Hawaii - Day 8

Today was another travel day.  The day started as we rushed around the hotel room packing all of our stuff.  After all the panic, it was a day of sitting around, as we waited until 10am to check out, then waited until 12:50pm for our ride to the airport and then waited until 3:40pm for our flight to leave.

During the morning, we did a bit more shopping, grabbed a pizza for lunch and ate in the hotel's outside common area, while the kids played with all the free sand toys that the hotel had.

The flight was short and we arrived in Hilo (on the Big Island) just before 5:00pm.  We have quite a few bags between all of us, so a porter offered to take our stuff for a tip, so I took him up on his offer, especially since he knew where the Alamo kiosk was.  We went there, got our rental cars, spent a long time getting the car seats installed and then drove to the house we are renting.

The drive was OK, as I brought my GPS and I had my phone (with a GPS), until the end, as the map showed there was only one road into the area where the house was.  We turned down that road only to discover that the entire road was closed.  Confused, we stopped a short distance away, and while I look through my maps to figure out what other possible way we could could go, Charles went to a nearby house and asked the lady who lived there.  It turns out there is a detour a few blocks away, though you have to drive through a bunch of "Dead End" and "Private Driveway" signs to get there.

The road the house is on is extremely narrow and there is nowhere to stop or park.  The driveway down to the house is very steep and you are advised to back down it, since backing up it would be impossible.  (Frankly, I think backing down it would be impossible as well.)  There is a parking area for about four cars just beside the driveway, but when we arrived it had three cars in it, leaving us one spot short.  Eventually we parked the van on the start of the driveway and then hauled everything in to the house.

The house is very nice and sits in a secluded valley with a waterfall in the backyard.  I tried walking down to it in my sandals, but there is no path and I fell down as soon as I got off the stairs, so I headed back to the house.  I may try again when I am wearing proper footwear.

By the time we got a bit settled in the house it was late, and since the sun sets at 6:30pm, it was also dark.  We drove off to a supermarket to get some food and ordered some pizzas from a Pizza Hut in the parking lot.

After supper, the kids were exhausted, so we got them all into bed.  The plan tomorrow is to explore Volcanoes National Park and the Black Sand Beach.

However, the best part about being in a house in Hilo is that we once again have working wireless!  I have taken the time to go back and add pictures to all the blog posts from this trip, so feel free to go back through and see those.