The kids got the family up early, as normal. A quick breakfast and we were on the road to Hilo. We drove Saddle Rd. across the island, which is a windy, rough road. The kids did fine, without any car sickness or complaining. Of course, the kids did play their iPods most of the trip, which certainly helped.
As we were getting closer to Hilo, Noah ask for us to put on his "Alvin H0" book-on-CD, and we listened to it for about 45 minutes as we made our way to downtown Hilo. The book seems pretty good so far, and Noah & Katy both seemed to be enjoying it.
First stop was downtown Hilo for the farmers market and to walk around. The kid's attention was quickly attracted to the candy store across from the farmer's market. Of course we couldn't leave until half-a-pound of retro candy had been acquired.
Shortly after arriving, the bottom fell out of the sky and torrential rain ensued. We hid out for a while at the farmers market and then made a mad dash to a little hole-in-the-wall pizza and Mexican place (nice combo!), Aloha Luigi. The kids enjoyed their New York-style cheese pizza and we hit the road again.
Next stop was the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Gardens just north of Hilo. Fortunately, the rain took a break for a while and we got to enjoy most of the gardens without rain. The kids actually enjoyed it and had a lot of commentary on the plants and surroundings. Noah made it his mission to ward off all th bugs with his personal "Off" insect repellent device. About 2/3s of the way through the park, the downfall of rain started again (it is a tropical rainforest, after all). Fortunately we picked up some loaner umbrellas at the start of the gardens, and made it back to the car mostly dry.
The last stop in Hilo was the Imalou Planetarium. The kids had fun with the exhibits and actually really enjoyed the planetarium talk and video. Noah enjoyed the display of the night sky and the identifications of the constellations so much that he ask to come so he could bring his iPod and record the discussion. We will definitely be heading back sometime with that much interest.
The ride back was mostly uneventful, but filled with glimpses of beautiful scenery as we drove along the north coast from Hilo.
Once we made it to Wiamea, both the kids were crying from hunger pains, and begged for some Macdonalds or Burger King. Since they have been eating at "Mom & Dad" restaurants the last few days, we indulged them with some BKs.
We finished off the evening with a round of Glow Putt-Putt Golf on the seaside course at the resort. Noah had a lot of fun with that.
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