Lindsay Is A Lifetime Member: Hawaii: Port Of Call

1/28/14

Hawaii: Port Of Call - Hilo

Hilo, on the big Island was our second stop. Volcanos National Park was on the agenda for this port.

We booked through Roberts Hawaii for our tour. It included a stop at Mauha Loa macadamia nut factory, an orchid nursery, a candy factory, and Rainbow Falls.

I knew this would be an all day tour with no lunch stops. I read reviews/tips that suggests bringing a reuseable lunch bag and some ziplock baggies for packing your own lunch. Our ship usually had meat, cheese, and bread out at breakfast so we planned to make sandwiches. It ended up being really easy because the 24/7 room service option had a turkey and BLT sandwich available. We got a couple of each and packed ice in double ziplock bags. I added fruit from the ship and some crackers I had on hand for snacks. Inatant lunch!

There was the ability to purchase food at the nut factory but we were already all set!

The nut factory was fun but really just a tourist stop. The factory tour was closed but we could look in at them through windows above. It made me think of the old cheese factory in Nampa. We had really good samples. Same with the chocolate factory. Nothing exciting to see but yummy samples.

Volcanos National Park was a highlight for the trip. I couldn't wait to see it. I wish we could have seen lava though. The park is large so our tour driver took us to various parts. We saw a crater with steam at the visitor center then walked along the area where lava once flowed. We then took a small hike through a nature center and into a lava tube. It was really neat.