I’m writing from Vancouver, but wanted to post some pictures up of our last day in paradise at our Puako house, in fond remembrance. The entire day consisted of AMAZING snorkeling (we searched + did not find our shark again, but instead swam with a school of unicorn fish), reading + hanging out with my turtle buddies. Paradise, indeed. I’m so sad to have left it, but now it will always be a special place where Jeff + I will always return.
Here is a photo I found on the internet which is a really accurate representation of the marine life we snorkeled with in Puako. I’m not even exaggerating.
We came upon a couple of turtles having their shells cleaned by surgeon fish + tangs. So exciting + fascinating to watch. Again, not our photo, but a great example.
When the turtles are munching at the moss underwater, every once in a while they would bring their little heads up for a breath. I would wait with anticipation for that moment, like the patient naturalist that I am.
This little piggy was chowing down like it was his last meal for god’s sake.
Out cold. A most uncomfortable looking snooze.
The day we left the island, I went outside for the last time to say goodbye to our beach + to my turtle companions. It was high tide + I saw a group of three having their breakfast. I became teary eyed + went back inside. I hope to return to swim with them again.
After our raging dance party, admittedly today was slow goings. Jeff was like a “jamby” – that’s how my mom pronounces “zombie”. Jamby! Jamby!!! We headed inland towards the the largest privately-owned cattle ranch (Parker Ranch) in the US which is located in Waimea (Kamuela). It is said that King Kamehameha III arranged for three Mexican cowboys to come to the Big Island to teach the locals about cattle ranching. Thus, the birth of the Hawaiian paniolos (cowboys)! Viva Mexico!!!!!
I had to take Jeff to one of my all time favorite dives, Hawaiian Style Cafe.
It is full on diner style cooking with plates heaped full o’ food!!! They are famous for their plate of kahlua hash, two eggs + fried rice – which is what Jeff devoured. Perfect hangover food!!! Just what the doctor ordered!!!
Note: good thing I did my calisthenics this morning because I am starting to get C-H-U-B-B-Y.
I didn’t really take many pictures of Waimea because we plan to be back for the Paniolo Parade on Saturday! I can’t wait!!! I love a parade!!!!!
If it looks like all we do is eat, well it’s true. We drove east towards the little town of Honoka’a to Tex’s Drive In. Home of the fresh out of the fryer malasada!!! Hot, doughy, sugar coated Portuguese heaven!!! I took a picture like this last year in front of Tex’s when I came with my dad.
You can get malasadas cream, fruit filled, or plain. I prefer the pure, unadulterated plain malasada. They are really hot + fresh, like pillows!!! http://www.yelp.com/biz/tex-drive-in-honokaa
We drove north west to the artist community of Hawi. Jeff took the Kohala Mountain Road which was windy + rose up high in elevation, making me very nervous + manic due to Jeff’s erratic driving!!!! Thus, no scenic view shots because Jeff was enjoying that while driving, as I was in panic mode keeping my eyes on the road from the passenger seat because somebody else wasn’t!!!!
We slowly meandered around tiny Hawi, browsing the art galleries. Happy hour at historic Bamboo restaurant + gallery.
Sorry for the non scenic photos today. We are a little worse for the wear. It’s Flashdance that really put us over the edge.
On our way home to Puako Fantasy (our glamorous rental home), we stopped for a refreshing swim at Hapuna Beach, which is the most pristine + swimmable sand beach in the state.
Deep thoughts…..
Yesterday + today were our first real days of relaxation since being in Hawaii. Hard to believe, I know – but with the wedding + our neurotic, hyperactive personalities we’ve been on the go so much!!! Now that we have our Puako Fantasy home, we are really going to stay put + take advantage of it for the rest of our amazing stay.
There’s my tiny little head swimming in the ocean + this wiry old chappie who was running lap after lap along the beach REALLY fast + spry!!! Stud!!!!
Yesterday, do you all recall the drama we encountered with tractors + jackhammers right next to our Puako honeymoon rental? Well, after I called the rental management company leaving three very angry messages, the care taker who resides in the main house below came to sheepishly explain to me that even she was surprised by the construction this morning, as well. Verrrry suspect, considering it appeared that the work looked like it had been going on for quite a while. I asked her to get the scoop on how many days they planned to be working because I couldn’t deal with the noise because I come from downtown los angeles, yo + I do not need to be listening to generators + trucks backing up all day!!! I do not!!!!! When she returned, she said they were re-building the sea wall + would be working for the rest of the week. OH HELL NO!!!!!! I called rental management + asked them if we had other options. While I was angrily negotiating + hopping mad, here’s what Jeff was doing:
Enjoying a snack, y’all!!! He let’s me be bad cop because he knows I can be as mean as a hornet when I get fired up. I see how it is…
Guess what, folks?! They moved us into a house down the road – A HOUSE!!!!!! We went from a studio TO A HOUSE!!!! AND they gave it to us for the SAME PRICE as the studio!!!!! A $510 a night house for $225 a night!!!
Granted, the studio was full of character + super charming, but it was small – I had to shuffle things around to prep dinner + had little buggies hanging around. But, this house had a stove!!!! Washer + dryer!!! Dishwasher + tons of counter space!!! I felt like a housewife fromthe 50’s. Being a lady of modernity, I was seduced!!!!
Shiny!!! Bright!!! Sparkly!!!!
Also, there was a mezuzah on the doorframe, so we knew we were in the right place. For all not in the know, the mezuzah contains a parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. My mom will be so happy to hear about this! Shalom!!!!
Wraparound windows in the living room!!!
Our backyard!!!!
Reflection in the window from the porch.
The master bedroom with retro phone + Hawaiian quilt bedding!!! Love it!!!!!! By the way, I’m really not talking on the phone in this picture. I just like to pretend.
It’s kind of funny, because when we first got to the house, we noticed construction going on next door on a new home. I was going to flip. But Jeff talked to the guys + they were just building a deck. I can deal with some hammering + sawing over a jack hammer any day! The houses are far enough away that I don’t even hear them from the porch!!! Score!!!! Also, this is turtle central!!!! It is like a turtle cafeteria in our backyard!!! They are muncha-crunching out there, we swam alongside them + you can see their little heads surfacing the water all the live long day!!!
I like this cutie-patootie’s sleeping style!!! Snoozel noodle!!!
This adolescent is like, “Peace out, you old folks keep napping!!! I gotta motor!!!” Action Jackson over here!
Whoopeee!!!!! Wild card!!! Black sheep!!! The rebel, as they say!!!!!
Up the coast, Kohala’s ritzy, cha-cha-cha resort hotels. Oh, rather!!!!!
Let’s just say we spent the rest of our day enjoying the house to da max. After moving in + moving out of the old digs, we just wanted to straight up chill. If chill means doing 3 loads of laundry. That night, bartender Jeff blended some cocktails + fired up the 2 grills.
What a romantic!!! Jeff insisted on traveling with the tealights we had recieved for the wedding from the Catlows + meticulously lights them every night! He’s a better man than I!!! Oh, wait that didn’t sound right….
We blasted the radio + had a dance party in the living room! When Flashdance’s, “She’s a Maniac” came on, we tore it up!!!! We got so psyched, Jeff found a youtube clip – in german + we kept on dancin’!!!!!!!
Every day has been full of surprises, let me tell ya. Quick recap. Monday was a realatively mellow day hanging around the small towns of Captain Cook. Our view from Manago hotel room:
History buffs rejoice – the Kona Historical Society Museum is well worth the visit!!! It is set up at the foundation + the general store of the Greenwell family. Henry Nicholas Greenwell was an English entrepreneur who came to Kona + is known to have established Kona coffee into what it is today.
Our tour was conducted by a very, very interesting + knowledgeable educator + guide, Ann. She hung out in San Francisco in the 60’s, then moved to San Diego + has been on the Big Island for 14 years. Groovy, man! Inside the general store, we did an interactive tour of what it would have been like to shop in the store in those days.
Here’s Ann in her period costume. Isn’t she cute?! She had so much information about the land, the Greenwells + Hawaiian history that at the end of the tour, she became my hero + when I grow up, I want to be like her.
We returned to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau for sunset. Jeff went snorkeling, but I was cranky + cold so I opted out. Jeff said it was the best snorkeling he had done so far – turtles, large colorful fish, large coral! Yeah, I missed out.
As we left, we decided that Tuesday morning we were going to wake up early, come back to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau to go snorkeling before heading up north to Puako. Well, that morning when we got to the car, guess what we found!!!!!
Jeff was flailing his arms, yelling, “SHELLI!!! WHAT THE, WHAT THE, LOOK!!!! GO GET SOMEONE!!!!!”. When he gets really spazzy, I become reeeealllly calm. From what we remembered last night, there was a blue Ford parked next to us. The moron was still in the parking lot!!! There were blue scratches on our car, silver paint on his rear bumper – Jeff took measurements like a real detective. The owner + Manago heir, Dwight helped us out so much, we called the cops, had witnesses who heard the loud crunch at night – we had it in the bag!!!!! After running the license plate #, Dwight awoke the perpetrator who confessed to his crime. He was a really nice guy who had Tlingit tattoo art all over his face + dreads. To each his own. Here’s the three guys working it out. The cop was Dwight’s cousin. Small island.
We went to Kona Airport to switch out cars which was a pain in the butt. No snorkeling for us!!!! We were so upset by the morning’s drama that what did we do??? Thrift!!!! We encountered an AMAZING consignment shop near Costco called Sandra’s Consignment. We made out like bandits!!!!
OMG!!! I almost forgot! We drove down the marina, checking out all the fishing boats + as we were driving we spotted a HUMONGOID blue marlin hanging!!!! It was so huge, I thought it was a fake – like the Jaws hanging at Universal Studios!!!! We parked the car + RAN down with our cameras like crazy journalists!!!! This thing was 850 pounds + took the guys 45 min to wrestle!!! It reminded me of my dear old grandpa that I used to fish with, so I was really excited, out of nostalgia – but I kept asking this lady, “Isn’t marlin fishing illegal??? Wouldn’t you think this marlin is pretty old for it’s size?”. She kept shrugging her shoulders + saying it was legal in resort towns. Hmmmmm. Well, my research shows that blue marlin stocks are low + most recreational fishermen/women do a catch + release. So, it made me sad looking at this gorgeous, large dead creature who was probably so happy + majestic swimming around. I’m not going to post any close up pictures of it now because I’m super bummed out.
Okay, are you ready for some more drama!!!!????? We drove north to Puako to the rental house that we are to stay in for the duration of our honeymoon. We arrived at night + it is my 70’s dream house with lots of wood, blue tile + wrap around porch!!! This morning we awoke to the sound of the ocean right in front of the porch. Guess, what?! Around 8:30am this morning as I was writing this blog, we were unhappy to discover that there is construction going on right next door!!!! Generators, tractor, jack hammer – AAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!! We are SO PISSED!!!!!! Can you believe it?! If you knew there was construction happening, why would you rent out the house?! I called the rental company stat!!!! I asked to be moved to another house or be compensated – they are going to call me back, so stay tuned………
how's it going, eh? 