Thursday, May 17, 2007
Packed. Breakfast: pineapple for Frank, rosemary bread for Patrick. Drove to the airport, returned the rental car. Ate at the airport. Patrick had Burger King: chicken sandwich, fries. I ate at Lahaina Chicken (Honolulu International Airport): one quarter roast chicken, macaroni salad, corn, carrots, lemonade. This chicken was surprisingly juicy and perfectly cooked. There was a weird chemical kind of flavor near the end of my meal with some meat near the bone, but aside from this weirdness the chicken was extremely delicious. Flew to Hilo on the Big Island—the flight was quick and painless. Picked up a rental car at Alamo. Checked in to the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel (808-935-9361, 71 Banyan Drive, Hilo). Drove around trying to find a drug store, had difficulty. Found Long's at Prince Kuhio Plaza. Bought gifts and toiletries at Long's. Drinks at Starbucks: emergency grande caramel macchiato for Patrick, grande tazo chai for me. Drove highways 11, 132, and 137. Stopped at Lava Tree State Park, Ahalanui Beach Park, Issac Hale Beach Park. Just before Isaac Hale Beach Park the road was flooded out. We drove through a huge and treacherous-looking puddle but the car didn't stall, and water didn't get in the car like I thought it might. We made it through and gave sighs of relief. Back to the hotel. Showered. Queen's Court in the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel (808-935-9361, 71 Banyan Drive, Hilo) for dinner. The Thursday night buffet offered was prime rib and crab legs, $25 per person. It didn't look worth it, so we ordered entrees instead. I ordered a chicken stir fry and a cup of tea. Patrick ordered garlic butter mahi mahi and a (Heinekin?). The meal was awful. My stir fry had way too much celery and the fried noodles it came with were old—not cooked to order—and very tough. Patrick's fish was not accompanied by the sauce he ordered, and it was dry and tough. His iced tea was presweetened. Patrick ordered mashed potatoes but instead got a baked potato. When he opened it, he found that it was cold in the center. Patrick complained to the hostess (our server was somewhere else at the moment), the manager came over and after a brief discussion removed both the entrees from our bill. We left still hungry, drove to Pizza Hut in Prince Kuhio Plaza, and had 2 personal pan pizzas: pepperoni and mushroom for Patrick, chicken and garlic for me. $11.78 after a $1.50 tip. Back to the hotel. (After we had checked out 3 days later, I found that they didn't even charge us for the Heinekin and the tea—so nice of them!)