Friday, January 22, 2010

We went north again –


...all the way to Hawi, and then a bit to the east, to this beautiful place whose name I meant to remember and didn't, where I sat to write a card and take a few photos.

On the road leading into this park, we noticed some trees that we dubbed "tripod trees." Now that we've seen some full-grown banyan trees here in town, we suspect that these were babies - but we're still not sure.


On the way north, Robin came all over weary – he hadn't slept well – so we pulled in at Hapuna Beach State Park, which remains the only proper beach we've found (We insist on at least some sand). He pulled the car into a spot of shade while I took my book and headed for the beach. It was only about 11 o'clock in the morning, and the tide was still fairly low, so this time I walked around the big rocks and down to the end of the beach. When I got back to the rocks I set my cell phone for ten minutes and sat on a log in the shade to meditate. When I opened my eyes and stood up, Robin was walking toward me on the sand. Good timing.

From Highway 19 we turned onto 250, then 270, and finally back to Highway 11, the main north-south road on this side of the island. We had noticed a sign advertising Pua Mau Botanic Garden, so we stopped there on our way home.

 Most of the plants were the same as the ones we've seen all over the island – hibiscus, plumeria, lantana, bouganvillea, angel's trumpet, azalea – but there were others, not so familiar,
and there were whimsical metal sculptures all over the garden.



We came home again through Kailua's rush hour traffic. I suppose that by the time we leave, we'll have figured out a better time to come home than 4:30 in the afternoon, but so far we've managed to choose that time almost every day (following our stomachs, I suppose.) Given that there is only one north-south highway, that means that the last several miles are bumper-to-bumper. At any rate, we got home in time for me to stop in at the farmer's market, which is open from Wednesday to Sunday. I bought a papaya, several tomatoes, a couple of bananas, and an avocado the size of a football (not really, but it seemed that way. The only ripe ones on hand were the big ones, called Butter Avocados, so I bought one. Robin and I shared half of it in our salad last night, and half is left – probably for tonight's sandwiches. The true size of the avocado is something like a Nerf football – at least twice the size of what pass for large avocados at home.) When I got home, I saw that the vendor had stuck a small bunch of cilantro into the bag, so I sprinkled some of that onto our salad greens. Considering that we have no stove, we are finding some tasty things to eat 'at home.' I made a dressing out of mayonnaise and orange juice and dressed a salad of romaine, radicchio, cilantro, tomato, avocado, and chopped macadamia nuts. That, along with cheese and tomato sandwiches on the really delicious 12-grain bread we've bought here, made up supper.

We've decided to make today a not much of anything day. Robin has been doing too much driving. We'll wander down to the farmer's market again, maybe catch a movie this afternoon.

********************************************

P.S. As we were leaving the hotel this morning, a trolley stopped right in front of us. It was heading south on a 6 or 7 mile loop, and it cost a dollar, so we hopped aboard, rode south a bit, found a beach (with sand) that we hadn't noticed before, came back to town and got off at the far end of the strip  from our hotel. On our walk back, we found a place to have lunch. Mine was a plate of fish tacos (blackened walu) with salad. I couldn't find anything vegetarian on the menu, so I went with fish, and I'm glad I did. The tacos were delicious. So here I am, doing my morning posting in the afternoon.  Robin has gone on to the hotel room, carrying the papayas we bought at the market. We will likely head to the movies in a little while - but first, I think a nap is in order.

3 comments:

Karen said...

What a life! It's cold and rainy here in my part of the world, and I've had a busy workweek. I am vacationing vicariously!

Kat Mortensen said...

You've really got my taste buds going, Sandra. I love avocadoes, did the butter ones taste the same as the small ones we know?

Your salad sounds delectable. I've never had fish tacos, but they sound tasty too.

Enjoy yourself and stay safe!

Kat

Unknown said...

Nothing like a gbood fish taco! Great photos.

Blog Archive