Julie’s place was great if you want to visit the Volcanoes National Park. We went back and forth for 2 days exploring the trails and the craters. We ate at the Volcano House for late lunches. And we took home some pizzas for dinner. Saves on cooking. And after walking all day, we were too tired to go out for dinner.
There are places to eat and get groceries about half hour each way. They just close early. (7pm)
We drove to Hilo which was a scenic drive. Go eat at the Cafe Pesto Hilo. That was nice.
We flew in from Kona and the drive down was also very scenic.
She had lots of staples in the kitchen like sugar, some coffee, ketchup, mustard, etc. we mostly bought stuff like eggs, bacon, butter and bread. Beer and wine. The in-suite washer/dryer were so useful. No lugging your washing around a resort and looking for change.
The caretakers were nice and friendly. They helped even through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! And so was Julie. She was always very responsive.