Hilo

Having done enough research to satisfy ourselves that our land purchase is a good one and should go through – with a projected closing date in mid-February – we're spending a few days exploring the wet side of the island. Hilo is the center of the universe over here, and in fact the largest town on the island with a population of over 43,000. It's also the capital of the county of Hawaii, which includes all of the Big Island. Hilo isn't really known as a tourist destination – that distinction belongs to the Kona area and all it's great beaches on the dry side of the island. What Hilo is known for is rain, lots and lots of rain – somewhere between 125 and 200 inches per year, depending on which weather station you choose. That keeps all the parks lush and green, but it also gives a distinctly mildewy smell to any poorly ventilated interior space, including the bedroom of our current rental accommodations.

Hilo is a bit old and worn, having suffered a couple of devastating tsunamis in 1946 and 1960, and the collapse of the local sugarcane industry in the 1990s. It reminds me of the former timber town Aberdeen back in Washington State, another somewhat depressed, rain-sodden victim of economic obsolescence. Still, there are worthy sites here, including a fantastic tropical botanical garden, waterfalls, an astronomy center at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, an old missionary house turned museum, a big farmer's market, a tsunami museum, and some nice waterfront parks where much of the town used to be before the tsunami's redecorated. And, oddly enough, it has hardly rained at all in the three days we've been here.

 Above Rainbow Falls

 Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden

 Falls in the botanical garden

 Deborah tries on her new leaf dress

 Astronomy Center at University of Hawaii-Hilo

Stylish 3-D glasses for the planetarium show

 Lili'uokalani Park in Hilo

 Strange fuzzy orb on a type of short palm tree