Home from prison

Yup, you read it right. Tucker dog was boarded at the Washington Correction Center for Women. They do a magnificent job boarding dogs. We can always count on Tucker dog getting lots of exercise and affection during his stay. Regardless, I always worry about him. This was his longest stay at the facility so I knew he'd miss his people. Only I didn't know how much.

Poor Tucker dog

My husband picked up Tucker dog while I attended to my Mom. I asked how he was and his response was "fine". Really? Does he look fine to you?

The votes are in

Our granddaughter, my husband and I voted for the funniest thing to happen on our Hawaiian vacation. The vote was unanimous! We all voted for New Year's Eve morning when my husband accidentally shaved off his beard. What?!

 

Since my husband's beard is relatively new it was the first time he's flown with his beard trimmer. So when he trimmed his beard for the first time in Hawaii (standing outside on our deck) he noticed there was an awful lot of beard hair on his shirt. When he stepped in front of the mirror to check it out he was shocked to find his beard had migrated from his face to his shirt!

 

When my granddaughter and I returned from the pool he told us what happened. We just about fell over with laughter. Next time you can bet he'll check the setting before he powers up his trimmer up.

 

 

It's who you know...

...or who you meet. One afternoon when we were at the pool a local guy offered us a restaurant recommendation. He said it had great food and is a good value. Those are not two words you  hear in the same sentence on the Big Island.  He went on to say "it's in a hotel right up the road".

 

On our last day on the island we decided to venture "right up the road" for dinner. We'd forgotten the name of the hotel but my husband was certain he'd seen it on one of our adventures. So off we went. Sure enough 10 miles later he drove right to it. Unfortunately, we didn't see anything that looked like a restaurant. No sign, no nothing.

 

While we pondered what to do we noticed a guy walking towards us. We asked if he knew anything about a restaurant in a hotel. Not only did he know what we were looking for but told us he'd take us right to it. On our way to the restaurant he turned and said, "All the guide books recommend the pork chops".

 

I'm pretty sure we walked through a time warp when we entered the dining room.. The room would definitely be described as no-frills. It was a large wooden paneled room filled with miscellaneous tables. I think the table next to ours belonged the my grandmother. The menu was on a black, ridged felt board that you push little white letters into. We did a double take when we looked at it. Nothing on the menu was over $15! We of course ordered the pork chops. Our granddaughter ordered a BLT hold the T. When we ordered no sides were mentioned.

 

Next we were served a communal bowl of rice, a small dish of sautéed bean sprout and a small bowl of we're not sure what. Our granddaughter described it as clear worms (and I'm pretty sure she followed that with EW!) We noticed other diners mixed everything together in their bowls. We followed suit. I'd describe it as interesting.

 

Our server brought out our plates covered with

two pork chops smothered in onions. I  seldom eat one full pork chop but I'll gladly stand and admit I ate both! They were the best pork chops we've ever had!

 

The Manago Hotel opened in 1917 and is still owned and operated by the family. If you're ever in Captain Cook, Hawaii stop by. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you're there for dinner make sure to order pork chops. They are definitely worth $11.50.

 

 

 

 

We're back in the saddle again

Since our last snorkeling experience was a dud we brushed off our band aids and headed for Kahalu'u Beach Park. Our granddaughter took off as soon as she hit the water. She was mesmerized by all the fish she saw. Suddenly it was like she was born wearing fins. She turned from one direction to another trying to see every fish in the water. As she swam about I could hear her singing the theme song from Disney's The Littliest Mermaid. I didn't know whether to marvel more at her ability to sing with a snorkel in her mouth or that I recognized what she was singing. Either way it was a great adventure under the sea.

Whose idea was this anyway

We set off on a snorkeling trip to Kealakekua Bay home of the Captain Cook Memorial.  After a slow slog across lava rocks (I felt like a tightrope walker, but much less graceful) we plunged into the surf. We swam for half an hour with out seeing so much as a sardine so we changed course and headed to the other side of the bay. Here we found a coral reef with a handful of fish. After swimming for 90 minutes we decided there were too few fish for the effort and pulled the plug. This is where things got interesting or terrifying, depending on your perspective.

The surf had become rough....actually that's an understatement. It looked more like a series of tidal waves. My husband focused his energy on helping our granddaughter navigate her way out but she became paralyzed with fear. After she reached land he couldn't get her to move away from the water's edge so the surf kept washing over her. After what seemed like a lifetime she was finally able to scamper up the rocks. Whew. Next it was my turn. I was also getting hammered by the surf and couldn't get my feet under me. Finally I was able to back my way up the rocks. After my husband sacrificed his new mask to the "what the hell was I thinking" god he escaped the pounding surf.

While we came out of this experience with bumps and bruises we also came away with a story we'll tell for a longtime to come.

Big news from the Big Island

We are in Kona, Hawaii enjoying the balmy weather. At home they are enjoying (or not) the end of an arctic blast. Daytime temperatures have moved from the low 30's to the low 50's. So where did the arctic blast go you ask? You guessed it.....Hawaii.

While our daytime temperatures top out in the low 80's the big time news here is our nighttime temperatures. They are dipping down to the upper 50's! Its the lead story on the news. People have scooped up all the space heaters on the island, they're wearing insulated underwear and piling every blanket they can find on their beds. 

Meanwhile us non-natives open our windows at night to enjoy the cool evening air.