patrick.net

We stayed at the Fairmont Orchid in Puako. Got a killer deal through Costco. Our basic room had a plumbing issue so we were upgraded to a garden/partial ocean view. Incredibly beautiful grounds. Good beach access.

I ate Mahi almost every night but I highly recommend this Italian restaurant. The short rib pizza with mascarpone os amazing.

https://pueososteria.com/

I dig Hilo but the wife doesn’t. Liliʻuokalani Gardens is really nice.

If you drive around the outskirts of town, you can find chill communities with waterfalls, streams, in total nature. I took Hawaii Belt Rd. north to Old Mamalahoa Hwy to Onomea Bay Trail and the Hawai‘i Tropical Botanical Garden. Really nice area, waterfalls, streams, lush. Now that would be a chill place to live.

Hilo does have a significant homeless population. The big pagoda-type building in the middle of town is a crash pad for all sorts.

Airbnb a better option? I don’t know how available because the state there passed some laws restricting vacation rentals.

If you can do more days you may want to consider that. My favorite thing on vacations like these is to get out and explore and the Big Island is built for that. Wife’s favorite thing was shopping in Kona (but of course).

I enjoyed seeing so much we drove around the upper half of the island. Gorgeous black sand beach just north of Kona and then along the coast. Tropical jungle on the norther tip of the island with a few charming towns. Crazy how humid it was there.

Then came down the mountain…seriously ranches and pine trees…to Waimea and then headed over to the eastern coast on 19 and then 240 north to an overlook of a valley that was featured in Jurassic park. I wish we had the time to hike down into the vally(restricted access) .

Then on the coast towards Hilo. Stopped at Akaka Falls state park. Easy pathway to overlooking the falls. My parents were both about 72 or 73 at the time and had no problems with it. I think it was like a half mile loop and was paved.

I regret not spending a day at the volcanos and driving around the southern part of the island.

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

Airbnb a better option?

I booked two VRBO's, two nights each. Hopefully that will work out well.

Airbnb was insufferably woke for the longest time, and I still haven't forgiven them for their years of overt anti-white hatred, so I went with VRBO instead.

VRBO was slightly disappointing in the booking process. One promising place listed "all fees included" and then when you start to book, imposes a $59 insurance fee. I tried to point out the dishonesty on their help page, but just got AI which told me that a mandatory fee for insurance is not a fee.

Then I called and got a woman who could not really speak English. When I explained that the hostess was lying about "all fees included" she just went silent. Last try: got some Indian guy on the phone, also hard to understand. He gave me the same bullshit line that a fee for insurance is somehow not a fee. Ugh.

Still, I have reasonably high hopes for these two rental places. I'll post how it turns out.

Did you do the steaks at the ranch?

Stayed in a fabulous vacation rental in the big island for 10 days many moons ago. Right next to the Ocean and tide pools. As much as they suck these days, esp. for longer stays they may be the better option.

Billie Eyelash will think you are going to vacation on stolen land.

mell says

Stayed in a fabulous vacation rental in the big island for 10 days many moons ago. Right next to the Ocean and tide pools.

Yes, we rented an incredible cottage for cheap a few blocks from Poipu Beach on Kauai maybe 20 years ago. Not even sure how we found it, because Airbnb didn't exist at the time.

I looked in my records. It was 22 years ago, and from https://www.kauaivacationrentals.com/

Patrick says

mell says

Stayed in a fabulous vacation rental in the big island for 10 days many moons ago. Right next to the Ocean and tide pools.

Yes, we rented an incredible cottage for cheap a few blocks from Poipu Beach on Kauai maybe 20 years ago. Not even sure how we found it, because Airbnb didn't exist at the time.

I looked in my records. It was 22 years ago, and from https://www.kauaivacationrentals.com/

Yeah and we found a guy who was a lava diver of generations and got us with his boat within 20 ft of the active Volcanoes with the lava flowing into the ocean and you had to brush any ashes falling on your skin off immediately. I think it was all Craigslist.

Much less regulated and monopolized back then, hence much better quality of what you were looking for, despite being a gamble. We left before sunrise and when we got back into that little deserted shore/bay we departed from, the surf was so high that it threw my gf back then through the boat so she had to get stitched. He had yelled to hold on really tight well before so can't really fault him.

Read that he was charged a couple years later with some bs after a couple from OR, likely leftoids, sued him for some "dangerous experience". It was a truly amazing trip.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/02/26/lava-tour-company-operator-face-another-lawsuit-over-lava-bomb-incident/

https://www.naturepl.com/stock-photo-videographer-shane-turpin-films-pillow-lava-erupting-underwater-at-image01170238.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq4gH_qsUqkYAxgm48LAnV59qTv0ZFqc50uA1RNAMqpIEvgpm0X