a second-day period - and onto paved roads so they moved the view area(s) further back to avoid any injuries.

[bkrownd]

Originally Posted by Loren

Dude, I've become totally worthless at work, obsessed with this trip.

At least you've got something worthwhile to do at work, then. ;) (oops, look busy the boss is coming...!)