The photos of our Hawaii are finally up. We spent 7 days on the island starting and ending in Hilo. Here is a little map for navigation:

One the first day we drove from Hilo to Waipi'o Valley, stopping to see some waterfalls on the way. It was humid all day with occasional rain – as that side of the island is supposed to be. When we went down into the Waipi'o valley (it’s a 25 grade road so you can’t drive there with the car that we had), I brought a large zip-lock bag just in case. It saved my camera, as we got totally drenched on the way back.

Waipi'o Valley is inhabited by weird, weird people. (Not shown.) Sort of like redneck hippies. Hippies with shotguns and pickup trucks, if that image make sense. Talking to a group of them on occasion was more stressful than taking quals.

After Waipio valley we drove to Kohala on the other side of the island. which took us no time. As we passed through the highest point of the road, the sun cleared up magically, just as our book told us. We did see rain on the west side of the island once (it is winter after all), but apart from that brief period it was as sunny as it could be.