Hilo

I know this is a little late, but sooo much happened in Hawai'i that I felt the need to split it into two posts. Hilo was BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING! Day 1 was RIDICULOUS (and in case you were wondering, yes all of the caps are necessary because that's how good it was, lol). I awoke on the first day in Hilo in just enough time to watch the sunrise over the lusciously green mountains that compose the island of Hawa'i. After clearing customs, and calling everyone to say hello (having cell phone reception was such a wonderful thing, and it will be missed), I proceeded to get dress and head out for the day with some friends. At the end of the terminal we encountered a tour guide named Hector, who would turn out to be a blessing in disguise and one of the coolest and most hilarious guys we would meet in Hilo. Hector took us on a tour of the island, where we saw the volcano, the mountains, the waterfall, and one of the many black sand beaches. But before seeing all of the beautiful and tropical things that Hawai'i had to offer, Hector took us to this restaurant named Verna's to have a traditional Hawa'ian breakfast called the Moco Loco. The Moco Loco is composed of a bed of rice, with chicken or a beef pattie on top, an egg on top of that, and all covered in brown gravy. I know it may sound a little heavy, but it was sooooo delicious! I could have eaten that all day. Toward the end of our island tour, Hector took us to another place where we had the Teri Burger, which is a regular hamburger but the pattie is dipped in teriyaki sauce. Again: DELICIOUS! After the tour I went back to my cabin to get some rest and get ready for a night out on the town in celebration of one of my newfound friends birthday. Shooter's, a local bar/club was a good time, even though there were more SASers than locals in the place, lol. After Shooter's, it was time for a late night meal at King's, another local favorite and a 24 hr breakfast spot. Imagine my surprise when I saw Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's photo on the wall behind the counter several times. Turns out he frequents King's and he is friends with the owner. Anyone who knows me know that I have been in love with this man since the tender age of 9, so this was a huge deal for me. I got pictures of the wall that held many autographed pictures of him, and savored the moment because that might have be the closest I will ever get to him *sigh.




Day 2 in Hilo was more relaxed. We took the Jeep that we rented to a beach on the other side of the island where we swam and had a good time. It was soo beautiful. There were many locals on this beach, which was refreshing, and they were really laid back. You could tell that a lot of people who would be called hippies come to Hawai'i because of the feel of the island. People we smoking marijuana on the beach, making hats and picking up shells. If I had to choose one word to describe the island of Hawai'i it would be paradise. I was extremely sad to leave Hilo with its laid back island feel for the big city of Honolulu.