"Big Island - Big Sights" a Hilo Travel Page by rexvaughan

I won't have any hotel tips on this page as we spent our time on the Big Island with my brother and sister-in-law in a house they had rented. It was a very nice and spacious place sitting right on the bay. There was no beach as the shore is solid black volcanic rock. It made for nice sprays as the waves crased into it. Each morning it seemed the sunrise was more brilliant than the day before. Fortunately, the days were fairly short in Feb so I didn't have to arise early to get this photo.

Hilo is the second largest city in Hawaii and traces its history back about 1000 years. It was a whaling center then a commercial shipping center then a sugar growing, processing and shipping center. I am not sure what the major industry is now but I suspect tourism is a large factor. It is a delightful and manageable old city.

Even though Hawaii doesn't have anything I would call summer, the plants go through their bloom cycles, probably dictated by the length or shortness of the days. So some things were not blooming or just starting, but there were still incredible flowers all over. One evidence of how lush tropical flowers are here is that the bouquets in the picture cost $5. We figure at home if you could get it the cost would be more like $74.

In addition to bargain flowers, the fruits are not only somewhat exotic to us mainlanders but fresh, sweet and cheap. This is a collection of local stuff including pineapple (of course), green beans (?) papaya, mango, rambutan, bananas (small and called apple bananas for some reason), one of the bouquets of flowers and some wine from a the Volcano Winery.