Sept. 15
But to back up to the 15th (Friday), we awoke at about 6:30 at the Sheraton Kona, and Julie went for her usual walk, while I showered, shaved, and packed my suitcase. We had valet parked the Elantra the night before because the self-park lot was full, and it was still raining. So we had the valet fetch our ride, and went to Lava Java Cafe in downtown Kona for another round of the island-style waffles with coconut syrup and macadamia nuts, and strips of bacon. Coffee Bruce, and tea Julie. Delicious as the first time. Back to the hotel, and I stopped at front desk for a copy of our folio, and to take one last look around the room. We incurred $320 worth of incidenental charges to our stay, consisting mostly of the daily resort fee ($30), but also parking ($15/day), food, and booze charges.
We took off for the Kona airport approximately 10 a.m.. for our 1:30 flight. We had filled the tank the night before at a nearby Chevron, so we didn't have to do that. We returned the Hyundai to Budget Car Rental, and no tears were shed there! Shuttled to the airport, checked one bag apiece ($25 each) and cleared security, which surprisingly turned out to be a bigger and longer deal than at Chicago. We killed time at the gate reading our Kindles, and we each had a frozen fruit bar from one of the kiosks at the outdoor holding area.
Flight to Honolulu was about 30 minutes, and our second flight was the same airplane, same gate. We had only about a 20 minute wait to get back on the same plane, and we had the same seats as before. Takeoff was on time, and we landed in Lihue approximately 3 p.m. We gathered our checked bags, and took a short shuttle ride over to Avis car rental. This is where things got a little interesting.
They were short of cars due to the weekend, and the lady at the counter wanted to put me in a canary yellow Chevrolet Camaro. I sensed trouble right away, and my fears were confirmed when we got to the vehicle, and I literally could not fit into the driver compartment, which I swear was modeled after the Mercury space capsule. I had to go back and tell the counter lady that I was too fat for the Camaro. She tapped on the keys some more, and switched us to a Chevrolet Malibu. The whole ordeal put us behind about an hour, but a much better car, built for normal people and not contortionists, and a step up from the "Compact class" of car that I had signed up for. Huzzah!
We pulled into our hotel about 5 p.m. Room was on second floor, with no elevator. So had to lug bags up about 16 steps, and into one of the tiniest rooms I have ever stayed in. I joked with Julie that it was practice for the stateroom on the next leg of our journey aboard the Royal Caribbean "Radiance." Our two beds were Ricky and Lucy true twin beds, which I have not slept on since probably toddler-hood. Seriously, I was thinking of switching us into a different place today, but the place has grown on me. It has that funky, "old Hawaii" feel to it, and the lady at the front desk simply couldn't be any nicer.
We had dinner that evening at Duke's Canoe Club, across the roadway on the Marriott Resort property. Pork deluxe nachos for appetizer. Macadamia crusted Mahi with rice and veggies for main course. All washed down with two Mai Tais at happy hour prices. Julie had a cheeseburger and fries with a single Mai-Tai. For dessert, we hit an ABC Store in a strip mall for a pint of Rocky Road, and I found a coffee place with a fresh cup of 100% Kona.
Sunday, Sept. 16
We awoke at around 6 a.m., Julie went walking. I showered a shaved again. For breakfast, we found a place in a strip mall up the road called "Daddy O's Restaurant." Oh, my Lord, awesome breakfast. Julie had a half order of stuffed French toast. I had a special consisting of a half order of Loco Moco, accompanied by a half order of the stuffed French toast and a two mini-stack of pancakes. The latter two generously laden with fresh fruit and whipped cream. We will be back!
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| Julie and French toast |
While at the restaurant, I called the Allerton Gardens to find out their reservation load for the day, and was happy to learn it was very light. So that's where we decided to go. It was either that, or Waimea Park and Canyon. Back to the motel and saddled up. We made it to the Gardens in time for the 10 a.m. guided tour. $50 apiece, which I thought was a bit pricey but, hey, I am getting old I guess. Our guide, Matt, spent about 2 hours with us on a walking tour, and the gardens (which are divided in "rooms" per the whims of John Allerton) were almost as spectacular as I remember them from my 2002 trip there with (late wife) Gwen. I say "almost" because I remember there were more orchids last time. Also, this time, the tour did not include a stop at the Allterton home and beautiful front yard leading to the ocean. I guess now, the folks at the Garden only do this on the "sunset tour" which is more money. We did, however, get to the see the home and yard from the road during our "shuttle" portion of the tour. Here are a couple of pics from the gardens:
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| One of many orchids throughout the gardens |
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| "hearbeat fountain" in the Mermaid room |
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| Bruce and Julie at one of the Moreton Bay fig trees |
On our way out from the park, we stopped at Spouting Horn as long as we were on the south end of the island. Beautiful spouts today. Here is a photo I took:
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| Spouting Horn. The waves enter caves under the rocks and push up through holes in the lava rock |
Next, we stopped at a place called "The Beach Club" for a 1:30 lunch,. This was a place picked blindly from the satellite GPS, because my cell phone was completely useless on this part (southern tip) of the island. It turned out to be an awesome pick! Great food, upscale yet comfortable interior with open patio windows overlooking a popular surf spot on the island. It is at this point that it strikes me how awesomely gorgeous this island is. If I may paraphrase from the minimalist Colin Wright, he says it better than I could:
"It is unfairly beautiful here. I feel I could set my camera to a 10-second shutter release, throw it up in the air, and whatever photo it takes would be award-winning."
We each had the grilled fish sandwich, sitting on a made-from-scratch bun, with vegetable garnish and pineapple tarter sauce on the side. Mine washed down with a Kona blonde brew, and Julie's with ice water. Simply delicious.
Back at the hotel, and now I am on a quest for lilikoi pie, as recommended by my neighbor, Jim Koch, back in Janesville, The little hole-in-the-wall restaurant here in Lihue where Jim tasted it is closed for business until late September. But our very nice desk clerk here at the motel informed us of the source of that pie, that is a little Chinese cafe/bakery in Hanapepe, about 15 miles west of here. Julie has decided to join me on the quest, so we set off in the Malibu for Wong's Cafe and Bakery. Success, and we each had a slice in the bakery. Good, but not mind-blowing in my opinion. It is a chiffon pie, so it is very light and airy. But great flavor from the lilikoi (passion fruit) and a decent crust. I came back to the motel with a slice of their macadamia nut cream/custard pie for later.
This evening, we opt for a light dinner by selecting items from the ABC Store across the street. I had a snack pack consisting of sliced Boar's Head salami and Provolone cheese, atop Ritz crackers, and a half split bottle of Korbel brut champagne. Julie bought peach yogurt, and caramel and chocolate popcorn mix. We ate outside under a canopy at our motel. For dessert, I had the macadamia nut pie and a cup of Kona. All was delicious. We are now back in our motel room for the night.
So that is it for now. Tomorrow is Waimea Canyon. Hope everyone is well.
Bruce
A movable feast in paradise. How devine.
ReplyDeleteWhen Curt and I were at Waimea Canyon it was fogged in. Saw nothing. We heard it is beautiful. If you see it, take a picture. Thanks, Karen
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