Day 16: Pahoa to Hilo

January 26, 2016

Today was our day to move on down to Hilo, so we had to think about the mate to the Paradise Inn's flaky check in procedure - its check out procedure. Normally with a hotel room you can drop your key at the desk, or lock it in your room. But here of course there was no desk. So go to Plan B? Nope. The room door could only be locked from the outside.

So we decided to pedal two blocks in the wrong direction to try dropping the key at Boogie Woogie Pizza.This meant crossing the street, pedalling over, and crossing again to the shop. It's not worth mentioning, except that in Pahoa crossing the street takes some attention. There is actually one crosswalk in Pahoa, and it happens to be right at the pizza shop. So when we got there, I waited at the crosswalk to get to the other side. Why did I wait? Because Hawaii drivers do not respect crosswalks, and I was preoccupied. Three cars went by, the third being a police car. Then I woke up, and forced the fourth car to stop, by stepping in front of it.

On the other side, it dawned on me that Boogie Woogie was unlikely to be open at 8:30 a.m. All the breakfast pizza eaters would be eating cold pizza from last night. Still, I tried the door. It was unlocked. But as the door opened a very loud wailing alarm went off. Some one in the flake organization had set an alarm but not locked the door.

The alarm had the advantage of attracting the police car that had just passed. They pulled around, but did not exit the car immediately, preferring to get on the radio. It could be that this was the most excitement in the past year and they were calling for backup. When finally the two super small, cute, and polite officers did leave their cruiser, we explained the situation. They did a little ineffectual scouting for a shutoff, then said they would work on it and wished us safe travels. As we headed down Pahoa Village Road we did see what looked like an undercover police car going the other way, so maybe backup was at hand. In any event, we now have excellent documentation that we did return our key!

Grampies' checkout procedure includes police documentation.

The ride down in to Hilo was uneventful, except that we again observed just how many vehicles are on the road, and how noisy they are. The dominant category is the crappy import pickup, preferably now old and ill tuned. Then there are the pickups of all other sizes and states of repair, followed by so many dump trucks, water trucks, cement mixers, electric line trucks, etc. etc. People are buzzing so actively and noisily all over this Island. Somebody needs to lay on some extra yoga and meditation classes, urgently.

Trucks of the type favoured locally. Fortunately tese two now seem to be out of service.

McDonald's is the threshhold to downtown Hilo, sitting as it does among other fast food outlets, Ross' Dress for Less, Walmart, Sears, and so forth. We continued on north past the airport, and turned east by the water, heading for Arnott's Lodge. We continued through a light industrial area but with adequate shoulder to the road. People on Yelp who have complained of Arnott's non bike friendly location are simply wrong. It's not all picturesque, but there is no safety problem.

The sad now deserted site of the great farmers' market.

On the way to Arnott's - not pretty, but with a reasonable shoulder.

Actually the way to Arnott's does nclude some nice views of Hilo Bay

The communal dining area for the hostel portion of Arnott's

Arnott's is by the airport. This could be an advantage if we wanted to fly Hawaiian to sister islands. But Hawaiian;s bikepolicies are too harsh for us to consider that.

Our room was not ready yet, but we were able to drop our gear with the girl in the office. Then we headed off to the Imiloa Astronomy Center at the University of Hawaii. Imiloa turned out to be way up a hill and way back, beyond the McDonald's. We fought our way back and up there in the warm sun. By the time we arrived, we were beat.

The Center has a planetarium type theatre, with the classical 360 degree domed top, plus a display area. A series of 45 minute presentations are shown in the theatre, with the rather chintzy proviso that one $17 admission fee only buys admission to one film. Following the film, a live presenter uses the dome to show and discuss the night sky as it appears at Hilo. I can't remember the film much.That is what happens when you lean a tired cyclist back in a comfy chair in a darkened room. However we both thought the nap was worth the price of admission!

The live presentation was super, though, and taught me gobs of stuff about the sky that I missed by usually being inside at night, working in front of a computer.

The display area was mostly puzzling. A goodly portion was given over to topics of Hawaiian dance and music, and all displays were bilingual, with the Hawaiian coming first. Yes, the early Hawaiians were great navigators, and used the stars among other clues. And yes, the Hawaiians have interesting accounts of the beginning of the universe, but why does this background cause Hawaiian stuff to dominate the planetarium?

This said, I was impressed at the extent to which Hawaiians appear to have been interested in the Cosmos. That leads me to wonder exactly which Hawaiian group it is that is presently stalling the construction of a 30 meter telescope on Mauna Kea.

We make this to be a Citrus Swallowtail - a non-native butterfly.

Another impressive neighbour. Here on the University campu, these must be administrative offices. The rel muscle is up on the mountain.

In the Imiloa giftshop, a $1000 10 inch telescope. It would make a great souvenir, but is unlikely to fit in an overhead bin on the plane!

The Hawaiian conception of creation seems pretty much in line with current thinking of cosmologists.

Double hull 40 foot canoe model. This is what brought the Polynesians to Hawaii.

An inshore canoe, largely made of Koa. It's a beautiful piece of gear!

The show is about to begin in the planetarium.

Beautiful mosaic in the front lobby depicts canoe travel and the volcanic island.

Zooming back down to sea level by 4 p.m. we found that we were starving. Or at least I was. I claimed that without food I would not be able to do so much as to cruise the circle of Banyan Drive. So way too early for supper, Dodie took me in to Ken's 24 Hour Pancake House. Why do I like Ken's. Here are the clues: 24 Hour and Pancake. Actually Ken's features good home cooking in all categories, and I went for grilled marinated teriyaki chicken thighs. This came with what we now recognize as Hawaiian standard macaroni salad and fries. To be fair, they also offered a no starch option which would have been cottage cheese, tomato, and pineapple. Clearly unless that could also come with fries it was not really a serious option!

The portion size was almost exactly double what one normal person would eat, so while went in too hungry for Banyan Drive, I came out too full. Because of that we headed straight back to Arnott's.

At Ken's, the traditional no greens meal for me. Dodie wisely ordered a salad!

Arnott's offers four levels of accommodation - from set up your tent on the lawn, to dorm, to private room with shared kitchen and bath, to all private. We chose the shared kitchen and bath though there is no one here to share with at the moment. Overall the accommodation is fine - large enough, clean enough, equipped enough - all without any undue luxury. We will be just fine here.

Arnott's stresses that it is a travellers lodge, and does not want people hanging around more than 7 days. This conceot stems from its 1990 founder, Doug Arnott, who has travelled extensively around the world.. Doug has another claim to fame. He was born into the Australian family responsible for the famous Tim Tam cookies!

Tomorrow - we'll check out the Hilo farmers' market and then head off with Arnott's to the summit of Mauna Kea!

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 567 km (352 miles)

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