day three, off we go to Kona

Imiloa astronomy center bound, we first stopped again at Ken's pancake house, where we saw a green gecko on a fence, and it tried to sell us insurance. We told the people at the restaurant that the previous day we had gone to an inferior, overpriced, frou frou restaurant for breakfast, which had driven us back to their fine establishment.

Then we went to the astronomy center, which is a very cool place that combines Hawaiin history and beliefs with scientific knowledge gathered from the Mauna Kea observatory. They have a native garden outside, and I learned the difference between indigenous, endemic, and canoe plants.

After that, we went to visit the statue of King Kamahameha in Hilo, before heading north to Akaka falls, in the picture . That is a very pretty place were you hike through lots of tropical plants to see a very tall waterfall. This part of the big island is where all the beautiful tropical scenery is found. Also cows.

Waimea valley overlook was our next stop. It is a beautiful place and a sacred place depicted in many post cards. We learned that the missionaries brought disease to the natives and wiped out a lot of them, then had to get people from other places to do the manual labor so the descendants of the mikanele , Hawaiian word for missionarys, could make a lot of money. Which is why there are so many Japanese and Filipino people on Hawaii.

Then we went to get some lunch at a little place down the road. We got delicious ice cream and banana bread, and we picked up a CD by Iz to listen to, so that I could experience white people guilt and Jhumpi could come up with logical justifications of imperialism ( which sounds worse than it is .) There was a big dog named Elvis hanging around, and he was the first dog I got to pet on the island. The owner of the store, who sounded like he was from Chicago or the east coast, but wouldn't admit it, chased Elvis away. I wanted to buy souvenir's, but I restrained myself.

So we headed off to the big luxury hotel, eating ice cream and enjoying the scenery.