Wednesday – February 11, 2026 – Hilo
I should join a 12-step program to cease eating macadamia nuts – but they taste SO GOOD to me! Today’s featured photo is me waiting to purchase a variety of nuts at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Visitor Center near Hilo, Hawaii.
We arrived in Hilo earlier than expected and were told we should be able to leave the ship by 10:00 am. At breakfast on Monday, we were told that all the rental cars on Hilo were taken. I went online after breakfast and was able to find 2 locations with vehicles available. We reserved a small SUV at Thrifty for a total of $231. We chose a family-run rental agency that is located near the dock and requested a mid/full size sedan that would be $150. We were looking forward to a day of adventure on the Big Island. This was the first cost savings of the visit to Hilo, and I told Jan we could apply the price difference toward macadamia purchases.
We left the ship around 10:15 to a light rain – which became heavier as we walked the 6 minutes to the rental location. By the time we arrived, we were soaked. Des met us and handled the paperwork for the rental and showed us the Toyota Sienna 7-passnenger mini-van we would have for the day. We told her we wanted to begin at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and she gave us the directions to reach it. The park is located approximately 30 miles from the Hilo dock. With traffic and the posted speed limits, it took 45 minutes to reach the park entrance.
When we reached the ranger at the entrance, we told her we left our Golden Eagle passes at home. Looking at one of our ID’s, she said we could purchase a Senior pass for $20 that was valid for a year and honored at all National Parks. We had expected to pay more so this was another “lower than expected” surprise and more for the macadamia budget.
The visitor center was closed because it is being remodeled. The ranger directed us to the Welcome Center which is located on the Kilauea Military Camp. We spent a few minutes looking in the store and asked a volunteer for directions to the end of Chain of Craters Road (which would take us nearly to sea level). We each bought a t-shirt then returned to the minivan and headed for Kilauea Overlook.
Kilauea Overlook gives you the view for which it is named – a complete view of the Kilauea crater. There are a couple photos in today’s gallery from this site
Next, we headed for the Thurston lava tube – in Hawaiian, Nahuku. Parking at the tube is limited – we were lucky that a car backed out just as we arrived. To reach the tube you must walk down the side of a hill. Once at the tube there are lights at ground level so you can see. The tube is long enough that light from the other end does not provide enough illumination. As we walked through the tube, the ceiling dripped water from many locations creating puddles on the floor. Some of the puddles were “shoe soakers” so wearing water shoes of sandals might be advised. Don’t know the actual length of the tube but it appeared to be at least 1 city block long.
Exiting the tube, we climbed stairs to a forested area with a path back to the parking. We drove to the Kilauea Iki crater overlook. In past years, Jan and I walked the devastation trail that goes through this crater. Based on the weather (rainy) and distance up and down to the trail, we decided to pass on a hike. Instead, we headed to Chain of Craters Road and began the 19-mile drive to the end of the road.
As we began our journey to the ocean we were at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet. The road went through past lava flows – from the 1970’s – and we stopped at Muliwai a Pele to take a look at the lava flows and their relation to the Pacific Ocean. While at this lookout, we met a group of 5 who asked us to take their photo. We asked if they were staying somewhere local to which they answered they were on a cruise ship – MSC Magnifica. We said we might bump into them in the remaining 90+ days of the cruise. They took our photo with the Pacific in the background.
We were now at an elevation of approximately 2,500 feet. As we traveled further on the road, it made a hairpin turn to reverse direction and began to drop in elevation at a more rapid rate. Within a few minutes we had reached the end of the drivable road at a point where we could walk to view the Holei Sea Arch.
It didn’t take long to walk from the parking area to the viewing area for the arch. The arch was created by erosion of lava. It will eventually disappear as the erosion travels inland, but that won’t happen during our lifetimes. We watched as the ocean waves reached the shore and blew upward against the vertical lava walls. I included a series of 5 photos that show a wave breaking against the wall. We could see this being repeated along the rocky coast many miles to the South.
The weather had turned sunny and warm as we began the drive down to the shore. We hoped it would continue as we retraced our path to and beyond the park entrance. That didn’t happen. Once we reached the park entrance the rain returned and stayed with us for the next 10-15 miles.
As we were driving, we saw a sign on the right of the road advertising Mauna Loa macadamia nuts. We were on highway 11 which is a 4-lane divided highway with limited access. We drove to the next cross street and reversed direction to head to the Mauna Loa factory. As we turned onto the road off of highway 11, we noted the sign said they were open until 4:00 pm. It was 3:57 pm and we had over 2 miles to go to the visitor center. I must admit I drove more than 25 mph to reach the visitor center.
We arrived at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut visitor center after 4:00 pm but fortunately there was a large tour bus still parked there with the passengers shopping inside – so we joined the shoppers and checked out the merchandise. Jan and Kelsey found a shirt for me that indicated the difficulty to crack the macadamia nutshell. I had been given a cup full of nuts in Cabo San Lucas where we were tasting mezcal and had not been able to crack them. I’ve asked around on the ship for a nutcracker, and we even looked for one when in Hilo at the Walmart – but no luck either on the ship or at Walmart. Our take-away from the Mauna Loa store was sea salt nuts (lots and lots of those), milk chocolate coated nuts, pineapple habanero nuts and strawberries & cream white chocolate macadamias. After all – can you ever have TOO MANY macadamias?
We finished shopping around 4:15 and asked the people in the Mauna Loa store for recommendations for a restaurant for dinner. They gave us 2 names but one of them didn’t open until 5:00 pm and we were hungry now. So, we drove to the other restaurant they recommended – Ken’s House of Pancakes. We arrived at Ken’s around 4:45 and were seated near the back of what looked like a diner from years past. I asked if Ken was still involved in the business – we were told that Ken had sold the business to the current owner years ago. The owner was told we had asked about Ken, so she came to talk with us about the business. Originally there were 5 locations – 4 in California and the 1 in Hilo. Today the only operating location is Hilo. If you view the website, the owner is the lady in the photo with the title “Aloha Spirit”.
When we chose what to order we were not prepared for what was delivered – enough to feed half the passengers on MSC Magnifica! In today’s photos you can see what we chose – Jan got the Cranberry and Turkey sandwich, I ordered the Ken’s Mile High Club and Kelsey ordered Fried Noodles with Teri-chicken and Teri-beef. I was the only one to order dessert – Ken’s Hot Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Maui’s Own Roselani Rich and Creamy Ice Cream. The meals were great and we had a full plate of fries to bring back to the ship (thinking of using the hairdryer to warm them). During the mean the owner brought each of us a 2026 Ken’s calendar. When we were paying the check at the cashier, Kelsey noticed many photos on the wall with 4 or 5 of Dwayne Johnson – the wrestler/movie star. Turns out he is a relative of Ken’s owner! This meal and the people who served it are an experience we will not soon forget.
Following dinner, we had a couple stops before returning to the ship. First was at Walmart to pick up Mountain Dew and popcorn. We found 2-liter bottles of “regular” Dew and “Baja Blast” (that Kelsey is partial to). We found classic butter bags of popcorn. We also found more macadamia nuts – Walmart was having a sale on a box of milk chocolate covered nuts – so we couldn’t pass on that bargain! Next stop was for gas – Des told us to return the minivan with a half tank – which is what was in it when we picked it up. Filled as requested, drove to the dock, let the girls out with all the merchandise from the day, drove to the rental and dropped off the minivan. While at the rental, I got to meet the owner – Rick. He corresponded with me prior to our arrival, but we didn’t meet him in the morning when we arrived in port. Rick had been away and just returned to Hilo – airport is virtually across the street from his business. Told Rick we had a great time and walked back to the port to meet Jan and Kelsey.
If you come to the Big Island and want to take in the sights on your own, give Rick a call at (808) 825-2035 or look for Hilo Auto Sales & Rentals on the Internet. He had a good product at a reasonable price and was located in a convenient area for us.
There was a special show in the theater at 9:30. The performers were from Hilo, and the show included traditional Hawaiian dances. There are photos in today’s gallery to give you an idea of what was performed. I don’t know how all the women make their hand/arm movements look so fluid when dancing the hula, but it was very beautiful to see around 20 dancing a hula at the same time.
We didn’t leave port until around 11:30 and decided to view the lights of the shore for a short time as we departed. Since Kilauea wasn’t erupting, we didn’t think we would see any lava trails in red on the hills as we sailed around the Southeast portion of the island, so we turned in for the night. It was a good day on the Big Island!
Here are the photos from our visit to Hilo.
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