Hilo, Hawaii Photo Gallery by Thomas on Islands at pbase.com

Hilo, Hawaii

Hilo as seen in January 2007
We came to Hilo for the first time. Compared to the manicured and fancy Lahaina on Maui, the appearance of the city was quite a shock to us. We knew of the two Tsunamis in a relatively recent time, but we were not prepared for the "boarded up," abandoned impression of Hilo at a Saturday afternoon. We understand modest, maybe even simply more authentic, but we did not expected to see such neglect on many places.

Finally we found some open doors on the waterfront, and a truly magnificent restaurant Cafe Pesto, with great cuisine. For the first time we ate edible Orchids! We also liked to shop and take snacks at the "Abundant Life" store. As the time passed on, we developed some level of attachment to Hilo. The city became a face, we discovered its individual unique character.

C4033 Hilo Hawaiian	N1309 View at the Coconut Island	N1312 One of cruise ships parading in front of us	C4100 Dwarfing the Palm Trees	C4104 Hi-Tech Bow
N1478 Not much sun, but all these rainbows...	P359 One of the Banyans along Banyan Drive	P632 Babe Ruth Banyan	N1907 Mauna Kea as seen from our room	C4097 Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea
N1909 Liliuokalani Gardens	N1910 Liliuokalani Gardens	N1913 Liliuokalani Gardens	N1915 The Tsunami Clock	N1916 Commemorative board at the clock
C4452 Pacific Tsunami Museum	C4453 Pacific Tsunami Museum	C4455 Pacific Tsunami Museum	C4041 Typical Historic Site Plaque	C4042 Hilo
C4044 Hilo	C4456 This is also Hilo	C4478 Hilo	C4479 Hilo	C4053 S. Hata Building
C4501 Cafe Pesto	C4057 At Cafe Pesto	C0952 Edible Orchids at Cafe Pesto	C4059 Art Gallery, the only one open late evening...	C4063 Rain belongs to Hilo
C4066 Tropical Rain	C4067 Mauna Kea seen over Hilo	C4472 Lyman House and Museum	C4471 Plaque at the Lyman Missionary House	N1928 Uphill, finer part of Hilo
C4459 St Joseph Church	C4476 St Joseph Church	C4461 St Joseph Church	C4463 St Joseph Church	C4464 St Joseph Church
C4466 St Joseph Church	C4482 Hongwanji Buddhist Temple	C4484 Hongwanji Buddhist Temple	C4489 Plantation Museum	C4490 Plantation Museum
C4498 Local cousin at Cronies	C4499 Art Gallery with Books	C4500 Books books books	C4504 Cruise ship departing	C4506 Huge Cruise Ships kept parading day and nights
N1468 Kamehameha I

comment |

Guest		15-Aug-2007 06:59
Superb gallery, well done

Thomas on Islands		30-May-2007 02:06
Selvin: Thanks, and we thank for your images, which we visit on many occasions. I like the "theme collections" in your galleries. Regarding Hilo, or rather the Hawai'i as such, I have been indeed neglecting this Island for a very long time. I do not know why, actually. Somehow we rather returned to the smaller Islands on Hawaii several times, or even crossed the entire Ocean to see other archipelagos, without have stopped on The Big Island for an exploration tour. I am fascinated, and I will try to come back!

Selvin Chance		30-May-2007 01:51
Glad you finally made it to Hilo. Given your extensive travels thru the islands I was surprised you hadn't been there yet. Hilo has been described as being for either "The newly wed" or the "newly dead." They do roll up the streets after 7:00pm except for a few places. Cafe Pesto is one example. The great tourist wave that has benefitted Kailua-Kona (depending on your point of view) missed Hilo. Only recently, Cruise Ships have been stopping frequently. When sugar was no longer king and the bottom fell out of the orchid business Hilo was left out in the cold. Walmart is the main attraction for local Hiloites since it stays open till mid-night. For Hilo and surrounding areas take a look at: http://www.pbase.com/selvin/hilo Aloha and thanks for sharing your shots.

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