Another beautiful day here in Kona. It was a bit overcast when we got up (oh, and dark!) but beautiful walking weather. We both headed out on separate journies for a bit, then met up at the pool for some r&r. And so I can work on my freckles. :o) It was sunny and warm with a light breeze so perfect! But I never have patience just laying out, so did that for a bit then went back up to the room to get ready for lunch. We skipped breakfast as we had a big dinner last night.
We headed for the Hulihe'e Palace down the road, and right on the water. Built by the second governor of the Island of Hawaii, John Adams Kuakini, it was completed in 1838, a hear after he built a chuch across the street (of course!) called the Moku'aikaua Church. The Palace has two floors and six rooms with an engry hall, parlor, dining room, second floor sitting room and two bedrooms. Yes, the kitchen is noticeably absent.
The Palace is filled with the most stunning and intricately carved wood furniture I've ever seen. After Kuakini's, and his son's death, the property passed to Princess Ruth Ke'elikolani, half sister to Kins Kamehamena the Fourth and Fifth, and became a favorite retreat of the royal family. Pictures of the royal family adorn the walls. The grounds are beautiful with two lanais (long decks) overlooking the ocean. I should mention that the home was built with native lava rock, coral lime mortar, koa and ohia wood (the floors are wood and gorgeous! So nice, that you have to leave your shoes at the door!)
Across the street, as I mentioned, is the Mokuaikaua Church, the first stone church built on this island.
Today there's a large cruise ship in the harbor, so lots of people from the ship are milling around!
We headed to a place recommended for local cuisine, but I wasn't very impressed, nor did I have a lot of cash on me (it's cash only) so we headed over to the Kona Inn, where we were recommended to get fish. Specifically, the calamari sandwich, which Lorrayne got and loved. (Sam, who usually hates calamari, actually thought it was ok!) I got a salad with a papaya dressing and seared ahi tuna. Yum!
We decided to head out to Greenwell Farms, the largest Kona coffee plantation, comprised of 25 farms. In the Greenwell family for four generations and 160 years, it's still owned and run by a Greenwell today. There are 25 miles of Kona coffee belt, otherwise, it's just plain Hawaiian coffee. Kona coffee is picked by hand, and while it's very good, that fact sure reflects in the price! This Farm buys coffee cherries from around the Kona region, after certifying the farms, and will sell back the roasted beans if they choose. We got a guided tour and got to learn about the farm and the coffee growing, and roasting, process.
some facts I remember: it takes 7 lbs of coffee beans to make 1 lb of coffee. As I mentioned, kona coffee is picked by hand, and this farm has 35 workers that do all the picking. We got to taste one of the berries and saw the process in action. A skinny dog wandered through the group, so of course I had to pet him (yes, I miss my Dexter!!) We also got to taste 10 different coffees.
The farm grows 25 different kinds of avocado and gives them away, along with bananas, oranges and anything else grown on the property.
We then started down the road to the next place I really wanted to go to, but it started to rain. So, we decided to turn back and brave the school traffic. So tomorrow we'll hit that site, and will go to the farmer's market so I can get Jackie's tahitian lime ginger jelly (that was oh-so-good!!) We picked up some coffee as well today, of course.
I think a mini-nap is in my near future, then a yummy dinner for certain!
Sam
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