I’m in Hilo this morning for today’s media symposium over at UH Hilo. We left the cats in the custody of our favorite cat sitter, and flew over yesterday, early evening.

Initial impressions after arriving Friday evening…The cries of the coqui frogs hit as soon as we got off the Hawaiian Airlines flight. Lots of coqui there at the airport, a noticeable increase since we were here last.

Car rental desk wasn’t busy. Actually, at 7:30 p.m., nothing at the airport was busy. Perhaps nothing in Hilo was busy, to tell the truth.

First stop. Up the road to Longs for a couple of bottles of wine to go with dinner. Things were slower at this Longs than in Kaneohe at a comparable time. No surprise, I suppose. Longs manages to make you feel at home statewide, with similar store layouts and comparable prices.

Second stop. Sombat’s Thai Restaurant. We called ahead from Longs to order a take out meal. I got one order of what they call basil rolls (summer rolls on other menus), wide noodles with chile and vegetables, and an spicy eggplant dish. The dishes are pretty big, so we had plenty of food. It’s only about two minutes from the hotel, about a block up from Ken’s. Highly recommended.

Then, stop #3. Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. We don’t get here as often as we would like, but the Hilo Hawaiian is our favorite place to stay. Kamaaina rates, ocean view room. Okay, the hotel is a little old, but they’ve been on a slow but continuous upgrade process, replacing carpets, painting rooms, adding new flat screen tv’s. And the ocean view rooms offer a million dollar view of Hilo Bay, Hilo town, and a backdrop of Mauna Kea, all at not much over $100 a night (at least at Kamaaina rates). Not cheap, but we think it’s a bargain, all things considered.

We save money on the takeout, then set ourselves up for dinner on our own little balcony overlooking Hilo Bay. It was great last night, and the view this morning is spectacular. I’ll add a photo, if I have time.

After that, off to UH Hilo for this big event.

If you’re lucky, perhaps I’ll make a live report or two during the day.

One thing of note. I forgot my iPad in the car in Honolulu, and didn’t realize it until we were all the way through airport security and heading for the gate. I learned something. This is the first time I’ve had that sinking feeling when I realized it was left behind. A sign that, after a year and a half, the iPad has finally been integrated into my regular workflow enough that I really miss it. That’s a significant turnaround.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be able to do our morning walk along Hilo Bay. Looking forward to it.