Hawaii second

I'm home. It's Monday night. I am sleep deprived but not feeling it yet. So let's wrap up the trip:

If you want to see the pics first (repeat of album from 1st Hawaii blog entry), or just plain skip my narrative below, go to
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/102259876019428056805/album/AF1QipME3htQxfNtj_JAJDk-n4-B9Yy1NzfdMjM-DMGH

Saturday morning notes: I knew the week would go quickly. Yesterday morning we returned to the beach next to the Place of Refuge. A friendly local, Dede, instructed us on the best place to get in and out of the water (My knee wound is healing nicely). We were early enough to get an excellent parking spot and a great place in the sand, in the shade of a palm, for Mom and Juliet. No swimming turtles spotted this time, but we got some great pics of one, feeding in the edge of the surf, on the lava shoreline. You can't tell its size from the picture. I'd guess its back is about 15” wide.

On the way back to town we stopped at a coffee roaster. The young man was very informative, trying to defer the price of his products, while priming us with chocolate-coated beans. The non-organic lb. was a mere $36, while the primo organic was $48/pound! What passes for Kona coffee really only has a small percentage of lower quality Kona beans in it. Did you know that darker roasts have less caffeine? The longer roasting takes some of the caffeine out. Mary bought a half-pound. I'm holding out to see if Jenny and her husband have beans for sale.

Last night we attended a luau. On the shoreline, walking distance from the condo. Very well done. 'Began before sunset. The buffet was excellent, as were the musicians, the MC (great singing voice too) and the dancers. Two of the male dances were real hunks, including the fire thrower. Far from having stranger shyness, almost 6-month Juliet is a shameless flirt. She took to several of our table companions. See pic of her and the dancer (too bad it isn't sharper). Can you read the dancers’ minds: “HOW long is this creepy old man going to leave his hands on our backs?—Get this picture-taking over!

Saturday was Mom's 92nd birthday. We didn't go far—to the farmer's market, really an artisan market, to pick up gifts. We went to Quinn's for lunch, a place recommended by Monet and Mark, volleyball buddies of mine. Great lead—the Ono fish was fantastic. While not fancy, the setting was more real than Rain Forest Cafes, with an open-air hillside next to our table and a little bird jumping by without being a pest.

Sunday the check out time is 10 a.m. Our flight was a red eye about 10:30 p.m. After two calls to give the okay, condo security let us leave our bags. We loaded up Jenny's loaners and headed north about half an hour to check out Haulalia, the 4-Seasons resort that Tracy says is beautiful. She could have got me a reduced rate (How much less than the usual $300 she didn't say) at the Nicklaus course there. If I had my game more together...Nah, I can't imagine my game good enough for resort green fees. Indeed, the resort is a beaut. We ate our packed lunch on the edge of their pool stocked with lots of fish, including several manta rays.

Jenny and Rich's coffee farm is up the slope a couple of miles from the Place of Refuge. They have quite a story. Several years ago the owner's of the farm were caught for falsely marketing Latin American beans as "Kona" and ended up in prison. The next owners mis-managed in a big way, leaving the place a dump. They have been working hard to turn it around and have become a major processor of green coffee on the island. We were treated to a tour and then a roasting of some super fancy beans, bringing home a big bag for ourselves and a bag to deliver to Katie.

One more sunset at the beach, by the Place of Refuge, dinner at a Mexican place in Kona, back to the condo to cram in all our luggage. If the plane had left on time, it would have been a very close call. Since it was an hour late, we were okay.

It was a plucky vacation, this 4-generation group, staying in a one-bedroom place, fitting in to a rental car that I intended to be mid-sized (an upgrade from compact), but in fact wasn't very spacious. We pulled it off. It was a splendid week. Even with her first 2 teeth coming through during the week and lots of time in the car seat, Juliet was a trooper. She is so alert, responsive to new acquaintances that show an interest in her. I look forward to taking her along on travels in coming years. Mom, of course, was her enthusiastic, appreciative, adaptable self. Mary, my traveling buddy, was her thoughtful, fun-loving self, so happy to take a break from her grueling job keeping Oregon's most challenging citizens out of institutions. And Kate, who lovingly helps me laugh at myself.

Once again, the pics:
https://get.google.com/albumarchive/102259876019428056805/album/AF1QipME3htQxfNtj_JAJDk-n4-B9Yy1NzfdMjM-DMGH

Until next time,

John