June 14

We finished off the day with dinner at Jackie Chen's. We learned our lesson from the day before and made reservations. The restaurant was a bank in 1910 and still has the vaults from those days of banking. David loved that. The meal was extraordinary. Appetizers of wonton chips with Ahi and wasabi. We both had panko coconut crusted swordfish that was indescribably delicious. We had sorbet for dessert which I really can't eat. Too sweet. It didn't do too much for David either. Headed back to the BnB for some relaxing TV - watching the ridiculous Rebel at the moment - and into bed.

June 15

Today was our day to explore Puna. We first had breakfast at the Booch Bar which I had read about. You've never been any place like this. Never. They are all about everything being healthy and they serve all kinds of Kabocha juice - fermented teas with cane sugar. We had omelets that were of course, unique. I had a Ruben omelet. Never in my life on the planet had anything like this. It was good but I couldn't begin to eat all of it. We bought a chocolate bar to share later and paid almost $10 for it. Wow. Headed to the road and begin our driving. We drove along the coast, thinking we could get to Puna the beautiful way but it soon became obvious we would need a 4 wheel drive so we turned around and took the highway. Our first stop was Lava Tree State Park. In the late 1700's a lava came through here and covered trees. The lava cooled in the shape of the tree while the tree was incinerated inside. Pretty interesting. Short hike but the birds and flowers were so special. David was videoing the bird songs. Got back in the car and continued driving. We were headed to the Puna Trail and David took the wrong turn. It looked like we could still get there so we kept going. Went through a tropical jungle on a one lane road that had our jaws dropping. This became a dirt road that had holes so deep, David only dared go 2-3 miles an hour. Not fun. Many Hawaiian extravagant estates through here and we were trying to figure out how they got to their houses because the road! Well, ugh. Maybe they use the water. Anyway, another of those head scratching dilemmas. Finally we got the trail head and began our hike. The intent was not to hike six miles. We wanted to just see the water. But the hike was through about 2.5 miles of tree tunnel and then you got to see breathtaking views of the volcanic coast. We decided to meander another half mile to this beautiful cove with a sandy beach. First one we've seen. I wanted to strip to my underwear and swim at that point but there were too many people. We contented ourselves with wading in the beautiful cool water and then hoofed it out of there, literally. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to hike in and an hour to hike out. David ended with sprinting! Lots of fun. Headed back to Hilo, got cleaned up and headed into town for the proverbial fish and chips. They did not disappoint. Delicious. And I'm so far off what I eat at home that it is awesome. And I feel great. No issues. Had our traditional TV fix and then to bed. David and I are enjoying each other immensely and I'm reminded of how much we love and enjoy each other. So special and privileged.

June 16

I'm up early - my traditional 6 am awakening. David is still sleeping. It was pouring rain when I woke up but cool and cloudy now. I'm sitting on this beautiful patio in paradise with the birds singing and the fresh ocean air everywhere. Thinking I might head our for a run. We are headed to Honokaa today and the plan is to stop at the Botanical Garden and Akaka Falls, the tallest waterfall in Hawaii at 462 feet.