Later That Same Day

Hilo harbor

Two of the reasons I wanted to go to Hilo were to once again experience the Observatories and to connect with and old friend I hadn't seen in many years. I tracked her down by googling her maiden name, found her father's obituary with her married name, and found her address on a real estate site. Then a snail mail letter, and Bob's your uncle. Ah, the wonders of the Internet!

View from Lucy's deck

Finding the AirBnB I reserved was ridiculously challenging. Google was confused by two streets with the same name, and kept sending me to the wrong one. Finally straightened it out by driving around until I got lucky – good thing I got there during daylight. The place (Lucy’s Place) was well-kitted out, however, in very pretty surroundings. A perfect set-up for one or two people. The Murphy bed was comfortable, and the view of the pool was lovely (as was the pool!). With the bed up, it’s easy to appreciate the well-equipped kitchen, open room and dining set-up outside on the deck.

 

 

 

Plenty of feral chickens around, with plenty of feral cats to keep them company. 

 My friend and I decided to go out to dinner, to one of her favorites, a little Thai place in old town, the New Chiang Mai on Kalakaua St. Decent food, average prices, and surprisingly uncrowded. Of course, that could have been the Covid-style table spacing. I was relieved to find the old town still existed, given the malls on the south side of town. I guess it’s what passes as authentic these days: tourist shops take up the former hole-in-the-wall shops that existed before. Quite a few places were closed, or offering short hours and days. I explored much more the next day.

             The old Kress building on Kamehameha Blvd.