Battle of the Veggies, Round 4

The garden is full of tomatoes right now, but most of them are still green. Grown from seed, they're a mix of Purple Cherokees and Boxcar Willies. Not sure which variety the one on the left is, but it was our first to ripen. On the right is an unidentified variety that came today in our Full Belly Farm CSA box. Our tomato was quite sweet, with a smooth, velvety texture; theirs was slightly tart, with a more granular texture.


We also received a few ears of corn in the box, so it seemed like a good time to peel back the husk on ours and see how its doing. The Full Belly offering measured longer by far, but on taste they were both quite flavorful. The kernals on the backyard version (grown from seedlings) were surprisingly large; we'll have to try and germinate a few and see how they fare.

We've been growing a small patch of arugula, and while we haven't received anything comparable from the CSA box lately, it deserves a little blog love.

And finally, this summer's sunflower crop has been a bounty. Some of them have been more than 10 feet tall!

Rest in Peace, Austin

We miss you.

Battle of the Veggies, Round 3

Cool as a...
Top row: 12 inches of tape measure
Second row: homegrown cucumber, standard variety
Third row: homegrown cucumber, tsuyataro variety
Fourth row: Full Belly Farm cucumber, Armenian variety

On length alone, the CSA box wins. On taste, it's kind of a toss up -- the difference is pretty subtle. On crunch, the homegrown varieties win, but they have the natural advantage of having just come off the vine.

The standard variety looks like a natural for pickling. Perhaps if we feel adventurous, or simply get tired of cucumbers, we'll give it a whirl.
Finally, for no good reason: Daisies!

Honeymoon (4)

Sunday, April 3
A little breakfast by the pool, a quick stop at KTA for provisions, and we were on our way to the Pu'u O'o Trail. The trail begins off of Saddle Road, a thin strip of asphalt running east-west between the island's two major peaks, Mauna Kea to the north and Mauna Loa to the south. We found the trailhead and headed out for a hike that lasted nearly 6 hours across a landscape that continually alternated between lush greenery and barren expanses of lava rock. Unfortunately, Alec forgot the camera at the hotel, and had to resort to his low-grade cell phone for photo documentation.
What would have been even better than a camera for this outting, however, would have been an audio recorder -- we didn't see very many birds, but we sure heard a lot of them. So melodious!
Upon returning to the car, we headed over to the nearby Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station. We watched a video about the natural wonders and cultural legacy of Mauna Kea, had a cup of hot chocolate, and then skipped out before the evening stargazing program in order to seek warmer elevations.

Monday, April 4
Besides beautiful sandy beaches, tropical forests, volcanos, and plate lunch, what else is Hawai'i known for? Kona coffee, of course!
Our Monday morning coffee adventure kicked off at Holualoa Kona Coffee Company, an organic farm and processing facility with a short self-guided tour of said facility and an informal tasting setup in the gift shop. Those are their (scrumptuous!) beans in Natasha's hand.
We dropped by Sugai Coffee Farm next; they don't have much to show the public, but we got another sample and chatted with the staff for a bit.
Our third and final stop on the bean trail was Kona Blue Sky Coffee. This place was a little more fancy. After yet another sip of paradise, the guy working the counter took us to see some of the coffee trees, which were budding:
Our caffeine fix satisfied, we stopped by Kimura Lauhala Shop to check out the various wares weaved from the leaves of the hala tree. We didn't buy anything, but learned that the proprietor's family came from the same small island in Japan where Alec's great-grandmother lived before she immigrated to Hawai'i.
After a cheap lunch at Choice Mart, we visited Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. The reconstructions of ancient structures like this temple were interesting:But the real treat was taking in the views along the park's back-country trail:We returned from our hike as the park was closing. There was time for a quick dip in the ocean at dusk before we made a return visit to the Big Island Grill, where we were pleased to find that the loco moco was just as good as the kalua pig.

Year One, in the Books

Looking forward to many more!

Honeymoon (3)

Friday, April 1
After another tasty breakfast whipped up by Akiko, we bid farewell and hit the road to Volcanoes National Park. On occasion, visitors to the park can see lava flows, which are legendary. We were not so lucky as to witness the spectacle of fiery molten rock, but our hike of the Kilauea Iki Trail provided an intriguing view of an otherworldly environment.
Our trek was dampened by rain, but we soldiered on across the lunar landscape of the crater floor.
After a peek at Thurston Lava Tube and a picnic lunch, we headed to Hilo and our next lodging, the Hilo Honu Inn.
This upscale B&B was our "splurge" for the honeymoon. We did save a little money on dinner, however, trying out Nori's Saimin & Snacks at Lonely Planet's suggestion. We were not disappointed! Not sure what exactly makes the Hilo-style saimin different than what you get elsewhere, but it sure was tasty.

Saturday, April 2
Want a good way to kick off a Saturday in Hilo? Try a little coconut at the farmers market.
We headed down to this bonanza of produce and crafts after checking out from Hilo Honu Inn. Strolling around downtown a little, we then popped by the University of Hawai'i at Hilo's 4th annual Ocean Day Festival, an educational fair dedicated to all things aquatic. The highlight was one of the students from Ke Ana La'ahana Public Charter School telling us about their exciting fish pond project.
We left the festival and headed south -- way south. To the southernmost point of the United States in fact, a spot called Ka Lae.
We soaked in this beautiful panorama before heading to the nearby Papakolea Beach. Well, almost -- the hike over to the beach is about an hour, and we still needed to make it up to Kailua-Kona before dark, so we had to turn back before we spied the beach's famous green sands. We got close, however, by the look of things:
Stare long enough, and you can see the green in this sand, right?We made it back into Kailua-Kona just as it was starting to get dark. After checking in at the Kona Tiki Hotel, we gave Kanaka Kava a try for a late dinner. This time, the Lonely Planet failed us. Get your lau lau elsewhere, folks. As for the kava, it was an interesting experience, producing a mild numbing of the mouth. Perhaps it even helped bring sleep that night, but sweet dreams more likely came courtesy of the soft sound of crashing waves below our hotel room.

Honeymoon (2)

Wednesday, March 30
After a quick breakfast from the Kailua farmer's market, we headed over to the Hamakua Coast on the northeast side of the island to check out Waipi'o Valley. The area has deep cultural significance for Native Hawaiians, and you can see why it inspires reverence.

We hiked down to the floor of the valley, where people still live today (like Darren, the friendly park staffer we spoke with at the lookout point by the parking lot). Once at the bottom, we trekked inland for a while along a dirt road. There were a few houses along the way, many of them with signs posted asking passersby to "malama our 'aina," or respect our land. Apparently, some tourists have been less than courteous toward the residents' property and privacy. Eventually, we turned around and made our way over to the ocean where it meets up with a stretch of black sand beach.
We had a picnic lunch and a little stroll along the shore.
After hiking back up to the parking lot, we hung around in the small town of Honoka'a before heading over to our lodging for the night.
Akiko Masuda is from Honolulu, but she's lived everywhere from Oakland to Africa. She got the idea to open up her B&B in Wailea after doing the famed 88 temple pilgrimage on the Japanese island of Shikoku. We highly recommend her digs for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike!
We stayed in the Mango Tree Cottage -- very rustic. After settling in, we drove down to Hilo for dinner at Miyo's. It was Akiko's suggestion, and it was delicious.

Thursday, March 31
We don't know when the coqui frog found its way from Puerto Rico to the Hawaiian Islands, but it sure makes its presence known now. We were able to sleep through their loud chirping without a problem, but if you ever do have the chance to stay at Akiko's, you might want to think about bringing ear plugs.
She cooked us a dynamite breakfast, and then we went for a look at Akaka Falls, perhaps the most famous of the Big Island's waterfalls. Legend says Akaka was some kind of philanderer, who got caught and then committed suicide by jumping off the precipice. The water cascading down is supposed to be his lovers' tears.
We checked out the nearby historic town of Honomu for a spell before heading back down to Hilo, where we stumbled upon a storefront for Suisan Company. They were selling maybe 20 different kinds of poke. As the locals say, broke da mouth! The guy who served us seemed to harbor some mild disdain toward Punahou, where our president went to high school, and whose colors Alec was representing. Go figure.
Next, we took in Lili'uokalani Park and Gardens.
They aren't especially big, but they are picturesque. Afterward, we took a dip in the ocean off of adjacent Coconut Island before picking up dinner at a supermarket and heading back to Akiko's.