The annual Merrie Monarch Festival is in full swing - tonight was day #2 of competition. We are feeling the impact of the 5,000+ attendees here in Hilo this week - traffic, lines at Long's Drugs, lines at KTA, the fragrance of fresh haku lei in the air, traffic, plenny craft fairs, more traffic. It is wonderful, though, to have a bustling town once again, even if it's only for a week.
This afternoon I met a couple who just moved back to Hawaii from California after almost 10 years. They previously owned a Baskin-Robbins franchise on Kauai but sold the business after Hurricane Iniki hit on September 11, 1992. Interestingly enough, they knew a the Hilo B-R franchise owners, whose daughter was my classmate! Small world, indeed.
Woohoo! A weekend away from work! Even better, the Merrie Monarch Festival Parade will be held tomorrow morning! Feda and I will take lots of pictures. And we'll be sure to hit the Craft Fairs too...