Hilo Escape Room - Christmas in Hawaii - Day 18
Day 18 brought us to the east side of the island to the town of Hilo. We drove across the middle of the island on Saddle Road, slicing across the Big Island from east to west. The term “saddle” describes the high valley between the mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Along the way, we passed dried lava flows, rolling pastureland, moonlike fields, and rainforest. When we arrived in Hilo we headed to Rainbow Falls. On sunny days, rainbows appear in the mist of the 80-foot waterfall which is nearly 100 feet in diameter and plunges over a natural lava cave (see picture above) into the river below before dumping into the ocean. After some photo ops there, we headed to “Escape Hilo”, an escape room company that had a Christmas themed escape room. We were able to beat the room with 1 minute and 57 seconds to spare. It was Steven and Katherine’s first escape room, and I think we have them hooked! I see another escape room adventure with them when we return to Florida. For lunch, we tried a little hole in the wall restaurant called “Kuhio Grille”, home of the 1 pound laulau, a local favorite pork dish that is steamed in taro leaves (see photos page for an image). Jimm was the only one brave enough to try it, but he said it was delicious. Kudos to him for being adventurous! Next stop was Big Island Candies. We had been to this factory/store last time we were in Hawaii and we love their shortbread cookies and candies. We shipped a bunch home and bought a few treats to share on the rest of our trip. Definitely recommend stopping at this location if you are in Hilo. Later in the evening, after our drive back to Waikoloa Village, we had dinner at Tommy Bahama Restaurant. Again, a first for Katherine and Steven, but for us it was another location to add to our list. We have a goal of visiting as many Tommy Bahamas as we can across the United States. The food is always amazing and we love the clothes. Another busy day for this crew and we were exhausted by the end of it.
Deb