Saturday, May 24, 2014

Patriotism

It's Memorial Day Weekend and I was just scouring my photographs of some of the places we've visited that embody a spirit of patriotism. And just exactly what is patriotism?

Patriotism (from Merriam-Webster) is defined as the act of loving one's country. And we do love this country!!

Patriotism was born in Boston, Massachusetts (we visited in 2009.)


Near the Bunker Hill Memorial



A Tribute To Samuel Adams



And up the steps at Harvard University. 

Patriotism is certainly found in Washington DC (we visited in 2009)




The Lincoln Memorial




The Korean War Memorial (these statues are larger than life!) 



The Women's Military Service Memorial



At the Library of Congress 



Near George Washington's Mt. Vernon



The Capitol Building




And most definitely in Arlington National Cemetery.


Our nation found its meaning of patriotism again after the events of September 11th. 


With the deepest sense of respect and patriotism...
Happy Memorial Day!






Monday, May 12, 2014

Hawaii on the Cheap... or Traveling with the Boss

Hubby: Wanna go to Hawaii?
Me: Yeah, too expensive this year.
Hubby: We've got the points.
Me: Let's go.

...and we did.


Now we've been to the Big Island before and loved it. We tried to savor a few new things this time around that were on the cheap, and I'd like to share them with you here.

We flew via USAirways (free miles) and while the legroom in economy is pretty scant, the seats are even more uncomfortable. Whatever you do, check out www.seatguru.com before you purchase your seats. The non-reclining bench near the bathroom (Row 7) were an unpleasant surprise on our trip home. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard King Kamehameha (www.marriott.com) in historic Kailua-Kona and couldn't have been happier with our upgraded suite accommodations. Lovely room with a great view. Traveling with the boss is pretty amazing.


Breakfasts here at Honu's in the hotel were delicious, and ample, as we soon discovered everywhere we went. The pancakes were the highlight, stuffed with macadamia nuts, banana, pineapple, and coconut, smothered in sweet coconut syrup. The savory dishes were equally delicious if you can drag yourself away from the pancakes. I cannot. Great service here too, thanks Justin! Got a great pic here of my travelin' pal of the last 30 years at Honu's one morning.


Day One: After breakfast we ventured into downtown Kailua-Kona for a bit of a walk. The Hulihe'e Palace was our first stop. Billy didn't let us down with his great commentary and depiction of the historical monarchy in Hawaii. Built in 1838, this lovely place was the vacation home for the monarchy during their reign. It sits oceanside on Ali'i Drive with a grand view, and gorgeous koa wood furnishings throughout. There was a modest admission fee ($6 or $8 if I recall) and well worth it for us.


Directly across the street we stopped into the Mokuaikaua Church, the first founded Christian church in all of Hawaii.


This simply decorated treasure serves a small congregation to this day, and you can pop in and view it all for free.

We wound up doing a bit of shopping on Ali'i Drive for the rest of the afternoon and had a marvelous dinner at Umeke's for poke. Now, I didn't know what poke was but I am all about trying something new. It's fresh ahi chunked into little cubes and served in a variety of ways - with fresh seaweed, with avocado, with chiles, etcetera. Our poke plate could not have been better, and the recommended fiddle-head fern salad was one of the highlights of the week. They've got a website at www.umekeskona.com where you can peruse the deliciousness.


Check out these hardworking dudes cutting up the fresh fish - really really fresh fish. Thanks to the locals for the recommendations for these two haoles who didn't know their way around the poke shop!!

Day Two: Budget Rentals set us up with a clean and efficient vehicle to get around the island and on this day we took to the highway. Our first stop was a delightful visit to Heavenly Hawaiian Farms for a tour and sampling of their 100% Kona coffee. There was a bit of a mix-up on the Yelp website as to their hours which reminded us we always need to double-check. But, our host was so gracious and friendly too. The coffee was very flavorful, not bitter at all. And the coffee butter was magical. They have a website if you'd like to order some of the good stuff - www.heavenlyhawaiian.com or coffee@heavenlyhawaiian.com. Tell her Deb and Jeff sent ya.

Back on the road headed south towards Hilo and the terrain changes all over the place. We forget that Hawaii is not only a tropical island, but actually volcanic in topography. It's amazing to view the miles and miles of coal-black formations that have destroyed countless acres over time. Kileaua is still erupting down in Volcano National Park and we read that one of the last big eruptions outside of the park occurred in 1985.



Love that momma and baby goat out on the rocks!

The southern tip of the island is home to the southernmost town, bar, and bakery in the United States. Our kids would never forgive us if we drove right by, so we stopped in for a beer.



They had us at 'malasada' at Punulu'u Bakery in this little town for the tastiest sweet treat. It seems every culture has some sort of fried dough, and Hawaii has the malasada. It's a fried donut of Portuguese origin filled with a creamy filling and can be frosted, or not. We chose the vanilla malasada (tasty) and the liliquoi frosted malasada (out-of-this-world) and licked our fingertips clean. I didn't even want to have a sip of water afraid I might lose the flavor from my mouth. Delicious. I wonder if they ship?? Check them out at www.bakeshophawaii.com. BTW, if you're on Oahu you can get malasadas at Leonard's in Honolulu too.

Onward towards Hilo via twisting roads, decimated towns, volcanic rock, and then surprisingly huge graceful foilage.


Pana'ewa Zoo beckoned as we had read it was free admittance. This very small zoo is definitely in need of some serious financial support. They are creating a new sanctuary for their tigers so we missed them. But we were welcomed by a squawking peacock (below)


to view the monkeys, birds, and tropical plants. There's a picnic area and place for the kiddos to burn some energy here too. Visit their website at www.hilozoo.com.

Lunch in Hilo was pre-ordained for Puka Puka Kitchen in a little strip-mall on Kamehameha Drive. Another great plate lunch here - hubby had the chicken katsu and watched them hand dip, fry, and plate a serious bit of grub. I had the fresh ahi salad with the papaya dressing - SO good. They don't have a website but you can certainly check out their reviews on Yelp or Trip Advisor.

Through Hilo we ventured past Banyan Tree Drive



and on to Rainbow Falls. Seriously, the falls are within a couple of miles of downtown Hilo, just past the elementary school, middle school, high school, and hospital. I never seem to tire of all the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis.



Gorgeous, right? And free for you to view. After the falls we had plans to visit the Vanilla Kitchen in Paauilo. Now this was a bit of a trek off the beaten path, but worth the trip. They are the first commercial vanilla operation in the United States, growing right on their property for the last 20 years. Never knew. You can pop in for a lovely variety of treats including vanilla bread pudding, vanilla brownies, vanilla sundaes, vanilla coffee, vanilla tea, and a whole slew of stuff for sale. All vanilla related of course - everything from cornbread mix and salt to coffee, tea, and bath products. Super friendly folks here, wish we could have visited on a Saturday for high tea. Check them out at www.hawaiianvanilla.com for more information.

Back on the road and headed to the Big Island Brewhaus for a quick sample of their beers. Some unique and tasty beers can be found here with a spicy bit of Mexican food on their menu. They've got about fifteen beers on tap and Jeff loved the Red Giant Ale and the Golden Sabbath. They have a website for you at www.bigislandbrewhaus.com if you've a hankering.

Dinner reservations were made for The Three Fat Pigs Restaurant at Waikaloa owned by Chef Ippy Aiona. This was our one splurge meal. We were so sad to miss Ippy as he was one of our faves on The Next Food Network Star, and his food was absolutely delicious. Fresh mahi-mahi grilled to perfection (thanks for steering me away from the salmon) with fluffy purple sweet potatoes or deep fried beets. We had one of each and shared. Yep - and truly tasty, all of it. The charcuterie was nice as well and the service was truly attentive. I'd search them out again in a heartbeat and possibly try his bbq place next time too. Menus and such can be found at www.threefatpigs.com. Oh, and Ippy is one of the 30 under 30 (chefs) and has won numerous competitions for his cuisine. Good stuff, and we were exhausted.

Day Three: Out and about in Kona after our extremely relaxing and rejuvenating massages at the Courtyard King Kamehameha Spa. This intimate location was just perfect for us with attentive and welcoming service in a tranquil setting. This is a very small spa with just a few therapy rooms, and some may not see the joy in that. But we did - it was heavenly. Thanks Gretchen and Katie!! Check them out at or reserve some joy of your own at www.konabeachhotel.com.

We stopped in to Hula Daddy Coffee for a short tour and some serious coffee sampling. Jennifer was our tour guide and answered all my silly questions. The farm is on a hill overlooking Kona with some of the best views on the island. The wind was up and it was drizzling, making it an absolutely perfect visit. Their coffee was good, and the peaberry tea was really good. You can order direct at HulaDaddy.com or HulaDaddy@HulaDaddyCoffee.com. I would.



A little coffee... a little beer. Over to Kona Brewing (www.konabrewing.com) to sample a few of their draft-only brews. We loved the Hula Hefe and the Lavaman Red Ale. The place was hopping on a week-day afternoon and our bartender was keeping pace very well. Oh, and this guy was out and about in downtown Kona almost every day making deliveries to all the bars - smiling every time we saw him. I always always say, "do what you love and love what you do." P.S. He did okay my picture-taking!!


Next up - the Big Island Bees Farm & Factory for a free (reserved) tour and honey sampling. They've been in business since 1971 on the Big Island. Our guide was fearless - the way she handles those bees on the frames (thousands of them!!) about put me to bed, but it was informative and enjoyable. Saw a bee doing the waggle dance, and viewed the queen too. I loved the explanation of the difference between fresh honey and the squeeze-bear variety. Can't wait for my shipment to arrive so I can sample the goods at home. You can order direct from them at BigIslandBees.com



Great dinner at Big Island Grill on Kuakini in downtown Kona. No website my friends - just check them out on Yelp. Delicious Loco Moco combo for Jeff with hamburger patty, spam, and sausage atop steamed rice with a few perfectly cooked eggs and spot-on gravy. I had a bowl of saimin which was seasoned perfectly with amazingly tender char-siu, eggs, and noodles. Yum!!

Day Four: One of the locals we met said we had to go up to Waimea for breakfast at the Hawaiian Style Cafe, so we did. OMG - the pancakes were the size of hubcaps and I'm not kidding. Twelve inches across and thick as your fist, these two pancakes would have given my cholesterol a run for its life. I could not finish the haupia covered cakes no matter how delicious they were or how badly I wanted to. I just couldn't. Jeff had the french toast breakfast with sweet Hawaiian bread and it was divine as well. Note to future self - when you order those pancakes, ask for a half-order and side of bacon to cut the sweet. But... don't miss out on visiting this local hang-out. Great food, cash only. Another hole-in-the-wall bit of YUM with no website. You'll find it, I have faith in you.

After breakfast we headed over to the Pu'ukohola Heiau Historic Monument where King Kamehameha and a temple once stood. (http://www.nps.gov/puhe/index.htm) Now for the surprise of our trip... the park ranger asked us if we wanted to go out on a shallow hulled canoe. For free. For free. Okay, I'm up for a bit of adventure and the canoe trips back at the hotel were a bit pricey. We signed the waivers, headed down the hill, and were greeted by a true-life canoe voyager. This guy was dressed in a loin cloth and ready for the historical part of our trip. He spoke of trade-winds and canoe voyages around Hawaii and out into Polynesia. Soooo interesting. Then we hopped into the canoe with another couple and paddled out into the ocean amidst coral reefs, schools of fish, sea turtles, and black-tipped sharks. After about an hour, we headed in as it started to rain. I can't thank the National Park Service enough for such an interesting morning. They have a different program each day and we lucked out on "Voyager-Canoe Day." Lucky us.

After our canoe trip we headed up to the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Factory (www.hawnnut.com) and sampled quite a bit. I really liked the ambiance of this smaller factory - free and not too touristy with tasty mac-nuts and brittle too.



Our drive took us up to Kapa'au in search of King Kamehameha and another plate lunch. We found both.


Another incredible lunch at Minnie's on Akoni Pule Highway just outside of town. The fish of the day was ahi (love it!) seared admirably and served with steamed rice and a tasty concoction of macaroni salad, potato salad, and egg salad combined. SO good. Jeff had the Korean style bbq chicken and it's sweet sticky fried exterior concealed a tender chicken that was so flavorful.

We traversed the island back and forth and all the way around for four days and saw some of the most gorgeous flora. I love the various hibiscus around the island.




But my all-time favorite is the plumeria - sweetly scented and petite in size, just perfect for lei-making. We even spotted people picking them from the trees on the side of the road. Gorgeous.






I have saved the best for last - for us anyway. It's another meal, of course because it seems all we did in Hawaii was take pictures and EAT.

Yelp did not steer us wrong when it pointed us towards Kaaloa Super J's. This itty-bitty building just south of downtown Kona houses some of the tastiest Hawaiian food ever. There were two choices - lau lau, and kahlua pig with cabbage. That's it, just two choices. We got one plate of each to share. Sides were steamed rice and lomi-lomi salmon in freshly salted tomatoes. What's a lau lau? Fresh banana leaves surround chunks of pork and spices, wrapped tightly and steamed for hours. This delicacy comes out packed with fresh flavor and a bit of sass! The kahlua pig with cabbage was also cooked to tender perfection and seasoned perfectly. We were highly entertained by the ladies behind the counter when they offered us a 2-minute bit of television. Right in the middle of this 4-seat place is a big screen TV and they share their Food Network Adventure when Sunny Anderson came for a visit. She loved the lau lau too, and when its gone each day my friends, it is gone. Of all the food treats we tried, this one was the best.


The Big Island beckons....
Aloha & Mahalo,
Deb