Shipman House's Guest Cottage

07/22/2020

After 23 years in the B&B business, we have finally and officially closed. There were 20 years of full-on bed and breakfast in both the big house and the guest cottage, followed by 3 years of Airbnb in just the guest cottage. We closed last week on July 15th. We've hosted thousands of great guests, and some have become fast friends. Several have even become Hilo residents. Thank you all for letting us host you and send you around to our favorite spots and restaurants. It has been fun! This page will stay up and you can reach us here.
A hui hou! (Hawaiian for "a bientot" or "hasta la vista")

03/17/2020

I have just finished disinfecting the guest bathrooms. So glad there are just 2! Went out looking for some of the fancy-shmancy disinfectants listed by the EPA, couldn't find them, BUT the CDC site lists diluted Clorox as being effective against COVID-19. 5 Tablespoons Clorox in 1 gallon of water. Wipe it on and let it dry. Wear gloves!! then throw them away after. I used a white washcloth a guest thoughtfully stained when he wiped hiking mud off his feet instead of using the garden hose and paper towels we provide.😎

12/06/2019

A delivery man had the best reaction to discovering a basket of snacks on a family's front porch.

10/18/2019

If you are coming to HIlo and need a place to stay, keep our 2 Guest Cottage units in mind, because, once again,

06/13/2019

A spinoff from the Shipman House Bed & Breakfast was the Hawaiian Granola Company, making and selling the granola and its assorted flavors that were served at the B&B. (facebook.com/HawaiianGranolaCompany) I now put out a package for each reservation in the Guest Cottage, and we are still making it across town in Hilo. Last month, I entered samples of 3 flavors of our Hawaiian Macadamia Granola in the 2019 International Flavor Awards, "the Flaves". Judging was last week in Madison, Wisconsin, and this is for small to mid-size food producers. There are all sorts of food categories. I never heard back from the organization, so last night I checked online, again, and in the Granola category, 1st place went to Hawaiian Granola Company- Macadamia Granola with Ginger! 🎉🥳 But wait, there's more.
2nd place went to Hawaiian Granola Company- Coconut Macadamia Granola!! Wow!! 😀 🎉When we did the Made in Hawaii Festival in Honolulu a couple years ago, the Macadamia Granola with Ginger was the favorite, and the one we sold out of first. Over the years, many non-islanders tell us they don't like ginger, but change their minds after sampling ours.😀 It is our personal favorite. The Coconut Macadamia Granola is the choice of several hotels, and one of our best sellers.We sell it online and ship anywhere in the US.

Delicious Gourmet Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Granola in several island flavors, including Coconut, Ginger and Coffee. New! 3 Low-Glycemic flavors for slower sugar absorption. Small batches made by hand in Hilo, Hawaii.

08/25/2018

Shipman House and Guest Cottage are fine!!

We have come through most of Hurricane Lane that was supposed to hit Kona first and hard, but instead whacked Hilo with torrential rain. Thankfully, little to no wind at all, but from Tuesday night at 9:30 until today, Friday, at 1pm, we've had 30" of rain fall at our house in Hilo. Luckily we are up high, so no flooding for us.
There is a gulch on our property about 100'+ deep. A stream, Waikapu, runs through the bottom of it, usually a quiet, well-behaved little stream that we see only when there has been a heavy rain, and then we see the beaten-down ferns and greenery marking the stream's path. Wednesday morning the gulch had a large, wide, dark brown body
of water rushing through it, entering from up-side as though shot from a fire hose, widening out 30-40 yards to cover and flatten an expanse of jungle, isolating one large leafy patch like an island, before shooting through a narrow jungle opening and disappearing down by the bridge. It still looks that way, 2 1/2 days later. Rain came in bands, some coming fairly quickly across Hilo Bay, about 1/2 mile from us, others taking their own sweet time to get here, and the same ol' sweet time to leave. The rain was often hard and violent, deafening on the roof and windows. Sometimes the rain came in messy swirls, all directions. There were breaks between squalls, but no sun. We saw the sun and a bit of blue sky today for the first time since Tuesday.
Last night a police officer came to the door and told us they were asking all residents to evacuate, just in case. Today residents from our end of the street are returning home, but those at the upper end must wait for the water to recede. Security is really tight in the neighborhood, thank Goodess!
Two really good things-- no deaths, and no wind here in Hilo. On the other hand, the hurricane is moving at a whopping 2 mph, whch is why we took such a hit in Hilo.
Thanks to all of you who called, texted or emailed your love, support, prayers and concerns. When the evacuation order was made public last night, we got calls, texts, etc. from all over, even Alabama. We had Airbnb guests from Germany here, too, so took them along with us to my cousins' house in town. Cousins are such a blessing!
Good luck to those of you on the other islands. Fill your thermoses with coffee. Batten down the hatches!

Bed and breakfast

06/12/2018

We have just returned to Hilo after a week in Honolulu. It is so good to be back in Hilo, with its uncrowded roads, easy traffic, and no crowds. As we flew into Hilo, we could see the glow and fountains of the eruption 'way off in the distance. While we were gone, the lava flowed into and filled up Kapoho Bay out in Puna, where the best snorkeling on the island was. Very sad. Everywhere we went on O`ahu (Honolulu's isand), people asked how the vog and ash are, then they were surprised to learn we have not been affected by either. The weather has been lovely, with a gentle breeze.

05/22/2018

I haven't updated the volcano situation here for over a week....because the earthquakes have settled down to just an occasional quiver or jolt. Mostly we are surprised when we see one on the chart that we didn't feel. The lava fountains are spectacular on Facebook and various blogs or websites posted by people crazy enough to get that close. This eruption series seems extremely loud. From the news, we've noticed the steam/ash columns from the steam explosions up in Halema`uma`u crater are shorter and shorter, from 30k feet down to last night's 7k feet. The ash and gases blow south of Volcano, down toward Pahala, Waiohinu, and Naalehu, not affecting us. Every now and then a whiff of sulfur tickles my nostrils, but seldom more than once a day or every few days. We realize the news media have the world thinking we're all being affected, but not so. The good news must be that there is no other earthshaking (!!) event happening, so the media has glommed onto the eruption for headlines.
Meanwhile, it's cool and comfortable in Hilo, some hazy clouds overhead, and a nice breeze blowing. That's it for now.