For our sixth day in Hawai’i, we had a bit of a looser itinerary. Some of us went to a nearby black sand beach. The rest of us went to a botanical garden. After lunch, some of us went shopping, others went standup paddleboarding, and still others went to a brewery. We all came together for dinner and fireworks.

I was among the group that went to the Hawai’i Tropical Botanical Garden. From Hilo, it was quite a narrow and winding drive to get there. The garden has plants from tropical areas around the world. Giant trees, huge leaves, lots of orchids, lots of ferns… everything felt exotic. The path wound towards the ocean and then back, with several little spur sections.

After the garden, we met back up with the beach group and had lunch at Ponds, right near the hotel. Then we split up again. David, my younger brother, and I biked to nearby Ola Brew for a couple of beers while others standup paddleboarded or shopped.

We biked over to Coconut Island just as the paddleboarders, who had finished paddleboarding, wrapped up jumping from a tower into the bay. We then rejoined the shoppers and went to dinner at Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill. Megan and I split the pupu platter and Angie’s Salad. All of the food was delicious.

After dinner we walked from the hotel towards Coconut Island to watch the fireworks for the fourth of July. The were fired off on the other side of the bay, and this was a perfect viewing spot. All day long folks feasted and socialized under canopies along the bay. Surprisingly, many of those tents were taken down by the time we went to the fireworks. I don’t know if the bit of rain stopped the fun, or if folks wrapped it up in time to get a good spot for fireworks and then call it a night.