Hi everyone! Lazy morning after all the driving we did yesterday. Don't get me wrong.. we were still up at 5, but lazed around a bit listening to the sound of the waves. While we don't have a sand beach at this hotel, which is a little disappointing, having the sound of the water crashing on the rocks is quite a nice thing to enjoy in the early hours!
We ate last night at a place called Huggies, right by the hotel on the water. Without a reservation we got prime seating overlooking the lava rocks and the tide pools, so must have scored with a cancellation. We got this killer mushroom dish and an arugula salad with strawberries, goat cheese and candied macadamias. We both got the cioppino, which was a bit of a disappointment. It had a heavy red broth, which really overpowered the seafood. It had a kona lobster tail, small but great, shrimp cooked to perfection, and two types of clams. It was ok and the seafood very good, but would have been good with a light saffron broth as I've usually had.
The view was amazing and we dined to the sound of the surf crashing on the rocks. The water is incredibly clear, and the sand white, which was striking against the black lava and blue ocean. I got a glass of malbec, one of my favorites. Yum. The lady at the table next to us got the mudpie, and omg the piece was the size of her head! She ate it all! Much as I love desert, I passed when I saw the size of the deserts!
We decided to walk a bit to walk off dinner, and headed back to the hotel. The luau at the hotel was ending. I'm glad we booked the luau at the other hotel! That was ok, but much better than this! We watched some of it from our balcony.
Lorrayne is tired of driving so she decided to stay by the pool today. I can certainly understand but hey, there are still sights to see! So.. off I go!
I decided to see some of the local sights today in the Kailua-Kona area, and started out to drive through the cute little towns just south of town, and then on to Pu'uphonua o'honaunau. This is a place of refuge, where ancient temples and kiwi (wooden images) whisper stories of the page. It provided refuge to Hawaiians who came here. It's a 180-acre National Park in south Kona, around a 30 minute drive from our hotel (it's only around 20 miles, but it's a bit congested in our area.)
The ranger said I was lucky to get in early before all the tour busses got there, and I had the place mostly to myself. It was so beautiful! The crystal clear water against the lava flows and bright green of trees and plans peeking through the lava again was a stark contrast in the landscape. This place of refuge was because it was considered holy ground, and blood could not be shed within its confines. So a sign posted a mental image of a battle-worn warrier swimming to the shores, once reaching it, collapsing on the shores knowing that he was safe. People who broke a kapu would come here, defeated warriers and those too old to fight. The priests would forgive them so they could go back out to their former lives free of the kapu.
There were royal grounds, home of the ali'i, or royalty. For hundreds of years, this was a favorite place for the royalty. The land was segmented and within the 'great wall' only royalty tread. Outside, all were welcome. I walked the grounds and saw temples (heiau), Hawaiian fishponds and the "Great Wall", a 10 foot high and 17 feet thick wall. There was a sign warning people to stay away from the turtles, though unfortunately I didn't see any! Signs marked some of the sights including kanoa, bowls carved into the rock which may be used to hold dye. Also the Ka'ahumanu Stone-- legend says that Queen Ka'ahumanu, favorite wife of King Kamehemeha I, swam to the pu-uhonoa after a quarrel with her husband. She hid under this large stone, but her barking dog gave her away. The king found her, and they ended their quarrel.
The walk wound through the area, by remodeled thatched buildings and a rebuilt section of the stone wall. The color contrasts were striking and the site offered beautiful ocean views.
I headed back to town stopping at a few scenic turn-offs for pictures before heading back to town. I then walked down Ali'i, the main drag, to the farmer's market to get the jams I eyed the other day. I got two of the Tahitian ginger lime (you're welcome, Jackie!) and one called calomondin. I had never heard of it, but it was amazing! The farm produces all of the fruit and honey for these products, and they are jarred on site. Yummy!
I then walked back and decided on sushi for lunch. Yum! I love sushi and getting fresh fish on the ocean seems a great idea. I decided to work on the freckles a bit by the pool, then met up with lorrayne for some drinks by the pool. With a clap of thunder the rains came in, and we chatted with some great people, one of which, Rick, was holding an umbrella up to block the wind and rain. Ever thankful, I told him he'll now be 'famous' in my blog! Rick, if you're reading this, it was nice to meet you!!!
somehow lost the last half of this post, which is frustrating as I lost the first half this afternoon. In summary, we went back to Lava Java for dinner and I got the signature salad with butterfish-- will say that the lettuce here is really great, and I'm not a big salad person! We then headed for Huggos to try their mudslide dessert (which you may remember is the size of your head!) yum! We made a good dent and enjoyed some Kona coffee with baileys, and chatted with a couple of locals here for 20+ years. She's in real estate, and he works at a golf resort.
Another great day! We head to the airport tomorrow but will enjoy some time at the pool before we go. We heard the breakfast at Lava Java is excellent, and since we haven't done breakfast since coming here, we may check it out. Get leaded up on some great kona coffee before we go.. yum!!
Thanks for reading.. until the next adventure... aloha and mahalo!
sam
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