We just had a call from a family in Florida who wishes to visit Volcanoes National Park, see the Hamakua Coast, waterfalls and to feel the active lava flow out of Kalapana.  They arrive in May.

It will be their first visit to Hawaii.

Many people save for Hawaii for a non-trivial length of time.  This IS the trip of a lifetime.  The Big Island of Hawaii is the best place on Earth.

They let me know that they have a young son, 7, who is fit and could easily make the multi-mile hop from the parking lot to the end of the bypass road and up the cooled flow to the latest breakout site.  He wants to walk through lava tubes too.  (Lava is always subject to change, please ask…)

The father is a foodie but his son isn’t.  His son loves mac ‘n’ cheese and pancakes.  I too love mac ‘n’ cheese and there is an excellent spot in Hilo for pancakes.  I ran a collaborative road race, Ragnar a year ago and part of our pre-race preparation was to eat at Ken’s House of Pancakes.  So good.  We can do both and all of the above.  A nice wrap with local veggies/meats and a salad.  Everything we serve comes from here.  (Even mac ‘n’ cheese).

I love showing people around.

The best we can do is to understand our guests, think of them as friends and do what they want to do.