...And Then Scotty Happened. A Hawaiian Adventure (CHAPTER 32 Added 5/23--THE END)

[afwdwfan]

now that baby Drew is here, I’m back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.

I'm glad that the Delaware Department of Transportation is back in capable hands.

Breakfast was the first order of business, and we had no intention of visiting Stoney and the Totally Radical Bakery again.

I wonder if he's opened a bakery in Denver since then?

If you were guilty of breaking a kapu, you had one chance: you could literally run for your life. You would have to head for this place of refuge, and if you made it before the rest of the village caught you, a priest on the site could absolve you of your sin, perform a purification rite, and allow you to go free until the next time you got too careless with your shadow placement.

Wow...

But doesn't that just ensure that any criminals in your society are more physically fit than everyone else?

They were holding some sort of festival that day, and we regretted we couldn’t take the time to do some of the activities. I guess we’ll just have to go back someday.

They had a few of these tiki figures around the park. As always, we were careful to maintain a respectful distance.

Wait a minute... you're in a place of refuge. Can't you do pretty much anything and be purified before they can do anything about it??? Carry on!

Except for Sarah. Honestly, I don’t know where she gets this from.

Julie. Definitely Julie.

Kona coffee is much less bitter than other coffees, so it wasn’t that bad, but…ok, I admit it. I drink wussy coffee, sugared up as much as possible. I’ve never understood how people can drink it black. Yech.

Well, it doesn't matter how much sugar is in it. I just don't like coffee at all.

They said they had a scare a couple of years back when the temperature dropped to a record low…of 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

So...it is 9 degrees with a wind chill of about -9 here today. Are you saying that the coffee plant wouldn't come back from that???

All in all, we were glad we took the tour. It was interesting enough to feel like you learned something about the coffee-growing business, and short enough that it didn’t feel dry. And, of course, the price was right.

In summary, the perfect way to kill a couple of hours.

It was only after we started our descent that I realized my side of the plane wasn’t turning to face the island until after we’d passed all of those sights. Sigh.

Anyway, I was able to spot Aulani from the plane, but didn’t get a good picture of it. Here’s the west side of the island. Aulani would be just beyond the edge of the picture to the left.

Thanks...

No window. You might guess how Scotty felt about this development as well.

Poor Scotty.

Once we unpacked, we pretty much collapsed into bed.

The condo looks great! I'm sure the kids loved having the loft.

It had been a long couple of days, and that would influence our decisions over the next couple of days. And possibly cause some regrets.

Come on! No regrets!!!

You can always just go back if you missed something...

 

[MEK]

I have to reread this tomorrow when I am more awake. All I can handle are the pretty pictures! Love this picture of the kids.

Well, and this picture because you look SO elated!

 

[eandesmom]

It’s been a long, long time since I updated this report with a new chapter, but now that baby Drew is here, I’m back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.

Welcome back to the world of doing updates when you should be actually working! Well done.

We were kicking ourselves for not coming here for breakfast on the previous morning. But then again, I wouldn’t have had such a good story to share, since so many of you are apparently invested in our suffering.

Why yes, yes we are!

From there, we took a narrow one-lane road (because we hadn’t had enough of those yet) south to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (“I just shredded my larynx”) National Historical Park. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but those National Park passport stamps don’t just magically appear in your book, you know. There’s a $5 entry fee, or you can use your handy Tri-Park Pass, like the one we’d acquired on Maui.

This site was known to the Hawaiian natives as a “place of refuge”. If you remember, their society held laws called “kapu” that were sacred. Some laws restricted the obvious crimes, like stealing from your neighbor or murder. Other laws were more obscure, such as not allowing your shadow to cross that of the king. In any case, breaking one of these laws brought a sentence of death, to be carried out immediately. And you thought your job was stressful.

If you were guilty of breaking a kapu, you had one chance: you could literally run for your life. You would have to head for this place of refuge, and if you made it before the rest of the village caught you, a priest on the site could absolve you of your sin, perform a purification rite, and allow you to go free until the next time you got too careless with your shadow placement.

The park itself is a beautiful piece of coastline.

They were holding some sort of festival that day, and we regretted we couldn’t take the time to do some of the activities. I guess we’ll just have to go back someday.

They had a few of these tiki figures around the park. As always, we were careful to maintain a respectful distance.

Except for Sarah. Honestly, I don’t know where she gets this from.

what a fun stop! We did not hit that one, putting on the list.

We did get to taste as much coffee as we wanted, so we had that going for us, which was nice. Unfortunately, we could only taste it black. Kona coffee is much less bitter than other coffees, so it wasn’t that bad, but…ok, I admit it. I drink wussy coffee, sugared up as much as possible. I’ve never understood how people can drink it black. Yech.

I could go all coffee dork on you and tell you why Kona isn't as bitter...or that bitter isn't really accurate but I'll spare everyone.

On the second point I have a few words

It tastes better

It has no calories!

We needed lunch before we got on the next plane, and for us the choice was easy: we went back to the Kona Brewing Company. This time, we went for the sandwiches. I got the “Black Sand Porter” BBQ chicken sandwich, which was pulled chicken breast with ham, peppers, onions, cheese and BBQ sauce. Julie got the Porterhouse Dip, which was roast beef (marinated in Black Sand Porter), onions and cheese. I have to say, she won this round. Her sandwich was fantastic; mine was decent. I also took the opportunity to have a glass of the Black Sand Porter, since it was my last chance to do so. Good stuff.

That's one of my Dad's favorite beers

Airplane view FAIL!

Very glad you made it and the condo looks great.

KFC huh?

Lame.

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like a great day, you are certainly getting to the National Parks of Hawaii, and the coffee tour sounds good. I'll remember to bring a little flask of milk along with me if we go!

That's a bummer on the whole window seat thing. I hope that Scotty gets the window seat for the ride home! And that you get some pictures of the islands on the way out.

I need to check out this VRBO site, it sounds very intriguing!

I'm glad you all are settling into life with the new little one!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sounds like Island Lava Java was a huge success.

Night and day compared to the previous breakfast! Wish we'd gone there first.

Beautiful pictures...love the one of the sparkling blue water. I don't think I've ever seen such sparkling water except in Hawaii.

I haven't, either. Even in Castaway Cay, I didn't think the water was as brilliantly blue as it is in Hawaii.

I so would have been on that coffee tour (as you well know of my love of coffee).

Really? I wouldn't have taken you for a coffee lover.

I love the pouty picture of you...it's so.....MARK!

Poor Scotty.

It'll build character.

Nice looking condo.

It was a great place to stay! Except for one thing, which we'll get to.

You really worked hard at getting that passport stamped.

It's just a fun thing to do. All of the National Park sites are great places to go as a family. You always learn something.

I will say you really made the most of the trip. I would have enjoyed the coffee tour but may have had to smuggle some Splenda in my coffee.

We tried to see as much as we could! And you'll get no argument from me on the coffee. I know Cynthia likes it black, but that makes me look like this:

Sorry your second leg had no window and I bet if you had seat assignments beforehand you might not have ended up " in the trunk" of the plane.

Once again, I thought I had selected seat assignments when I had made the reservation. And once again, the airline didn't give a you-know-what.

I hope Scotty got a do over for the window seat.

Of course! We're not that mean.

Nice condo- will have to keep VRBO handy just in case

It's worked well for us!

What a bummer for Scotty (and you)! I would love to go see the coffee plantation even though I hate the taste of coffee.

It was worth the time!

Beautiful scenery as always. Love that you all were getting your milage out of the national parks!

Each one is worth it! Ok, maybe not the one with the fish ponds, but most of the time, it's a worthy excursion!

The coffee tour would have been interesting but I'm like you blech on the black coffee. I joke that mine is sugar milk with a little coffee in it.

Sounds right to me! Mmmm...sugar...

At least it wasn't a long flight with no window.

Yeah, you barely have time to get your seatbelt on with these inter-island flights.

Have just finished reading your report - entertaining, and informative. Congratulations on Andrew joining your family. I did smile when I saw the title of this report - about Scotty's arrival, and then Drew arrives before the end of the TR.

Thanks for joining in!

These kids just keep popping up for some reason.

All this discussion of Kona Coffee has made my Folgers taste just a bit bitter this morning...

Thanks for more great pictures!

So it's not the best part of waking up anymore?

 

[that's nice]

Hi! I’m Captain_Oblivious. You may remember me from trip reports such as “Operation Big Thunder” and “Delaware: So Close To Where You’d Rather Be.” It’s been a long, long time since I updated this report with a new chapter, but now that baby Drew is here, I’m back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.

Hey, I remember you. You're the one with the new baby who cries all the time.

So we took a page out of fellow DISDad cj9200’s Hawaiian trip report (literally, it’s page 12) and went to Island Lava Java for breakfast. They have some seating, but we got takeout since we were on the run. Wonder of wonders: not only did they list a cinnamon roll on the menu, but they were available for purchase! Even better, they were huge and delicious. And they went great with 100% Kona coffee. We were kicking ourselves for not coming here for breakfast on the previous morning. But then again, I wouldn’t have had such a good story to share, since so many of you are apparently invested in our suffering.

Too bad you didn't go back to the other breakfast place. I was wondering if they ever got restocked.

We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but those National Park passport stamps don’t just magically appear in your book, you know. There’s a $5 entry fee, or you can use your handy Tri-Park Pass, like the one we’d acquired on Maui.

Good job with getting the stamps! I mean when would you be back there again?

They were holding some sort of festival that day, and we regretted we couldn’t take the time to do some of the activities. I guess we’ll just have to go back someday.

Oh, apparently going back is in the cards. Who knew?

They had a few of these tiki figures around the park. As always, we were careful to maintain a respectful distance.

LOL

Except for Sarah. Honestly, I don’t know where she gets this from.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?

Kona coffee is much less bitter than other coffees, so it wasn’t that bad, but…ok, I admit it. I drink wussy coffee, sugared up as much as possible. I’ve never understood how people can drink it black. Yech.

I don't get it either. I hate coffee but love Kona coffee and I basically drink it black.

We needed lunch before we got on the next plane, and for us the choice was easy: we went back to the Kona Brewing Company.

I just broke my Kona Brewing pint glass last week. Smashed the laptop right into it.

This time, we went for the sandwiches. I got the “Black Sand Porter” BBQ chicken sandwich, which was pulled chicken breast with ham, peppers, onions, cheese and BBQ sauce. Julie got the Porterhouse Dip, which was roast beef (marinated in Black Sand Porter), onions and cheese. I have to say, she won this round. Her sandwich was fantastic; mine was decent. I also took the opportunity to have a glass of the Black Sand Porter, since it was my last chance to do so. Good stuff.

You shouldda talked up your sandwich and then talked Julie into trading with you.

Love the pic!

It was only after we started our descent that I realized my side of the plane wasn’t turning to face the island until after we’d passed all of those sights. Sigh.

You should of just laid on top of the kids.

We made our way to row 36…

…and discovered it was the very last row in the airplane.

At least it didn't end at row 35.

Now Now Mark… no pouting.

We’d rented a condo in The Cliffs in the town of Princeville on vrbo.com for this stay, mostly because it was cheaper and gave us more room than the hotels on the island. It was dark when we arrived, but check-in went smoothly and the condo was really a nice place to stay.

Condo looks great! Love VBRO… they have some great deals!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm glad that the Delaware Department of Transportation is back in capable hands.

I'm just hoping nobody noticed that they did just fine without me.

I wonder if he's opened a bakery in Denver since then?

He's already been beaten to the punch by that girl scout selling cookies next door to certain shops.

Wow...

But doesn't that just ensure that any criminals in your society are more physically fit than everyone else?

Great point. Nobody thinks long-term anymore.

Wait a minute... you're in a place of refuge. Can't you do pretty much anything and be purified before they can do anything about it??? Carry on!

I sure hope so! Hopefully the ranger was kidding about the lifetime ban thing.

Julie. Definitely Julie.

I agree.

Well, it doesn't matter how much sugar is in it. I just don't like coffee at all.

I didn't like it for 30 years...and then Dave happened.

So...it is 9 degrees with a wind chill of about -9 here today. Are you saying that the coffee plant wouldn't come back from that???

You're the farmer. How are your crops doing?

In summary, the perfect way to kill a couple of hours.

That's how we saw it!

Thanks...

I know, you just don't see crackerjack trip reporting like that everyday.

The condo looks great! I'm sure the kids loved having the loft.

We did, too. We had a place to banish them.

Come on! No regrets!!!

You can always just go back if you missed something...

And we will!!!!

(in 25 years or so)

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I have to reread this tomorrow when I am more awake. All I can handle are the pretty pictures! Love this picture of the kids.

Yeah, right. You're just stalling until you get to Florida.

Well, and this picture because you look SO elated!

I don't think that was my best side.

Welcome back to the world of doing updates when you should be actually working! Well done.

We each have our special talents. Mine is being a lazy SOB.

Why yes, yes we are!

I knew it!

what a fun stop! We did not hit that one, putting on the list.

I thought it was worth the stop!

I could go all coffee dork on you and tell you why Kona isn't as bitter...or that bitter isn't really accurate but I'll spare everyone.

Oh, go ahead. You know how nerdy I am. And I pretty much exhausted my knowledge of the coffee market in the chapter.

On the second point I have a few words

It tastes better

There's one in every crowd. Apparently there are people who actually like brussels sprouts too.

It has no calories!

Can't argue that. But at least the calories are sugar. Delicious, unhealthy sugar.

That's one of my Dad's favorite beers

Now one of mine too!

Airplane view FAIL!

Yeah...we'll just have to try again.

Very glad you made it and the condo looks great.

KFC huh?

Lame.

Guilty as charged. I will now hang my head in shame.

Sounds like a great day, you are certainly getting to the National Parks of Hawaii, and the coffee tour sounds good. I'll remember to bring a little flask of milk along with me if we go!

Maybe a couple of sugar packets too. Don't bring Stevia, though. I watched Breaking Bad.

That's a bummer on the whole window seat thing. I hope that Scotty gets the window seat for the ride home! And that you get some pictures of the islands on the way out.

Scotty got his chance. As for the pictures...

I need to check out this VRBO site, it sounds very intriguing!

Pretty simple. I think it's actually run by homeaway.com, but they're pretty much the same thing. I know some people who negotiate with multiple owners at the same time, trying to bring down prices.

I'm glad you all are settling into life with the new little one!

What day is it again?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey, I remember you. You're the one with the new baby who cries all the time.

Every. Single. Hour. Of. Every. Single. Day.

Too bad you didn't go back to the other breakfast place. I was wondering if they ever got restocked.

I think the guy kept getting a case of the munchies for some reason.

Good job with getting the stamps! I mean when would you be back there again?

Exactly!

Oh, apparently going back is in the cards. Who knew?

Sure, it only took us 15 years to save up for this trip, and that was before we had 4 kids.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree does it?

They're great kids, aren't they?

I don't get it either. I hate coffee but love Kona coffee and I basically drink it black. [/QUOTE}

If I was going to drink any coffee black, it would be Kona. That actually wasn't horrible.

I just broke my Kona Brewing pint glass last week. Smashed the laptop right into it.

NOOOOO!!!!

You can get replacements, though:
http://store.konabrewingco.com/Barware_Kona/KON50-0006-01

You shouldda talked up your sandwich and then talked Julie into trading with you.

She was pregnant at the time. I'm not getting within 10 feet of her food.

Love the pic!

You should of just laid on top of the kids.

Then I'd get a letter from the FAA.

At least it didn't end at row 35.


Now Now Mark… no pouting.

Condo looks great! Love VBRO… they have some great deals!

 

[eandesmom]

Oh, go ahead. You know how nerdy I am. And I pretty much exhausted my knowledge of the coffee market in the chapter.

Kona is a "softer" bean than some both in terms of the actual bean hardness and in terms of it's inherent flavor profile. Due to the region that it is grown in, soil, climate all that rot. You can compare it to wine grapes, very similar characteristics come into play based on the region. It is not a bean that would thrive in many other places. As a result, it cannot "take" a very dark roast well. It is typically roasted in more of a medium style to match it's softer, more mellow flavor profile. If you roasted it darker (which is the part most people find bitter but it's not actually the bean itself, just how long it was "cooked" for) it would completely take over the flavor to a not so tasty state.

For folks that like a lighter or more medium roasted coffee in general, Kona is a huge hit. It's so ridiculously expensive though, not because it's "better" than some of it's Central American flavor profile counterparts, but because it is "made in the US".

Most of the Kona you will find in the grocery stores on Island is not very good (though to be fair, as I'm not a huge fan of it in general, I wouldn't be able to truly weigh in on what the better brands/roasters are but there are definitely some good ones). It's like anything, you can say that Folgers is made with 100% Columbian coffee, but that doesn't make it a great coffee. They definitely play to the tourist trade with it. Not necessarily the tour you went on at all, but in terms of the glut of crappy expensive Kona they sell at ABC and the like.

There's one in every crowd. Apparently there are people who actually like brussels sprouts too.

And yet I am pretty sure that the same person doesn't like both.

BLEH

Plus, coffee smells like heaven

Brussel Sprouts????????

Can't argue that. But at least the calories are sugar. Delicious, unhealthy sugar.

That's Jeff's take as well.

Now one of mine too!

Kona Brewing Rocks.

On every level.

Guilty as charged. I will now hang my head in shame.

At a certain point, food is food and lord knows Hawaii has more than it's share of drive through's. Location location location!

 

[glennbo123]

It’s been a long, long time since I updated this report with a new chapter, but now that baby Drew is here, I’m back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.

It's pretty bad when you're procrastinating leaning on a shovel.

But then again, I wouldn’t have had such a good story to share, since so many of you are apparently invested in our suffering.

It was Pat! And Kathy!

He was originally mistaken for a god by the natives, and thus the captain and his crew were treated extremely well and showered with gifts.

He stole that idea from a Gilligan's Island episode. And then Star Wars episode 6, Return of the Jedi.

However, as time passed, the natives started to grow frustrated that their visitor did not deliver the great blessings they thought would come with his arrival. Some Hawaiians stole a small boat from the crew, and the resulting dispute over the boat ended up with Captain Cook dead from a stab wound. The white memorial across the bay marks the site of his death.

He should've paid closer attention to how Gilligan pulled it off.

From there, we took a narrow one-lane road (because we hadn’t had enough of those yet) south to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (“I just shredded my larynx”) National Historical Park.

So that's what they were saying!

If you remember, their society held laws called “kapu” that were sacred. Some laws restricted the obvious crimes, like stealing from your neighbor or murder. Other laws were more obscure, such as not allowing your shadow to cross that of the king. In any case, breaking one of these laws brought a sentence of death, to be carried out immediately. And you thought your job was stressful.

I sense that you're not looking at this from the king's perspective. If you think about it that way, you might see why this makes total sense.

They said they had a scare a couple of years back when the temperature dropped to a record low…of 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dang, that means that no coffee beans in my backyard. It got down to about 7 degrees this morning.

Missed it by that much!

Allrighty then.

Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.

We made our way to row 36…

…and discovered it was the very last row in the airplane.

This should be a new meme. It's pretty close to the Herbert Lom gif I've been looking for...if only it were animated.

The condo in Kauai looks great!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, another island. When you guys do Hawaii, you really cover it! Looking forward to hearing more, though it sounds like your stay here is a bit of a different pace than on the other islands. Oh, and thanks for the picture of almost-Aulani from the air!

 

[middlepat]

Got caught up.

Looking forward to seeing how you describe Kauai, the island with the 7pm curfew.

Also note any time you get airline seats in the 30s not good unless you are crossing an ocean.

 

[Poolrat]

Once again, I thought I had selected seat assignments when I had made the reservation. And once again, the airline didn't give a you-know-what.

REminds me of a puddle jumper flight I had with a seat assignment of row 13- the flight attendant says when I board- " ??? We only have 12 rows"

It was Pat! And Kathy!

2

Wha? Huh?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Kona is a "softer" bean than some both in terms of the actual bean hardness and in terms of it's inherent flavor profile. Due to the region that it is grown in, soil, climate all that rot. You can compare it to wine grapes, very similar characteristics come into play based on the region. It is not a bean that would thrive in many other places. As a result, it cannot "take" a very dark roast well. It is typically roasted in more of a medium style to match it's softer, more mellow flavor profile. If you roasted it darker (which is the part most people find bitter but it's not actually the bean itself, just how long it was "cooked" for) it would completely take over the flavor to a not so tasty state.

For folks that like a lighter or more medium roasted coffee in general, Kona is a huge hit. It's so ridiculously expensive though, not because it's "better" than some of it's Central American flavor profile counterparts, but because it is "made in the US".

Makes sense. I tend to like the lighter/medium roasts better, so it's no surprise that I like the Kona more (and why I tend to avoid Starbucks). And obviously, when it comes to taste, "better" is completely subjective.

Most of the Kona you will find in the grocery stores on Island is not very good (though to be fair, as I'm not a huge fan of it in general, I wouldn't be able to truly weigh in on what the better brands/roasters are but there are definitely some good ones). It's like anything, you can say that Folgers is made with 100% Columbian coffee, but that doesn't make it a great coffee. They definitely play to the tourist trade with it. Not necessarily the tour you went on at all, but in terms of the glut of crappy expensive Kona they sell at ABC and the like.

We got it at Costco.

And yet I am pretty sure that the same person doesn't like both.

BLEH

Plus, coffee smells like heaven

Brussel Sprouts????????

And here, we find our common ground.

That's Jeff's take as well.

Kona Brewing Rocks.

On every level.

Agreed! We really liked them a lot.

At a certain point, food is food and lord knows Hawaii has more than it's share of drive through's. Location location location!

It was late. We were tired. We'd covered a ton of ground over the last couple of days and still had an hour to go. So we threw out all other considerations and went for speed.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It's pretty bad when you're procrastinating leaning on a shovel.

We had to trade them in for snow shovels this year.

It was Pat! And Kathy!

I knew it! They always looked a little shifty to me.

He stole that idea from a Gilligan's Island episode. And then Star Wars episode 6, Return of the Jedi.

How can I disagree?

He should've paid closer attention to how Gilligan pulled it off.

Yeah, I don't remember Gilligan getting stabbed to death. That would have been a dark turn.

So that's what they were saying!

Just providing another valuable service.

I sense that you're not looking at this from the king's perspective. If you think about it that way, you might see why this makes total sense.

A more progressive thinker might have just instituted a shadow tax.

Dang, that means that no coffee beans in my backyard. It got down to about 7 degrees this morning.

Missed it by that much!

+1

Just a bit outside.

Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.

+1

The opening was a Simpsons paraphrase as well.

This should be a new meme. It's pretty close to the Herbert Lom gif I've been looking for...if only it were animated.

I shudder to think what could happen to this photo if the interwebs gets their hands on it.

The condo in Kauai looks great!

It worked great for us! Except for one tiny problem, which I'll get to.

Wow, another island. When you guys do Hawaii, you really cover it! Looking forward to hearing more, though it sounds like your stay here is a bit of a different pace than on the other islands. Oh, and thanks for the picture of almost-Aulani from the air!

We looked at the trip as maybe our only chance to see Hawaii, so we didn't want to pass anything up!

And you're welcome for the crackerjack trip reporting.

Got caught up.

Looking forward to seeing how you describe Kauai, the island with the 7pm curfew.

They had a curfew? Uh...

Also note any time you get airline seats in the 30s not good unless you are crossing an ocean.

Duly noted. Thanks for the tip.

REminds me of a puddle jumper flight I had with a seat assignment of row 13- the flight attendant says when I board- " ??? We only have 12 rows"

Did you have to sit on the wing or something?

Wha? Huh?

Don't play that innocent game with me!

 

[jwwi]

I'm in post vacation depression, had a great time in HI. Thank you for your great trip report. I should have taken more notes prior to leaving, my internet was so spotty during the trip. Kona Brewing Co was our second favorite restaurant, and the top one was Mama's fish house. We will need a loan if we go back to HI and revisit Mama's. I think I'll have to re read your TR, but with just a quick review my main observation is that you did a lot more hiking than we did, but we didn't have kids with us. I guess that makes us lazy.....
Rained our entire 3 days on Oahu, for 90-99% of the day. Oh well, I did get my non Disney fans to visit Aulani. And we even had some great drinks and appetizers in the bar, pretty good happy hour prices. I had about 5-10 minutes in their gift shop, definitely not long enough.
Loved Kona, the Royal Kona resort, with a room overlooking the ocean-awesome sounds of the waves. Ate at Lava Java for breakfast, and took a trip over to Volcanoes natl park.
Maui was our favorite, had a great condo in Wailea, and cooked most meals. The Safeway rocks, we went almost everyday, and it was always busy.
Finally I loved POG, first found it at ABC store, then had to buy a gallon. Makes a pretty good tropical mixer with rum too!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm in post vacation depression, had a great time in HI.

I know what that post-vacation depression feels like all too well. But I'm glad it was a good trip!

Thank you for your great trip report. I should have taken more notes prior to leaving, my internet was so spotty during the trip. Kona Brewing Co was our second favorite restaurant, and the top one was Mama's fish house. We will need a loan if we go back to HI and revisit Mama's. I think I'll have to re read your TR, but with just a quick review my main observation is that you did a lot more hiking than we did, but we didn't have kids with us. I guess that makes us lazy.....

Nah, we're just hyperactive. The baby will slow us down. Anyway, I'm glad you liked Kona Brewing as much as we did!

Rained our entire 3 days on Oahu, for 90-99% of the day. Oh well, I did get my non Disney fans to visit Aulani. And we even had some great drinks and appetizers in the bar, pretty good happy hour prices. I had about 5-10 minutes in their gift shop, definitely not long enough.

Glad you got to see Aulani! It's an amazing place, isn't it?

Loved Kona, the Royal Kona resort, with a room overlooking the ocean-awesome sounds of the waves. Ate at Lava Java for breakfast, and took a trip over to Volcanoes natl park.

Maui was our favorite, had a great condo in Wailea, and cooked most meals. The Safeway rocks, we went almost everyday, and it was always busy.
Finally I loved POG, first found it at ABC store, then had to buy a gallon. Makes a pretty good tropical mixer with rum too!

Good idea! We found some sort of V8 juice that is similar to POG, and the kids have been guzzling that lately. Not with the rum, though.

 

[marvali]

Hi! I’m Captain_Oblivious. You may remember me from trip reports such as “Operation Big Thunder” and “Delaware: So Close To Where You’d Rather Be.”

If you want to travel to the ends of the earth???

It’s been a long, long time since I updated this report with a new chapter, but now that baby Drew is here, I’m back at work and procrastinating just as well as I ever did before.

For a second there, you were starting to sound like a first-timer at an AA meeting.

All I can say is, thank goodness for baby Drew! I'm not nearly as far behind here as usual...........

(And you thought you had cornered the procrastination market)

It was our last day on the Big Island. Breakfast was the first order of business, and we had no intention of visiting Stoney and the Totally Radical Bakery again.

Oh come on! Everyone deserves a second chance, right???

So we took a page out of fellow DISDad cj9200’s Hawaiian trip report (literally, it’s page 12) and went to Island Lava Java for breakfast. They have some seating, but we got takeout since we were on the run. Wonder of wonders: not only did they list a cinnamon roll on the menu, but they were available for purchase! Even better, they were huge and delicious. And they went great with 100% Kona coffee.

We were kicking ourselves for not coming here for breakfast on the previous morning.

My guess is it was more like a certain someone you had starved earlier in this trip was kicking Captain Oblivious.............

Some Hawaiians stole a small boat from the crew, and the resulting dispute over the boat ended up with Captain Cook dead from a stab wound. The white memorial across the bay marks the site of his death.

It was nice of them to go ahead and mark that spot, knowing the historical significance one day.

If you were guilty of breaking a kapu, you had one chance: you could literally run for your life. You would have to head for this place of refuge, and if you made it before the rest of the village caught you, a priest on the site could absolve you of your sin, perform a purification rite, and allow you to go free until the next time you got too careless with your shadow placement.

Today, that would just get you a co-starring role on an episode of "Cops"

They had a few of these tiki figures around the park. As always, we were careful to maintain a respectful distance.

Which one is the Tiki???

Except for Sarah. Honestly, I don’t know where she gets this from.

Honestly? Reallllllllly???

Our next stop on the way back to Kona was the Greenwell Coffee Farm. This is one of many coffee plantations in the area that offers free tours of their facility (and the chance to buy as much expensive coffee from their shop as you’d like).
You’ll never believe this, but the tour actually started from the gift shop.........

No Way!!!!

All in all, we were glad we took the tour. It was interesting enough to feel like you learned something about the coffee-growing business, and short enough that it didn’t feel dry. And, of course, the price was right.

Between the Island Lava Java and this tour, I thought for a second I had gotten redirected to one of Kathy's TRs.

It does sound like a good tour, and quite interesting.

Our flight had a stop in Honolulu on the way to Kauai, where we had to change planes. When I printed out the boarding passes, we had a slight problem: we had no seat assignments on the second leg. I started measuring Scotty to see if he could fit in a suitcase, but Julie suggested I talk to the customer service rep instead.

After all, she was already transporting a stowaway.........

It was only after we started our descent that I realized my side of the plane wasn’t turning to face the island until after we’d passed all of those sights. Sigh.

If I had a nickel.......................

We had an hour (or so) drive to Princeville ahead of us, so I’m sorry to say we punted on dinner and just stopped at a KFC in the town of Lihue. You can let me know if you’d like a review of our meal there.

That's okay. Now if you had found a HFC..............

We’d rented a condo in The Cliffs in the town of Princeville on vrbo.com for this stay, mostly because it was cheaper and gave us more room than the hotels on the island. It was dark when we arrived, but check-in went smoothly and the condo was really a nice place to stay.

I've used them before with a lot of luck. Looks like you hit the jackpot!

Once we unpacked, we pretty much collapsed into bed. It had been a long couple of days, and that would influence our decisions over the next couple of days. And possibly cause some regrets.

Uh oh!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

If you want to travel to the ends of the earth???

Delaware actually makes a pretty good home base for travel junkies.

For a second there, you were starting to sound like a first-timer at an AA meeting.

The opening was actually a Simpsons reference. I thought it would work given my absence from the boards.

All I can say is, thank goodness for baby Drew! I'm not nearly as far behind here as usual...........

(And you thought you had cornered the procrastination market)

Not only did the baby cause some delays, but I've had some work assignments that have limited my DIS time too!

Oh come on! Everyone deserves a second chance, right???

Uh...

My guess is it was more like a certain someone you had starved earlier in this trip was kicking Captain Oblivious.............

I'm pretty sure I had starved the entire family by this point.

It was nice of them to go ahead and mark that spot, knowing the historical significance one day.

It must have taken a lot of work for the natives to mix all that concrete.

Today, that would just get you a co-starring role on an episode of "Cops"

How do you know this, exactly?

Which one is the Tiki???

Handsome guys, huh?

Honestly? Reallllllllly???

Between the Island Lava Java and this tour, I thought for a second I had gotten redirected to one of Kathy's TRs.

It does sound like a good tour, and quite interesting.

You can still tell the difference because there's none of that yucky Starbucks.

After all, she was already transporting a stowaway.........

That's okay. Now if you had found a HFC..............

That would have been much more unique!

I've used them before with a lot of luck. Looks like you hit the jackpot!