A Fun Day on the Big Island

Today was one of those fun days that come along whenever we get to travel together that really just about as good as it gets.  We arrived in Hilo last night and it was raining cats and dogs and kept up all night long.  But then, joy of joys, the morning broke and the sun came out.  So we decided to make a day of it.

We started off at a local diner -- Ken's House of Pancakes -- that was just a hoot.  12 types of pancake; 15 types of omelet, endless coffee and plenty of local color.  We had the papaya and guava juice and the guy at the next table had loco moke (rice, meat, eggs and gravy in a bowl) -- which looked scrumptious.  Next time.

Then it was off on adventure.  We started off at Rainbow Falls, just above Hilo.  With the heavy rains last night it was running heavy and if you look close you can see the rainbows from the fall.

Then we took over Saddle Road -- a 50 mile highway that runs through the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.  Unfortunately we couldn't see either summit (clouds) but the terrain we saw was stunning.   The volcanic lava fields were  just overwhelming in their starkness -- it looked like something out of Mordor or Game of Thrones frankly.

Then it was down in to Kona, where we stopped for lunch at the Bite Me Bar and Grill.  Highly, highly recommended.  Indeed, the fresh Ahi taco we ate was tuna that had been caught that very morning and landed a couple of hours before we were served.

After lunch we took a walk on the beach in an area that happened to be a large turtle preserve.  Dozens on turtles wandered the shoreline (albeit something that slow can hardly be said to wander) and enjoyed basking in the sun, as did we.

Then it was back over the saddle to Hilo and we now await the evening reception for the class Paul will be teaching tomorrow.