Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby Stuff Themselves Silly! THE END..on to the next TR!

[RachelNinja]

Hi Rachel! Sorry, I know I owe you an email, I will get to it soon I promise. My inbox is a little overloaded right now. But I will reply soon!

No rush! Haha, we don't even have a definitive date for the wedding yet. Whenever you have the chance is fine. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Hey Yuki!! Glad to see you back! My favorite FF game is FF7. I absolutely love it. It will be my all-time favorite FF. I have completed 7,8,9,10, I did not play 11 since it's online, and I played 12 but didn't get into it. I have also played a lot of 13, and I think it is excellent, but I haven't finished yet. Actually got to busy and stopped playing for a while but I am looking forward to getting back into it again. I also love love love Kingdom Hearts 2. KH1 was good but 2 just blew my mind. It doesn't hurt that it has Disney characters too.

Dh's passionfruit dessert was good! It was like an ice cream dome covered with meringue. Kinda like baked alaska, if you know what that is.

Yeah, FF7 seems to be most people's favourites. I really liked KH2 too! It had more of my favourite Disney characters in it. Although Ariel's tranformation scene in KH1 is pretty interesting.

FF13 huh? I should check it out.

I just googled a baked alaska! And wow.....that sounds delish....I hope to try it one day!

 

[natebenma]

Great World Showcase photos and Le Cellier update. Your meal sounds fantastic. The soup and bread are sooooo good and the appetizer sampler also sounds delish. We did not have the passionfruit dessert as a choice in July.

Welcome back from Hawaii! Glad you had a fantastic trip. I'm sure you will be sharing some amazing photos with us.

 

[GingerJay]

I had so much fun reading your TR! Can't wait to hear about your adventures in Hawaii, too

 

[Shannon84]

Beautiful pictures of World Showcase...I haven't really taken the time to look around Canada or try Le Cellier, both things I would like to do next time. Your meal there looks YUMMY!! Mainly that soup and crab cakes!!

 

[therussells08]

Welcome back! It sounds like you had a wonderful time in Hawaii! DH and I were just discussing over lunch how we would love to go there someday.

I love your WS pictures! What a beautiful day! Your review of Le Cellier makes me even more excited to try it out next month!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi! I thought it would just be easier to do more of a photo essay feature rather than to do a looong TR about Hawaii. So this series focused on the different sights we did on the Big Island. They are not kidding when they say be prepared to drive a lot. A lot of the towns are at least 45 minutes apart, not only that, there are not that many roads you can take, so everyone has to take the same road, often times causing a bit of a slow commute, but it isn’t as bad as it sounds. As long as you have a car, you can get around on the Big Island.

Here are some of the things that we did and saw, I’m gonna do a separate post just on food later.

Here’s our condo patio (lanai) area. There was a dining set and a grill, which we didn’t use. Inside, it was great, modern, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and full modern kitchen, and washer/drying which was a godsend. Totally need that. All of that was cheaper than staying at a hotel!

Lounging in a pool was one of our favorite things to do

We saw many rainbows driving around. It was so pretty. We never see rainbows in New York City so this was a nice treat for us!

Here’s sunset pics we took at the Fairmont Orchird. We ate at Brown’s Beach House. I highly recommended it as a splurge restaurant.

We went to a bunch of different farms that grow Kona Coffee. It was a really great educational experience. We saw the process they were made from tree to cup. It was fun and we got a LOT of free samples. Definitely wired that day! LOL

Some avocado we saw growing, and some empty sacks of coffee

Us with the coffee trees

We drove to the southernmost point in the USA. It was really windy there!

You can also cliff dive there although no one was when we went. It’s a long way down!

We visited a black sand beach that was awesome. Just amazing. Not for swimming, but what they make up is with the TURTLES! Yes giant “Honu” or sea turtles were just lounging around. In total we counted 8 of them in the one area. Some were on the beach, and some were swimming

The sand really was this black!

Me at the entrance to the black sand beach, this one was called Punalu’u

The Turtles were so cute

These ducks came out of nowhere! DH is amused because they were kind of following me around with my camera.

This was a trail near our resort that led to a petroglyph park. Not all of the Big Island is beach and volcano, there are forests too. Here's DH hiking to the park.

Along the way you can see the ancient Petroglyphs

Here’s a picture of us after we complete the hike. I don’t hike usually. I am always scared of falling down and tripping on twigs and stuff. So this one was simple so I was ok.

So next up will be some pics of food and stuff. Yay!

​

 

[natebenma]

Spectacular!!!

Great shots of the turtles and I love, love, love the beautiful colors in the coffee bean photo! Also, very clever way of demonstrating the black sand.

Sounds like an amazing trip and I can't wait to see the FOOD photos.

 

[Nermel9]

Beautiful pictures of Hawaii!! I would LOVE to go there someday! That black sand beach looks amazing...and the rainbow picture is sooo pretty! Can't wait to see more!

 

[Tracy161]

Absolutely beautiful pictures!!! Can't wait to see the food next!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Aloha Big Island Part 2: Helicopter ride

Before I get to the post about the delicious food we ate, here are some other pictures of sights around the Big Island which didn’t make it into my last post (damn the 25 picture limit!).

This is Pololu Valley. It’s really breathtaking in person. You can hike down, but the hike is very difficult to do, so we viewed it mainly from the top.

Here are some snorkeling pics. We snorkeled everywhere. We bought a book called Snorkel Hawaii - Big Island, and it told us the best places to see marine life, so pretty much if there was water, we were in it. We saw lots of fish and even a few turtles!

We also did a helicopter tour over the volcano. It was really fun and very exciting. Here are some pictures of the ride. We went with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters and opted for the Circle of Fire tour. It was expensive, but it was a must-do for us, since seeing the volcano on foot just wouldn’t be the same. The volcano’s lava runs through lava “tubes” so it’s not spewing out at the top, but flows underneath the surface, and into the ocean that’s why you are able to walk around the surface at Volcanoes National Park, although it’s quite dangerous as you never know when the ground beneath you is safe. I guess it’s mainly for thrill seekers! We opted for the easier birds eye view.


Some waterfalls

As you approach the volcano you can see how the lava and ash has affected the surrounding forest and greenery

We caught just a glimpse of lava! The pilot said you can go for a while without seeing any because sometimes the vents are not big enough to see through. Usually the smoke is too thick too.

Only 1 person lives on the volcano still, it’s actually called Volcano House bed and breakfast. You can stay there if you want! The only way there is by helicopter though. The owner was featured on the travel channel. He refuses to move, guess he doesn’t mind being so isolated.

As the lava hit’s the ocean plumes of smoke go up. The island gets bigger and bigger all the time because of this. It’s pretty neat seeing land being created right in front of you.

More lava! My we were lucky

Here’s us at the end of the tour.

BTW, I was wearing one of the dresses I purchased at DHS. Here’s the pattern up close. Can you spot the hidden Mickeys?

So coming up, the post about the food...I promise it will be worth the wait.​

 

[YukiPhnx]

Great updates about Hawaii!!! Wooow, that island is gorgeous. I can't wait to hear about the food!

 

[Cat0727]

Great update. It sounded like you had an amazing trip Hawaii is so so beautiful. The turtles are adorable! I can't believe you got so close to them!

 

[tinacaplan]

I feel like I should come up with something more clever to say but...wow...gorgeous pictures, again. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[Tracy161]

Absolutely stunning pictures!!! Wow, you were so lucky to be able to see the lava!!! Can't wait to see the food pictures!

 

[Shannon84]

Thank you for sharing all of your AMAZING pictures from the Hawaii trip, it looks like you guys had a wonderful time there

 

[kathymc]

ahhhh - my second favorite place
I have a shot exactly like your second one of the valley
lovely pics, cant wait to get back

 

[onescgirl]

WOW! What an amazing trip! And, you've got so many great pictures, I don't know what all to comment on!

You take such beautiful pictures, I love the rainbow! I am amazed with the black sand & the turtles.
There is no way, no how, I would cliff dive. Would you? Too bad you didn't see anyone doing it. I think that is crazy!

Your helicopter pics are just amazing. I'm glad you got to see some lava!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Big Island foods
Here’s a little picture post on the food we ate on the Big Island

Hawaii has tons of mega resorts and fine dining, but the real draw are the local-style cheap places which really make up the everyday culture here. Not everyone can eat at resorts all the time, and after a few nice dinners, the food ends up tasting the same anyways!

Here are a few of our favorite “local” eats:

Plate lunch. The typical and ubiquitous food. Everyone eats it. It’s basically 2 scoops of rice, macaroni salad (everyone calls it mac salad) and your protein of choice. It’s usually something fried or Asian-influenced, like katsu, teriyaki chicken or beef, hamburger patty, or something like fried shirimp or even spam! The portions are huge and can easily feed 2 people and are usually cheap, like less than 10 bucks a plate. Here it is pictured with teriyaki beef and fried shrimp. This was from Café 100 in Hilo. I think this plate cost 7 bucks. Who says you need to spend a fortune in Hawaii? You can eat very well for very cheap if you know where to go.

SPAM. Everyone eats this here so it just made sense to get it. With breakfast. Oh and you can usually choose between potatoes and rice with breakfast. This was from Big Island Grill

Here’s another breakfast platter with spam from a food court near our resort

The fruit on the island is sooo good! My new favorite way to eat papaya is with a squeeze of lemon or lime. It’s delicious.

Here’s another breakfast platter we had. Pork chops with hash brown potatoes!?! How cool is that!?!

Another local favorite is the loco moco. It’s basically rice, topped with a hamburger patty, fried eggs, and doused with brown gravy. The whole concoction is just a massive pile of food, and sounds gross, but I can assure you is quite heavenly. Often times you will see variations of the loco moco which may include fried rice instead of white, chili instead of gravy, the addition of other meats, and maybe some grilled onions. The concept is still the same though, and the gravy really makes the dish.

This one pictured here is from Hawaiian Style Café. It was gargantuan and included fried rice, hamburger, chicken katsu, sausage patty and eggs doused with gravy. DH really liked this version.

This one is a more traditional one with only hamburger patty.

Saimin is the local form of ramen, or noodles in soup. It differs from Japanese style ramen in that it has a bit more of a Chinese-American influence. It’s basically noodles in a broth with some ingredients on top, usually a form of fish cake, Chinese roast pork (char siu), veggies, etc.

Malasadas. These are the Hawaiian form of donuts! They are deep fried balls of doughy goodness. Sometimes you can get them filled with things like coconut, strawberry, guava, even passion fruit jam. The one shown here is plain, and is from a place called Tex Drive-in which is famous for it’s malasadas.

There is quite a lot of beef on the Big Island, as there are a lot of cattle ranches. We partook of a lot of burgers, mostly as research of course , to find the best beef. LOL. My favorites are the teriyaki cheeseburgers. Soo good!

This one is from Village Burger made with beef from the ranch next to it.

This one is a teriyaki burger from the Punalu’u bakeshop, which is the southernmost bakery in the USA. They make their buns on premises. Yum

Mochi is a soft dough made from pounded rice. It has a smooth chewy texture and takes on the flavor of whatever it is filled or dipped into. It’s often used as a dessert ingredient. Here, the mochi is wrapped around a fresh strawberry, with sweet red bean paste. It is just absolutely delicious. I ate an ENTIRE box of this in a matter of days. LOL. It is from Two Ladies kitchen.

Shave Ice!! Shave ice is the Hawaiian sno cone. It is sooo much more than a sno cone too. It puts even Kakigori to shame. The trick is in the method the ice is shaved. It is so fine, light and fluffy, and packed evenly. The syrup flavors are usually too many to count and include exotic offereings such as passion fruit, salty plum, guava, and coconut just to make a few. You can also get it filled, I recommend an ice cream as well as sweet azuki beans a a filling as it provides creaminess and texture. It’s just amazing. It’s one of my favorite things to eat there.

This is from a place called Scandinavian Shave Ice. (odd name for a Hawaiian snack shop). My syrups were lychee, passionfruit and salty plum. I try to go for the more exotic flavors that one woudln't get any where else.

This one had a cream top, which is just condensed milk on the top. It’s super good with this stuff.

And here is the hole we made while eating it. You can see the fillings that we got, our ice cream and adzuki beans.

We also partook in a few nice dinners. We had to splurge while on vacation! Here was a wonderful dinner at Brown’s Beach House at the Fairmont Orchid

Coconut shrimp

Wahoo ( a type of fish)

Lobster with uni butter sauce and risotto. This was delicious!!!

Hula Pie, which is basically macadamia nut ice cream, coffee ice cream in a chocolate crust

This was just a smattering of the foods we ate on the big island. Sorry, we don't go to any luaus so I don't have pictures of "typical" Hawaiian foods. I don't even really like luau food much, but I do have to say Kahlua pork and lau lau are pretty good. (you can google them) but poi isn't!!

I hope you enjoyed this post. It makes me hungry and I miss everything already!!​

 

[YukiPhnx]

I'm.......speechless........I need to get to Hawaii...NOW!!

The mochi filled with strawberry looks SOOO GOOOOOOD!!!! I love mochi, but I've never seen it being filled with fresh fruit. What a great idea!

The shaved ice also looks VERY GOOD. It would look better if it weren't so cold outside right now.

I'm writing these places down for future (FAAAAR into the future) reference.