One of my dear friends returns home to Hilo fairly regularly to stay connected with her Hilo family.  I’m so lucky that she makes time to hang out with me too. When she comes home, I usually see her only once since she is so busy when she comes home.  On this trip, we saw each other twice!  One Sunday after she got back, a group of us decided to go for a fun and easy hike in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We figured on going for a short three-mile hike at around 1 p.m. and then come back for a late lunch/early dinner so we could get home early and get rested for work the next day.Well, this short three-mile, 1-hour hike turned into a long 6- or 7-mile hike that took us over three hours.Somehow, we just kept walking and walking and didn’t consider the mileage as we were talking, walking, and enjoying the scenery. When we finally finished the hike, it was around 5 p.m. and the whole group was starving. Luckily, we prepared a fabulous potluck feast complete with elk chili, ribs, baked beans, greek salad, poke, grilled shrimp and so much more.

What a great time we had exploring Big Island beauty.

A few days after the hike, we got together again, this time at a home to relax, chat, and catch up on each others’ lives.

rambutan

pickled mango

Again–another super potluck feast full of loud laughter as we enjoyed Chinese food, grilled steak, Thai food, sushi, and of course–spam musubi. I know I’ve said it before–spend time with family while you can.Sometimes it takes a little more effort to get people together–but it is always worth the effort.  Living Hilo Style.