Last Night Here

November 10 2010 by Darrin.

Funny…  We’re really looking to head home tomorrow.  We have to wait until 2200 to fly out, and we have to be out of here by 1300, so that leaves 9 hours to kill before the airport, then about ten hours of three flights to get to Denver, then four hours to drive to Douglas.  Even more funny…  SNOW IN DENVER Thursday.  It will likely make that four hour drive into an eight hour killer!  Oh well…  We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it - or more realistically, many, many ice-covered bridges all the way home.

Today, I promised Anna I’d not venture out to sink into hot lava tonight.  We spent the daylight hours exploring some back roads again, all on on the mauka (inland/mountain) side of the Belt Road.  There are numerous little churches like this one…

…and idyllic landscapes with horses and cows grazing…

We found lots of properties for sale, and many vacant houses perched high up over the ocean.  The places are finished, but empty! (?)  What’s the deal?  Speculation?  Burgled? Beware of Dog sign didn’t work?   In 2006, the average home price around Hilo was $400K.  Right now it’s $260K.  Maybe people are just “sitting” on them and not putting them on the market…

We eventually drifted back to Laupahoehoe Point.  It’s a favorite for us.  (You can even rent an old Buddhist Temple here - the whole thing - as lodging for $100/night.  It sleeps ten people!)  Anyway, the coastline is stunning no matter the direction you look, and we found a rock that would hold the camera for us…

This evening before dark, we made one more 18 mile run into Hilo and checked out a big Japanese garden/park…

We going to try and catch up on sleep tonight, with the 36-hour-awake-’til-home schedule starting tomorrow morning. 

Wish us luck.  The snow awaits!

Posted in Hawaii, 2010 | 1 Comment »