![\"John](\"http:\/\/www.criplomats.com\/wp-content\/John-and-Mary.jpg\")
<\/a>John and Mary<\/p><\/div>We arrived in Hilo, Hawaii, late Saturday afternoon and were met at the little airport by our good friend Mary, complete with leis! She whisked us to a great dinner at Pineapple’s in downtown Hilo, then we crashed in the condo she’s rented here, listening to the sound of the waves. Ahhh!<\/p>\n Sunday we were still pretty pooped even though we slept like logs (great cool breezes), so we sat on the balcony and drank coffee for hours looking (and finding!) whales. We made a quick trip to Macy’s to pick up a couple of essentials (don’t laugh – we live in Mexico!), then stocked up at the grocery store. <\/p>\n We got the groceries home and unloaded, then went to pick up Mary’s friend Lynna who is staying nearby. We had a yummy dinner out, then came home and went to bed.<\/p>\n Today we got up early and were at the airport a little before 8AM for our helicopter ride – it was so fun! It’s a small helicopter and we opted to have the doors off (yes, OFF) – it was amazing! We had a 45-minute tour of an active volcano, and watched it burn the trees in its path. We then flew over the crater and saw lave bubbling up through the steam and smoke. Luka was a great pilot and got us so low we could feel the heat! Next we flew over some beautiful waterfalls, then before we knew it, it was time to land.<\/p>\n We topped off our adrenaline rush with a delicious breakfast (their pancake “sides” were literally bigger than the plate), then headed home for a while before heading out again for some spa treatments – a nice punctuation to the day!<\/p>\n I ventured out for a walk through the neighborhood and part of downtown Hilo, and was pleasantly surprised to come across the Hawaii Veterans’ Cemetery, with hundreds of graves of Hawaiian soldiers from the Greatest Generation – a very lovely and peaceful place up on the hill overlooking the ocean.<\/p>\n Here are a few photos!