Hawaii: Hilo and Volcano

Saturday, the day after Christmas, we planned to hit Volcano. Wren started the morning with the box of toys that kept her busy for countless hours while we were there:

That box inspired us to create a similar toy box for her after we got home.

Dustin has a locally-grown fresh fruit fetish, so we hit the farmers market before heading out of town.

We ended up buying three photographs from Ian Lindsay. I was excited to support him and bring a little of my motherland back to Oceanside. We still have yet to frame and hang them, but someday we'll have some nice Hawai'i art.

Next stop was Tex Drive-In for malasadas. (You'll note that this day was actually more about food than it was about the volcano.) I decided I should stick with half a malasada in the future. They're delicious, but it's a lot of sugar. 

We had determined that perhaps the only way we could fulfill our promise to go to Cafe Pesto again with Bags was to hit the one in Hilo before the volcano. After breakfast and then malasadas, we needed to kill some time before eating again. Rainbow Falls it was. It's a nice spot.

We reminisced about Ever's shenaniquin days (too bad Dustin's in the picture):

The banyan trees up there are amazing. I was reminded of when we went to Maui for the state diving meet my senior year, and Mrs. Tate had us swinging from the banyan trees like Tarzan. So great. Thanks to the smart phone, we learned while at Rainbow Falls that banyan trees are parasites that grow on, and envelope, host trees. It's crazy how they branch out and overtake the forest.

Bags got fancy with her camera:

We didn't get to Cafe Pesto until well after noon, and the place was packed. Ever wore Jim's glasses on the way:

We waited a little while. The Homers teched out (I don't know if others use that term, but that's what Jim and I say when we're absorbed in our phones or computers):

Wrenzo hung out in her car seat:

A little old Japanese lady walked by us, pointed at Wren, and said, "So cute, yeah?" So local. I love it.

Lunch was nice. Wrenzo was quite good, despite her fatigue. I gave her a few items to keep her busy:

When we ate at Cafe Pesto without Bags, we forgot to order the raspberry sauce on the side. It makes such a difference. This thing is so much better sans sauce:

The Baglers were carrying Wrenzo on the way back to the car and got hit with a nasty diaper blowout. I was worried about how Dustin would handle that, having probably never been pooped on before. He didn't seem too perturbed and went off to the nearby farmers market to buy fruit while we cleaned up Wrenzo. Changed and ready to go:

Dustin had been on the hunt for a coconut, so he was pleased to find one:

Finally, late in the afternoon, we were off to the volcano. Unfortunately for me, the overeating and the eating of terrible things caught up to me. By the time we reached the visitors center, my stomach was upset. The Baglers did fun things (steam vents, sulfur walk) while we stayed at the vistors center so I could hang out in or near the bathroom. Then the Baglers took Mamo and Ever with them to the Jagger Museum. Jim, Wrenzo, and I finally made it there and got a view of the lava glow in the crater after dark. Bags got this first picture before we got there, when it was lighter:

Turns out the Baglers/Mamo/Ever car lingered at the Jagger Museum so we could catch up to them, and they were still there when we arrived. We didn't have good cell service, though, and the place was crowded, so we didn't find each other. Ever told me later that her favorite part was seeing the clothes of the man who fell into the lava and got burned. I think she told me he was a chiropractor named Jesus. I don't know where she got that - particularly the name part. But there are, indeed, lava-burned clothes there, and that's fun. We were put off by the crowd and didn't actually go inside the museum, so I didn't see the clothes this visit. Can't say I did the volcano up right this time. I'll have to go back. Also, it's really hard for me not to be able to walk out to the edge of the crater and look right down at the lava. Wouldn't that be cool?