Seeing funny things!

We were sauntering down a little side road in Hilo yesterday; it's pretty much low season now and the pace of life for the folks here is pretty slow.  I was just sort of swingin' my little grocery bag (contents of bag: new Hello Kitty Pez with red Hibiscus hair deco, tiny kitchen tongs, and Island Santa cellophane bags to put homemade Christmas treats in for gifts - all essential items, you see) and Tim said, "oh, looky there!"  And this is what we saw!  These little fellas were so darling!!!  There is actually one more buddy hiding out - so a total of five little faces and tails in this truck cab!  Also, there were two big hounds sleeping in the bed of the truck!  Ha!  You just can't help but laugh at some of the things you see here!  Other things we are seeing? Rainbow Falls, The Boiling Pots (hot pools of water the locals dive and swim in), Lili'uokalani Gardens (Japanese inspired), many coffee plantations (the "vog" - fog and volcanic smoke - is really messing with the ripening of the coffee berries!! - Oh NO!), and breathtaking coastlines. It is all truly......lovely!

For today:  The Hawaiian Vanilla Company in Paauilo, 45 minutes north of Hilo (along the coast).  The vanilla bean comes from the planifolia orchid, which blooms only one day each year for four hours  We will also have a four-course lunch at this farm - "a vanilla experience luncheon".  Hmmmmm.