HAWAIIAN RAINBOWS - THE TOWN OF HILO

Located at the foothills of Mauna Kea, where the land meets the sea, Hilo affords the amenities of modern life with the livability of a small community. A peaceful town of 45,000, Hilo is a true island paradise with none of the trappings of industrial tourism. Strolling through the historic downtown district and bungalow-lined residential streets, you get the distinct feeling that this is how Honolulu felt more than a half century ago.

Using Hilo’s Art Deco Palace Theatre as a point of departure, you’re less than 10 minutes from surfing at Honoli’i Beach Park, attending classes at the University of Hawaii, fishing and snorkeling on the Hamakua Coast, wandering the lush paths of Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, or reclining on the ocean-view porch of What’s Shakin’ with a farm-fresh Papaya Paradise smoothie in hand.

A half-day’s adventure can lead to kayaking with humpback whales, snorkeling with parrotfish and sea turtles, lounging on black sand beaches, hiking unspoiled rainforests, gawking at red-hot lava, summitting a 13,796-foot volcano or watching the sun slip below the horizon at the southern most point in the United States.

For more on touring Hilo and the Big Island of Hawaii, we recommend “Hawaii the Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook,” by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman. Check out this book and others at our Resources section and buy directly from Amazon.com. For general information about the County of Hawaii, check out www.hawaii-county.com.

In Hilo, quality of life is measured by the absence of long commutes, congested roads or even a honking horn. It is measured by sub-tropical weather that eliminates the need for air conditioning or central heating. It is felt in the fresh coastal air, which drifts indiscriminately through palms and bungalows alike. And it is expressed in the official business uniform of the Hamakua Coast: shorts, sandals and a timeless aloha shirt.

Sounds too good? There’s more. People tend to start work a bit later, take slower lunches and return to their families earlier in the day. It is the island way of life, an open-air connection with nature that promotes healthier eating and a better balance between work and family.

Few places in the world are more conducive to gardening than Hilo, Hawaii. Rich volcanic soil, copious sunshine, sub-tropical temperatures and abundant rainfall lend credence to the maxim: if you plant it, it will grow. (Of course, such prolific conditions warrant diligence in not introducing invasive species.)

The typical Hilo garden yields a wealth of fruit and flowers, often with two or three harvests a year. A shortlist of favorite crops includes orchids, anthuriums, papayas, bananas, mangos, pineapples, lemons, ginger and the gamut of vegetables and salad greens.

On average, Hilo receives 130 inches of annual rainfall (mostly at night), which locals consider a blessing. It provides abundant water for agriculture and residential use, paints the land green and purifies the air. It is the underpinning of lush, palm-fringed forests, creeks, waterfalls and secret swimming holes. It also gives rise to the island’s unofficial tree, the ubiquitous 20-foot giant "Hapu" fern with its saucer-sized fiddleheads.