Hello, Hilo - Rain, then rain, then rainbows!

 

Wednesday February 7, 2024


 


We were greeted this morning in Hilo with a rainbow.  That was a sign!  Kona is on the west coast of Hawaii, and Hilo is on the east coast of the big island of Hawaii.  Hilo is on the side that rains.   It rains just about every single day.   It rains about 130 inches a year.  It is the wettest city in the U.S.   So, it rains every day but the sun also shines almost every day too.  You might expect that there might be some waterfalls in Hilo and you would be correct.  And rain forests too.  



Also true is that Hawaii is the only place in the U.S. that grows cacao and supports a commercial cacao industry.   You know what that means… Chocolate.   Lots of it.  In fact, one of our first stops on our tour bus today is a chocolate factory. It’s called Big Island Chocolates.  It’s ingenious.   You walk in, they hand you a small sample of chocolate with macadamia nuts and a small cup of Kona coffee.   The rest takes care of itself.  People are throwing money at them and boxes of chocolates of all kinds are flying off the shelves.   I know because I personally carried out several myself, but not the chocolate covered squid!  In fact, as I type this, I reach down and pull out a box.  I think I will sample some just to be sure I am not misleading anyone about how good it is!  Chocolate and macadamia nuts go well together.




We also visited Liliuokalani Gardens, reminiscent of Japanese gardens, and dotted with banyan trees named after famous people of Hawaii or visitors to Hawaii.  There was one named after Babe Ruth!





Our next stop is a quick one at the statue of King Kamehameha.  The main one is in Honolulu, but this one is like it, just smaller! I mentioned him yesterday so I won’t go into any more details now other than, first king, united Hawaii, ate Cook.  Nuff said.



But on with our journey.   Our bus takes us up into the rainforest to Akaka Falls State Park.   After a half mile trek along an easy walkway, we come to a set of 2 spectacular 442 foot waterfalls.  These falls help create the lush vegetation and unfamiliar flowers that surrounds you as you make your way along the path.  The falls were impressive.  Everything here was big!














We then went to Rainbow Falls - another beautiful set of falls with some incredibly large banyan trees!








The rain is what makes this side of the island so special!  It is truly a tropical paradise.






Our last stop was at the zoo.  The Panaewa Zoo and Gardens was just the place to end the day.    Complete with all kinds of animals and beautiful flowers and trees, we enjoyed them all.  See below for Vi's photographic chronicle of the afternoon!























Just as a rainbow greeted us this morning, a rainbow saw us out on our sail away!



Aloha again, and we will see you tomorrow in Honolulu - I can already hear the theme song to Hawaii 5-0 !!!











LeRoy & Vi


Location: Hilo, HI 96720, USA

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2024 at 9:52 PM

    Love Hawaii! Great memories. Happy for you guys. Hope it's smooth sailing for the rest of your trip.

    ReplyDelete

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