Sunday. You know what that means? Football! Normally, we are used to watching football early in the morning at 10am because of the time change. But here, it comes on at 7am, as there is another 3 hr time change from Cali!
Bob got up and supported his Browns! And they…..Lost! I was really hoping for a win!
Breakfast? We ate in our room today. Leftover malasadas from our adventure yesterday! Plus, drink wise had my favorite juice – POG ( Passion Orange Guava). Of course, they didn’t taste as great as yesterday, but still delicious!
We had a late start, with Bob’s sunburn still bothering him, and with it being Sunday, we were limited with options on our agenda. We decided to head down to Kailua-Kona area for lunch and to check out the Village Walk that occurs on one Sunday a month and happened to be today!
Before grabbing our car, we had to visit with the birds again. They had a different bird today and I think he fell in love with Bob. Bob was petting him when he would get closer and lift his arm to have him rub under his arm. He loved it. As soon as Bob would stop, he would move closer to him. I thought he was going to jump off onto his shoulder. Guests were cracking up and couldn’t believe the bird was even being touched. Bob must have been the bird whisper. Especially with them coming up to us yesterday at breakfast. HAHA!!
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It was a hot and humid day today! Our drive down to Kailua-Kona was nice. The Village Walk is on 1 Sunday each month from 1pm-6pm on Ali’i Drive. If you haven’t been here, Ali’i Drive is a scenic waterfront, nestled in between rows of souvenir and curio shops, sidewalk cafés, and a long lava rock sea wall. However, on this Sunday, they shut the road down and a bunch of local vendors set up booths and sell their products. Majority of them were Exclusively Made in Hawaii items. Totally up my alley!
Before shopping, we were hungry for some lunch. I received a coupon from our hotel for a free appetizer to the restaurant that I was thinking of going to. The appetizer happened to be Calamari!
Lunch: Fish Hopper
We loved it. It had ocean front views, people watch the Village Walk, and the food was delicious. I decided to order Fish Tacos again to make up for last night. It was made up with a mixture of Mahi Mahi and Ono fish. It had a refreshing pineapple and papaya salsa. (Seriously, I can’t get enough of this Papaya!)
When the waitress asked if I wanted dessert, I declined because I was going to have shave ice! I noticed a shave ice shop nearby when walking, so I got so excited.
But first, shopping time. Here were some of my favorite vendors during our walk:
Joe’s Nuts, www.JoesNuts.com
Joe’s Nuts are grown in the rich volcanic soil of Mauna Loa. You can visit their farm/shop. They have several different varieties of nuts: plain (salted/unsalted), Kona coffee, Coconut Curry, Vanilla, Maui Onion & Garlic, Ginger Lime Macadamia and many others.
Good News: Stay tuned on my Facebook page for more details regarding a Little Taste of Hawaii giveaway.
It will include a sample bag of Kona Coffee rubbed Mac Nuts!
Hawaiian Candyman, www.hawaiiancandyman.com
I love coconut candy and tried it for the first time in Maui. I have attempted to buy this on the Mainland and none of it even comes close to how they do it here. They start with slices of pure coconut, then soaked in various natural flavors from around the island, their candy is tossed in pure cane sugar to give it a nice finish. You can eat it by the slice or chop it up and sprinkle it on other dishes for an extra treat! No artificial ingredients, GMO & Gluten Free. They have several different flavors like: Toasted, Cinnamon, Vanilla and many others. I bought all 3 of those kinds!
Good News: Little Taste of Hawaii giveaway will include a bag of Toasted Coconut Candy!
Kalapana Gold Honey, www.kalapanagold.com
Their hives are harvested monthly in small quantities of superior quality gourmet honey in special micro climates of The Big Island of Hawaii. The honey is never heated or pasteurized which means you will enjoy the health benefits as nature intended. They had several varieties such as Kiawe the White Honey, Lehua, Noni, Mac Nut, and Christmas Berry.
The Kiawe honey is very rare. It’s gathered from an isolated Kiawe forest on the island of Hawaii. The Kiawe trees have reached an underground aquifer of fresh water that flows down from the volcanoes. This forest is in a desert and no other vegetation has tapped the aquifer, allowing the bees to collect Kiawe nectar of exceptional purity and quality.
I tried samples of the Kiawe and the Mac Nut. Both delicious!
I took a picture with Jennifer and we were holding a batch of their Kiawe Honey!
Guess what? I’ll have a small sample jar of the Mac Nut flavor included in the giveaway!
Mama’s Kona Coffee, www.mamaskonacoffee.com
Family owned business. Their farm is located approximately 1,380 ft. Above sea level on the volcanic slopes of the Hualalai in the North Kona District of Hawaii on the Big Island known as Keauhou-Kona. For years their family would sell their coffee cherry beans to neighboring bigger coffee farms where it was mixed and processed with other Kona coffee beans. This year, their family decided to start their own coffee business.
Good News: A sampler bag of Medium Roast 100% Kona coffee will be included in the giveaway!!
We also met a guy Liki, who had a booth of his homemade crafts. They were called Kapa.
What is Kapa?
Kapa is made from the bark of the Mulberry tree. The bark is stripped and hung to dry. After drying, the strips are pounded on a flat wooden anvil with a wooden mallet. The mallet is smooth on one side and coarse on the other. The strips are double layered and connected by using a natural paste made off tapioca until desired size is achieved. Once sized, it is dyed and designed with tribal using natural dyes made from roots, barks, and plants. Kapa is traditionally used as blankets, clothing, costumes, crafts, decorations, and gifts for special occasions. It is highly prized for its decorative value and is used in all Polynesian countries. Kapa is rarely made today due to the long process, work and effort in creation and preparation.
The one we are holding is the one we chose for us. Each one has a meaning and this one had a great meaning and related to Bob and I. I loved hearing about the story and loved his passion in his work.
We also saw Mokuaikaua Church. This is the oldest and first founded Christian Church in the State of Hawaii, established in 1820.
The heat was definitely getting to us and it definitely was time to get dessert. We stopped at Scandinavian Shave Ice.
If you have never had a Hawaiian Shave Ice, it’s no where near your typical snow cone on Mainland. Also, their syrups are all natural and no high fructose corn syrup. They have a huge list of flavors and you can even mix it with a scoop of ice cream, etc. However, I just wanted the basic shave ice.
The flavors I chose were Passion Orange, Mango, and Papaya. (Did you think I would forget about Papaya?). Bob got Watermelon, a Green Apple, and Mountain Dew. Yes, Mountain Dew. He asked if they could pour that on as a flavor. They said it would be the first time of them doing this, but were very intrigued by it. Verdict: Bob loved it!
During our drive back to the hotel, we spotted lots of goat/sheep within the lava rocks or side of the road. It then became a game for us, almost like a Where’s Waldo, of who could find the most animals on the drive. So, fun!
We were both exhausted from the heat and decided to come back to the room to wash up and relax. We ended up renting a DVD – Draft Day. I decided to open up my bag of Kettle Corn from yesterday to munch on during the movie. Oh so good!
After the movie, we decided to go out for a bite to eat. Wanted to go to a nicer place – I wanted to get a good fish dish and Bob wanted a good piece of steak.
Roy’s Waikoloa – located in King’s Shops
Best service so far for the week! Top notch food!
Appetizer: Crisp Bacon Caesar Brussels Sprouts
OMG! Insanely good. They deep fried Brussels Sprouts and then tossed them in a housemate Caesar dressing and fresh sliced Parmesan and crisp bacon.
Dinner: Jade Pesto Steamed Hawaiian Monchong with Chinese soy, bok choy, braised daikon.
Again, Monchong fish might be one of my favorite fishes to eat. The combination with the soy, was insanely good.
Dessert: Strawberry-Papaya Fruit Crisp with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Oh, just not any old vanilla bean ice cream…. Lappert’s Ice Cream. You can only get it on a few of the Hawaiian Islands, and I was actually bummed they didn’t have a shop here on the island.
In previous years when we went to Oahu or Maui, we would go to Lapperts Every night for dessert!
So, as soon as I heard waitress say Papaya and Lappert’s in the same sentence – I was sold. Did I like it? I’m sure the photos can answer that one.
When we got back to the hotel, we didn’t feel like waiting for the tram. We decided to just walk off some of our meal and reflect on our day. So much fun, probably the best day yet!
Where will Day 4 take us??
** Sorry about any grammar errors, as I didn’t have a chance to fully spell check before posting.
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