Turtle Tuesday
Before arriving in Hawaii I had no idea how prevalent sea turtles are around the islands. There are many beaches a person can visit and essentially be guaranteed a turtle sighting.
Will had some meetings planned for Tuesday morning, so we had planned that he would drop me off at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, which was on the way to where his meetings would be. Punalu'u is famous not only for the beautiful black sand, but also for the numerous sea turtles that come on to the beach to rest throughout the day.
To start out our day we had breakfast at the Kilauea Lodge. Ever since Will's last trip to Hawaii, and stay at the lodge, he's been raving about the cinnamon french toast with coconut syrup. Now, if you really know Will, this will come as a shock because he doesn't normally like anything sweet, let alone french toast AND syrup! woah! But, it keeps life interesting when people surprise you, right? So we went back down to the lodge's restaurant and ordered the french toast. It was SO good! It came with three kinds of bread: traditional, mango, and taro. I wasn't so sure about coconut syrup, but it almost tasted like a light vanilla frosting. I saw it available for purchase at a few different stores during our trip, but I was only taking a carry-on bag on the plane so couldn't take along such a large bottle. Now my eye is open for it here on the mainland! I really want some for home!
After breakfast Will dropped me off at the beach so he could go to his first meeting. He met with a lady to talk about using the seedcake from the pongomia seeds for cattlefeed for her cattle. He also had a separate meeting to tour an old sugar cane plantation for a potential pongomia site.
While Will was working I had a wonderful morning at the beach. I saw turtles on the beach and swimming. It was very relaxing to sit back and watch and listen to the waves roll in.
Will picked me up from the beach around lunch time. We drove into Na'alehu to eat at Hana Hou restaurant. We had delicious fish yet again! At one of Will's meetings this morning the lady set up a meeting for Will to meet with a guy later that afternoon about doing a trial planting. While Will met with him in Pahana, I drove up the road to the Ka'u coffee mill.
After Will's brief meeting, we headed on our way toward Kona. On our drive we passed through the remains of a lava flow which couldn't have happened all that long ago. The lava had formed around the street signs, so clearly it was somewhat recent!
At breakfast at Kilauea Lodge we were talking with a local guy, who suggested that we visit Honaunau Bay on our way to Kona. He said there are often dolphins in the bay and it was a beautiful area. We stopped a walked around a little, but we didn't see any dolphins. It would probably be a better place to go to during the day rather than in the evening.
While driving toward Kona, all of a sudden we saw a zebra! (Like in someone's yard, as a farm.) We were so surprised! When do you just all of a sudden see a zebra? We weren't able to turn around to go back to get another look at it, but luckily Will was planning on going back to Hawaii in a few weeks, so he stopped and snagged a picture. He also asked a lady that he is working with what the deal is with the zebra. She said that the owner is just an eccentric guy who owns some exotic animals!
We arrived in Kona and checked into our hotel, the Royal Kona. I got cleaned up for the night after having been at the beach all day.
Then we went to Huggo's down the street for what I believe was the best dinner we had the whole time, mushroom pesto flatbread and moonfish with potatoes. We sat on the deck right along the ocean. We even saw what was either an eel or a sea snake! After dinner we went to Huggo's sister restaurant, Huggo's On The Rocks. There they have a more casual restaurant with a patio that has a sand floor so you can have your toes in the sand as you listen to music and enjoy drinks.
Next we went to Bubba Gump's. We don't usually do big chain restaurants, but they happen to have an amazing deck along the water, so we couldn't turn down that view! Then it was time to head back to the hotel.
When Will made our hotel reservation, he told the staff that we were there celebrating our anniversary. For the celebration they left us a bottle of champagne in the fridge! We were only in Kona one night so it was our only opportunity to enjoy it. We sat out on our balcony, enjoying the champagne, contemplating life and our bright future ahead.
Will had some meetings planned for Tuesday morning, so we had planned that he would drop me off at Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, which was on the way to where his meetings would be. Punalu'u is famous not only for the beautiful black sand, but also for the numerous sea turtles that come on to the beach to rest throughout the day.
To start out our day we had breakfast at the Kilauea Lodge. Ever since Will's last trip to Hawaii, and stay at the lodge, he's been raving about the cinnamon french toast with coconut syrup. Now, if you really know Will, this will come as a shock because he doesn't normally like anything sweet, let alone french toast AND syrup! woah! But, it keeps life interesting when people surprise you, right? So we went back down to the lodge's restaurant and ordered the french toast. It was SO good! It came with three kinds of bread: traditional, mango, and taro. I wasn't so sure about coconut syrup, but it almost tasted like a light vanilla frosting. I saw it available for purchase at a few different stores during our trip, but I was only taking a carry-on bag on the plane so couldn't take along such a large bottle. Now my eye is open for it here on the mainland! I really want some for home!
 |
| Will looking out into the yard from the front porch of the Kilauea Lodge. |
After breakfast Will dropped me off at the beach so he could go to his first meeting. He met with a lady to talk about using the seedcake from the pongomia seeds for cattlefeed for her cattle. He also had a separate meeting to tour an old sugar cane plantation for a potential pongomia site.
While Will was working I had a wonderful morning at the beach. I saw turtles on the beach and swimming. It was very relaxing to sit back and watch and listen to the waves roll in.
 |
| Huge waves splashing over the rocks. |
 |
| Found this guy just a few minutes after getting to the beach. |
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| Black Sand |
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| Lagoon on the other side of the beach from the ocean. |
Will picked me up from the beach around lunch time. We drove into Na'alehu to eat at Hana Hou restaurant. We had delicious fish yet again! At one of Will's meetings this morning the lady set up a meeting for Will to meet with a guy later that afternoon about doing a trial planting. While Will met with him in Pahana, I drove up the road to the Ka'u coffee mill.
After Will's brief meeting, we headed on our way toward Kona. On our drive we passed through the remains of a lava flow which couldn't have happened all that long ago. The lava had formed around the street signs, so clearly it was somewhat recent!
 |
| Attempting to walk on the lava |
 |
| Such a vast area of lava flow. |
At breakfast at Kilauea Lodge we were talking with a local guy, who suggested that we visit Honaunau Bay on our way to Kona. He said there are often dolphins in the bay and it was a beautiful area. We stopped a walked around a little, but we didn't see any dolphins. It would probably be a better place to go to during the day rather than in the evening.
While driving toward Kona, all of a sudden we saw a zebra! (Like in someone's yard, as a farm.) We were so surprised! When do you just all of a sudden see a zebra? We weren't able to turn around to go back to get another look at it, but luckily Will was planning on going back to Hawaii in a few weeks, so he stopped and snagged a picture. He also asked a lady that he is working with what the deal is with the zebra. She said that the owner is just an eccentric guy who owns some exotic animals!
We arrived in Kona and checked into our hotel, the Royal Kona. I got cleaned up for the night after having been at the beach all day.
 |
| Beautiful sunset view from our room's balcony. |
Then we went to Huggo's down the street for what I believe was the best dinner we had the whole time, mushroom pesto flatbread and moonfish with potatoes. We sat on the deck right along the ocean. We even saw what was either an eel or a sea snake! After dinner we went to Huggo's sister restaurant, Huggo's On The Rocks. There they have a more casual restaurant with a patio that has a sand floor so you can have your toes in the sand as you listen to music and enjoy drinks.
Next we went to Bubba Gump's. We don't usually do big chain restaurants, but they happen to have an amazing deck along the water, so we couldn't turn down that view! Then it was time to head back to the hotel.
When Will made our hotel reservation, he told the staff that we were there celebrating our anniversary. For the celebration they left us a bottle of champagne in the fridge! We were only in Kona one night so it was our only opportunity to enjoy it. We sat out on our balcony, enjoying the champagne, contemplating life and our bright future ahead.
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| This warning cracked us up. |
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