Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Day 4
We were still getting up early due to jet lag. This time we decided to try a cute little counter service place called Lagoon Spoon. Basically, it was a place where you could mix several different cereals and toppings- such as Cookie Crisp, granola, coconut, and macadamia nuts. (I had coconut and macadamia nuts every chance I got.) We also shared some malasadas which are like little sugared holeless donuts.
I wanted to try the pools again. There was a sandy lagoon area too, but we didn't feel like spending the money to rent the equipment so we headed towards another system of slides on the opposite side of the resort from our room. Again, Derek didn't want to stay in long because it was cold. I didn't think it was too bad- the slides were fun, and there were some hot tubs hidden in the caves.
I had seen in the resort guide that there was supposed to be a hula lesson out by the pool that morning. I saw a woman standing near the pool with a cd player and figured that must be it but I didn't want to be the only person in the class. Thankfully, I saw another woman come over so I decided to give it a try. The instructor led us through some basic hula steps to Hawaiian music while we stood waist deep in the water. I was relaxing, reminiscent of yoga.
As we toweled off, I pulled my cellphone out of my bag and noticed I had voicemail from a Hawaiian area code. I listened to the message in dismay- our Mauna Kea summit tour had been canceled that evening due to weather, and we couldn't reschedule within the time that we'd still be on the same side of the island! Bummer!
We were left with a gaping hole in our plans for the day, and I was itching to get out of the hotel and actually see the real Hawaii. For a little bit, we ate burgers at the Lagoon Grill and watched the dolphins swim in circles and pop up their noses in the dolphin cove. A little baby one swam alongside it's mother.
We weren't going to rent a car until the next day, but we didn't want to be stuck at the hotel any longer so off to the car rental desk we went. Finally, we would see what was beyond the shopping market,
We headed out passed the main entrance and were greeted by what seemed like endless miles of black lava rock. And along every foot of roadside was even more coral rock writing. I have no idea where people even got the white rocks as the only ones I saw were those that formed words and pictures. There were memorials to loved ones, wedding dates, names, etc. It was fun to try to read the messages as we whizzed by.
After a while, I started to wonder if there was anything out this way to actually see besides the sea of lava rocks, but eventually the landscape changed to hills and rainforest greenery and little huts and shops. We decided to pull into a little coffee farm that Derek had been to on his previous visit to Big Island called Kona Joe's. It was too late in the afternoon for a tour, so we nibbled on some free samples and bought some coffee and some addictive white chocolate covered peaberry coffee beans.
Our next stop was a little strip of mostly closed for the day shops. But there was one shop in particular which was still open that Derek had wanted to return to- Donkey Balls. Yes, you read that correctly. It's a chocolate shop. Donkey Balls are balls of chocolate with macadamia nut centers- yummy! There were many varieties- salty balls (with sea salt), flaky balls (with coconut), balls of fire (with cayenne pepper), etc. They even had ones called Wild Boar Balls! It took a lot of hemming and hawing, but we chose several different ones to take home, and Derek had to have another Donkey Balls t-shirt.
There wasn't much left to do at this point in the day so we drove back to the hotel area to search for dinner. As usual, we went back and forth on decision making- pacing between the King's Shops and the Queen's Market. We finally settled on a local- though not particularly ethnic- chain called Merriman's where I had a pasta dish, and we shared a mango cobbler for dessert. I was amused that the place shared a name with one of my favorite American Girl characters- Felicity Merriman.
I wanted to try the pools again. There was a sandy lagoon area too, but we didn't feel like spending the money to rent the equipment so we headed towards another system of slides on the opposite side of the resort from our room. Again, Derek didn't want to stay in long because it was cold. I didn't think it was too bad- the slides were fun, and there were some hot tubs hidden in the caves.
I had seen in the resort guide that there was supposed to be a hula lesson out by the pool that morning. I saw a woman standing near the pool with a cd player and figured that must be it but I didn't want to be the only person in the class. Thankfully, I saw another woman come over so I decided to give it a try. The instructor led us through some basic hula steps to Hawaiian music while we stood waist deep in the water. I was relaxing, reminiscent of yoga.
As we toweled off, I pulled my cellphone out of my bag and noticed I had voicemail from a Hawaiian area code. I listened to the message in dismay- our Mauna Kea summit tour had been canceled that evening due to weather, and we couldn't reschedule within the time that we'd still be on the same side of the island! Bummer!
We were left with a gaping hole in our plans for the day, and I was itching to get out of the hotel and actually see the real Hawaii. For a little bit, we ate burgers at the Lagoon Grill and watched the dolphins swim in circles and pop up their noses in the dolphin cove. A little baby one swam alongside it's mother.
We weren't going to rent a car until the next day, but we didn't want to be stuck at the hotel any longer so off to the car rental desk we went. Finally, we would see what was beyond the shopping market,
We headed out passed the main entrance and were greeted by what seemed like endless miles of black lava rock. And along every foot of roadside was even more coral rock writing. I have no idea where people even got the white rocks as the only ones I saw were those that formed words and pictures. There were memorials to loved ones, wedding dates, names, etc. It was fun to try to read the messages as we whizzed by.
After a while, I started to wonder if there was anything out this way to actually see besides the sea of lava rocks, but eventually the landscape changed to hills and rainforest greenery and little huts and shops. We decided to pull into a little coffee farm that Derek had been to on his previous visit to Big Island called Kona Joe's. It was too late in the afternoon for a tour, so we nibbled on some free samples and bought some coffee and some addictive white chocolate covered peaberry coffee beans.
Our next stop was a little strip of mostly closed for the day shops. But there was one shop in particular which was still open that Derek had wanted to return to- Donkey Balls. Yes, you read that correctly. It's a chocolate shop. Donkey Balls are balls of chocolate with macadamia nut centers- yummy! There were many varieties- salty balls (with sea salt), flaky balls (with coconut), balls of fire (with cayenne pepper), etc. They even had ones called Wild Boar Balls! It took a lot of hemming and hawing, but we chose several different ones to take home, and Derek had to have another Donkey Balls t-shirt.
There wasn't much left to do at this point in the day so we drove back to the hotel area to search for dinner. As usual, we went back and forth on decision making- pacing between the King's Shops and the Queen's Market. We finally settled on a local- though not particularly ethnic- chain called Merriman's where I had a pasta dish, and we shared a mango cobbler for dessert. I was amused that the place shared a name with one of my favorite American Girl characters- Felicity Merriman.
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