Kaimu Vacation Rental house

Dear Alan:

Concerning our stay at your house: we had a very good time and liked it a lot; we, and especially Max, enjoyed the neighbors and their activities; they (i.e., 8 adults) cooked the desert for the 1st birthday party (small:
only 400 guests!) for some friend of a friend --took them 2 days, and lots of action, about 200 coconuts were opened.....Kimo and his wife are very nice and friendly and let Max participate in the cooking and earth pit oven
preparation, animal feeding, etc. We also saw lava spraying out of Pu'u O'o right from the beach in front of the house; We also spent some very nice time (snorkeling!) at your friend's house, who was nice enough to invite us
over and even fed us lunch. We have to write Bill a note and thank him once more for his hospitality.

Max had a blast swimming in his natural pool; he would like to have a swimming pool with humuhumunukunukua'opua'as (sp?) in St. Louis now (we had fun discussing the "realization" of such a backyard project). The outside shower is really nice and we all used it a lot; I don't think we ever showered inside! So, we had a very good time during our whole vacation, and
in your house specifically; we definitely would like to come back to Kaimu at some point.

I just want to let you know how much we enjoyed staying in your house. It is a beautiful home in a lovely setting (though I’m sure you miss the black sand beach). It perfectly met the needs of our family group, and we hope we can come again sometime. Thank you for making it available! We were endlessly fascinated with the lava and the history of the recent lava flows in that area. We did a lot of exploring nearby as well as all up and down the east coast of the Big Island. We loved being “off the beaten track” and we think we saw a part of Hawaii that most tourists don’t see.

#1 Kaimu is in such a fascinating little corner of the world!! From the crystalline Tide Pools to the historic Palace Theatre in Hilo, from the torrential rains coming in through the lanai to the lava pouring into Royal Gardens, from one gourmet restaurant after another with great prices on California wines to the great kitchen at #1 Kaimu with Volcano Red "Peles Delight" to compliment our dinner. We came home with many stories to tell for years to come.
Thank you so much for making this lovely house available to us. And what a great little community. We loved watching the school bus go by, knowing we didn't have to go to work. (Some of us are teachers.) And then Monday, Feb. 4 when the bus didn't go by, we guessed that the schools were closed because of the rain. But we headed out anyway and had a tourist day driving around Volcano Park, finishing the day by dining at Kilauea Lodge. Even though they were very booked up, they found us a table in a bay window and treated us like royalty. The crackling wood fire was very welcome.
On our last night there, the night of the Hilo moon (according to the story board in Kalapana), we watched the waves crashing on the black sand beach through an amazing sunset. After dark, Pele's glow and shooting flames were clearly visible while we walked back to Kaimu using flashlights to follow the path.
For our group of 5 adults looking for a retreat, the house was perfect, providing private bedrooms as well as a great kitchen/living area for our group to gather. A car is necessary, and for serious adventure seekers, I'd recommend 4WD.