2/27 A Travel Day and a New Island

We got up early again this morning and caught the 6:45 shuttle to the airport. Even though the flight is less than an hour, you have to be at the airport two hours before your flight time. We chatted in the gate area with a couple from Minnesota who are going to the big island on an Elderhostel trip. When we got on the plane, the pilot discovered that there was a problem with the computer system - so, back to the gate. We sat on board while they switched out the computer system and after an hour, it was fixed. We got on the runway and had to wait again before take-off as an incoming plane had some sort of problem and there were emergency vehicles on the runway waiting to escort it in when it landed. It looked fine to me as it went by, but maybe they had a minor glitch also and the powers that be were taking precautions. At any rate, we finally got off the ground and landed in Hilo with no problems. Our hotel is right on the water - it is a little dated looking, but seems adequate. We walked down the street and found a small deli to have a late and very delicious lunch. Along the way we passed a public park and there were lots of families playing in the water and picnicking. We watch some 10 - 12 year-olds jumping off a high sea wall into the water and then climbing up the rocks to do it again. They looked like they were having fun. We found out that there is no free breakfast at the hotel, so we drove to a grocery store to get some supplies. The room has a fridge, but no microwave so we were limited, but we will manage. We found downtown Hilo. All of the buildings are from the teens and twenties - a very old downtown area. We walked around and did see one interesting looking tee shirt store, but it is closed on Sundays - we will come back another day. We drove past our hotel the other way and noticed that we are within walking distance of a lovely Japanese garden (shades of our October trip) so we will be back to walk around. We got back to the hotel just in time. It had been a beautiful sunny day, but just as we were getting the groceries out of the car, the skies opened up. It is still raining, but not as heavily. The internet doesn't seem to work in our room, so I am sitting in the lobby. We will have cheese and crackers for dinner later as we are still full from lunch. Tomorrow will be the clinic to get my stitches out (I can't wait as I haven't been able to go swimming yet) and then we may visit a couple of museums. I think when we go to Volcano National Park, we will want to spend the whole day there and start early.