A GIANT LEMON AND SHOPPING IN KAILUA-KONA

THE PIER ON ALII DRIVE, KAILUA-KONA

We are waiting for the sun to burn of the morning mist which rolls up the mountain from the sea. The nights are pleasantly cool. This morning I would feel more comfortable if I put socks on my feet. It warms up quickly once the sun comes through which could be in another half hour, about 8 am. I really like being at this altitude. I would collapse and be totally zombied out at beach level. Yesterday in Kaiula-Kona it must have been over 100'F away from the light sea breeze. We walked along the sea walk of Allii Drive and gazed at the beautiful colours in the sea. The snorkel boats were out in force and while there were plenty of people around nothing was crowded. I could cope quite comfortably when we were out of the sun but air conditioning was better.

Our first goal was to find two restaurants which had been recommended to us to see if they would be suitable for our meeting with Kathy and her husband, Malcolm. Malcolm is strictly gluten free and of course we like to maintain our wheat free, low grain status. We discovered that Bongo Bens menu is mostly sandwiches and other bready meals.

We did find Rapanui where Pam from Pahoa, said the chef is her cousin. It certainly had a strong New Zealand influence with Tepuke something, NZ green-lipped mussels, NZ wines and Steinlager featured. We had a decent meal, sharing spring rolls and grilled ahi. (tuna), with thin fries and salad. The service was not overly friendly in spite of not being too busy and we both thought the food was ordinary but at least it was not expensive.

We looked again through our guide book and have sent a text to Kathy suggesting a fish and steak restaurant for lunch. We will be there about 11 am and I am really looking forward to meeting up.

After lunch we went on a mission to complete my second goal. I wanted to buy his and hers rings from Hawaiian Jewellers who make titanium rings in their own factory. I grabbed a shopping book off one of the many street dispensers to check the company name and address. It took four goes to find someone who knew what I was looking for and it was just along the street a block,a little hole in the wall where you were invited in to study samples, have your finger sized, order and pay. We chose a design with colour. It was a tough choice. I looked long and hard at the ones with Hawaiian wood insets but I wanted something that was a little more feminine for me. I think we made a good choice although I realised later John didn't say much. Maybe he was shocked by the cost but I think we did extra well. We bought the two rings with engraving and posting back to NZ for US$1145.

Shopping satisfied and wilting in the heat we wandered back to the car stopping to take photos of the giant banyan tree and the King's palace.

Our car had turned into an oven and all for the miserable parking fee of $8.00 for 2 hours. We have been shown a free park for our next visit.

John stopped to put another $10 petrol in the car and that should be enough to get it back to the airport on Saturday. I think we have only bought about $150 worth for the whole 3 weeks. It was good to get the airconditioner blasting through the car and we drove up to a higher elevation as smartly as possible. It was still over 80'F on the main road, Highway 19.

We both needed drinks and it was too early to return to the plantation so we began to look for a coffee shop. We stopped in and strolled along the street until John noticed the Original Donkey's Balls Shop. We just had to go there. The ladies were very friendly and after some debate we chose Wild Donkey's Ass mocha, iced, with whipped cream. I had mine over ice, John had his blended and they were delicious and I liked mine better than John's and visa versa.

We asked about the name. Can you guess? ... or maybe you've heard the expression before. Donkey's balls is a slang term for macadamia nuts. we got some good information here about places to eat too and instead of going to the Coffee Shack for lunch before going to the airport tomorrow we will go to Mahina's.

FASCINATING BANYAN TREE

We were back at the plantation about 4 pm and we had driven less than 30 miles so not as tired as previous days. I spent the extra hours catching up with blogs, writing up mine, checking photos and our car cam movies. I am also editing my blog into a printable version. The late afternoon coffee left me wired and I wasn't sleepy until midnight. Other nights I crashed and was asleep around 9 pm. Working on my laptop was slow because I also had TV on watching The Merry Monarch Hula Competition. Miss Aloha Hula is akin to winning Miss New Zealand except that it's not a beauty contest. The winner is an Ambassador for Hawaii.

A HUGE LEMON FELL OFF THE TREE NEAR OUR DOOR WHILE WE WERE OUT

Another beautiful day in Hawaii.