local economy

It's essential that you come to Hilo with a marketable skill, but that's not enough to save you here. You need to get off the plane with plan.
One of the Hawaiian rules is: There are two ways to be rich, earn more or want less.
That looks great on a T Shirt, but the reality of wanting less here means living in a house with no electrcity, running water or sewage, and being in an isolated area where the nearest store of any kind is a 15 minutes drive. While it's a romantic notion to give up your materialism and want less, it's very very difficult and it's something you need to be aware of.

There are several stores in downtown Hilo that will be closing in the next few months. This could be the beginning of a recession, it could be the price of island life. Eitherway, it sucks.

If you do move here without a plan and you're scrounging for work be sure to submit an application with Altres temp agency. Be patient finding work in Hilo. It's typical to apply and not hear back for 3 months at which point you're expected to at the very least take an interview.

The best way to thrive here seems to be owning your own business. Find something that you can do better than anyone else and set up shop. It might very well be the opportunity you've been waiting for your whole life. Goodluck.

chinese new year

The Chinese new year festival was held yesterday in Kalakaua park. There's plenty to eat, $18 shirts to prove you went, Wadaiko (Japanese drumming), ice shave, cute girls, chinese dragon dancers and a great place to take kids.

More site seeing

Captain Cook monument is not terribly exciting. It can be kayaked and hiked to, the New Zealand couple I met said it was a 1.5 hr hike. We did the kayak. Lani, the guy that rented us the kayaks, charged us $50 for a 2 seater and a 1 seater. When I asked about kama'iana rates, he replied "Those are kama'iana rates." Some places, maybe in Kona will have kayaks for $20/day, strap them to your rental and you're ahead of the game.

Lani did provide dry bags though which I didn't trust enough to put my camera into, but in the end worked out very well. He also said it was a 20 minute ride, but it took us about 30 minutes in the double kayak, the single took about 45.

We encountered a manta ray that was huge and awesome in the middle of the bay. Make sure you lock your car and bring plenty of water and it's also a nice place for a picnic. Don't forget a snorkle either, the yellow tang are abundant.

The memorial is at the southern tip of Kealakekua Bay park, launch from here. I made a fancy map!:


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Flight addendum

Cheap inter islands flights can be found with Go. Home of the $25 Hilo -> Honolulu flight if you book early enough.

A note on flights:

It's usually much easier to find flights out of Kona, rather than Hilo. However, ATA has several direct flights from Hilo (to Oakland and Vegas, notably); Kona flies several places but the main one, of course, is Honolulu.

ata.com is a website I frequently stalk for prices.

Hapuna Beach

We were making a trip to Kona on father's day to help put some easy miles on our new car, but hadn't decided on a beach. 10 minutes before we left I Googled Best beach in Kona. All of the first few links mentioned Hapuna.

Hapuna has been written about many many times by everyone. Everyone said it was great. None of them had a decent map. Luckily, you have me to show you Hapuna Beach on Google Maps.

Lots of tourists, a few locals, not much surf but great for playing in and wading. Lots of sun and almost no shade.

Merrie Monarch

The Merrie Monarch festival is going on. If you ever want to go, buy tickets in January 'cause I hear they sell out in February.
If you want to go to the free shows get there early. We arrived about 15 minutes before it started and we couldn't get in.

This is a once a year chance to see some super hot Hawaiians dance. I'm really sorry we missed it.