Day 27 - Tuesday - July 6

First day back from a long weekend is always a little hard, and this Tuesday was no different.

For lunch I went to Fort Street Cafe which Yelpers had been praising for their garlic chicken.  So naturally I had to try.  I ordered the Garlic Chicken with Panang Curry.  The garlic chicken is boneless fried chicken that has a fairly strong garlic flavor.  It was delicious!  Mmmm.  The panang curry was flavorful but way too salty, so I won't be getting the curry again.  They offer the garlic chicken as part of a breakfast meal and I plan on getting that soon.

After work I went to see Toy Story 3!!!  I splurged and bought the kids popcorn combo which comes with a super small drink cup, a small bag of candy and a very healthy serving of popcorn.  Was totally worth it!  And the movie was amazing!  I was crying at the end of it.  Over plastic talking toys.  Oh, so so so so good.  It was all about letting go, the cycle of youth and growing up, making way for the next generation, moving on but appreciating the past, etc.  All things I think resonates with everyone but particularly for young adults.
  

Day 26 - Monday July 5 - Kona/Honolulu

I was so tired on Monday.  I woke up, ate breakfast, and then watched the really cool video of the lava flows we bought from Leigh Hilbert.  I then proceeded to take a nap until dinnertime, after which I had to get up to head back to Honolulu.  The past couple of days had been so busy, I think my body needed the peace.

I forgot to take a picture of dinner, but it was grilled ahi tuna.  We bought the whole tuna from a guy off the side of the road as we were going into Puna and brought it back to Kona.  It was pretty tasty but ahi tuna generally is really thick meat. It was then time to say goodbye to the Big Island.

The flight back was uneventful and then I was on the bus heading back into Waikiki.  I was still pretty tired so I headed to bed early to get ready for the next day.  Sorry no pics for this day!  

Day 25 - Sunday July 4 - Puna/Kona, Big Island

Soooo, surfing.  My uncle-in-law took me out to a real local spot in Puna known locally as Pohoiki (Isaac Hale Beach Park) - nearly all Native Hawaiian people.  Felt like Hana.  It's pretty rocky over in that area with lots of volcanic rock.  The waves were about 2-3 feet.

Checking out the waves, my aunt in the foreground. 

Me and my uncle-in-law out in the water

I had no idea what I was doing but started trying to paddle.  Paddling is hard and tiring and the board is wobbly so my goal was not to fall off while paddling.  Luckily I didn't and my uncle seemed impressed.  He told me that when I catch a wave, to try to stand up.  But I had no idea what catching a wave meant. He pushed me into a wave and I totally "caught" it....on my stomach.  It was pretty scary but cool as well.  I tried again and couldn't catch it.  Then I was too tired and it got crowded, so we headed in.  It was an exciting and scary experience, I must say.

After the surfing my uncle-in-law showed me the spot where he used to surf in the 80s before the huge volcano eruption literally buried his favorite surf spot, Kaimu Bay.

What was Kaimu Bay is now all lava rock, when you see it in person, you can totally see what was once the bay.

We then got ready to head back to the other side of the island but made a stop over at Maku'u Farmer's Market first for lunch.

Lots of stands to buy food, drinks and little trinket at Maku'u Market

Ridiculously tasty chicken satay skewers I got there

Really disgusting pad thai from the same place as the chicken skewers, so disappointing after such tasty chicken.  They put so much ketchup in the noodles.  Yuck. 

This was different - a Portuguese sausage musubi.  This came from Malama Market in Pahoa which is like a Safeway and Whole Foods combined.  Not bad prices considering how isolated the area is.   

Once we were back in Kona, we took a nap until it was time to get ready for the Fourth of July parade where my aunt and uncle-in-law were going to march in on behalf of Senator Dan Inouye (who was also going to be there as the grand marshal.  The parade was a combination of local Kona folks like the Fire Department and Human Society, big whig people like BOTH Senator Inouye and Akaka, and political candidates for offices like governor, state assembly seats, etc.

Folks in preparation of the parade

My very blurry pic of Senator Inouye.  Now that he's 3rd in line of succession for the presidency, he had at least 4 Secret Service agents (in Aloha Shirts) at each corner of the car. 

Started to rain during the parade but that meant a rainbow over the water!

After the parade we went to an informal "picnic" dinner for all the Democratic candidates for office.  It was in this huge hale and there was great hula dancing and local music.  The politicians came around to talk to us but I explained that I couldn't vote.  The food was pretty bad though. 

Bad hot dog, weird tasting chicken wings, ok pasta salad and good watermelon was at the Democratic Party picnic. 

There was a fireworks display for the Forth of July, but it wasn't that exciting.  They seemed to have all the green fireworks right after another and all the blue ones back to back, so it was a little boring.  After the fireworks we headed out and I got some food at Blazin Steaks.

Two pork chops with mushrooms, brown rice, and salad for $6.  Pretty good!

Pahoa on Dwellable

Day 24 - Saturday July 3 - Kona/Puna - Big Island

Sorry for the delay - been busy/tired with clerkship stuff and other chores. But I hope to get back in the swing of things.

Woke up at like 5:50am on Saturday to see if we could go surfing (i.e. if Kimi could learn how to surf). The water was very calm and my uncle-in-law's assessment was that surfing wasn't going to happen. So, we hung out, had breakfast, and fed the chickens and pig.

Their pig named Dinner, can you guess why?

Chicken coop - their chickens' eggs are tasty

Their other 5 little chicks besides Poop Monster

After feeding we went to a hydroponic lettuce grower about 5 blocks away that has a small farm in the back of him home and sells a head of lettuce for $2. The lettuce, it turns out, is delicious!

At 10am we were down in Kailua-Kona where I went to Kamakahonu Beach and snorkeled in water. I didn't have flippers so when the water got a little rough I had to head more inshore, but man, it was awesome! It was very much like Sharks Cove with its awesome snorkeling but since it was beach it was a lot nicer to enter into than Sharks Cove. So many different kinds of fish and lots of little schools of Moorish Idols. But the coolest thing is that I SAW A SEA TURTLE! I haven't seen one since and this one totally caught me off guard. I saw something blue/green from the corner of my eye and I thought it was a big fish, so I turned towards it and BAM! green sea turtle swimming at me. It was only like 2-3 feet away from me! I was shocked but it seemed totally calm. Pretty good sized one too - not super big like the ones I saw in Australia laying eggs in the sand, but not a little one.

Kamakahonu Beach - Right by that little house on the water and beyond there are SO many fish.

After snorkeling I took a walk along the main street of Kailua-Kona and headed towards food.

Naturally I had done some Yelp research before my trip and determined that I had to try You Make the Roll. All the reviews said it was amazing food and super cheap. You can order pre-designed rolls or you can make your own from a set list of ingredients.

I made this one - Shrimp tempura, teriyaki chicken, avocado, lettuce, papaya. I liked all of this except the chicken's flavor was very overpowering. But these rolls were HUGE and there were 8 pieces.

Pre-designed shrimp tempura roll with cucumber and lettuce - very tasty and still absolutely huge.

I can usually eat two rolls without a problem but I couldn't finish these. My aunt and uncle-in-law had to help!

After food we went back to the house to get ready to go to the East side of the Big Island. They have a house in Pahoa, Puna (about 45 min south of Hilo) that we stayed in. The trip takes about 2.5 hours to make, and we cut through the middle of the island which is like total desert. I was so surprised.

Huh? That doesn't look like Hawaii...it's all volcanic rock and dessert scrub. The military trains soldiers here for Afghanistan.

It was absolutely pouring rain in Puna. We got some huli huli chicken (rotisserie) from a roadside stand for dinner. That combined with the hydroponic lettuce as salad and some fried rice. The chicken was tasty. But the salad was the key, the hydroponic lettuce was great! I was so impressed with how crispy and flavorful it was!

We then headed out to see the volcano! So back in April and May of this year the volcano erupted and totally wiped out the previous viewing area with lava - no joke. So now, you can't get real close. We walked up what was left of the old viewing area and could really only see a speck of red in the distance at the peak of the volcano, meaning that the volcano is alive and well.

My feet on lava rock, that's the closest I could get to lava. =)

But, there was a photographer, Leigh Hilbert, there who had captured the last lava flow through video and film, so we admired his photos and bought his video. Check out his blog for awesome pictures and video (scroll all the way down for video) of the lava!

Headed to bed early as the next day I would go out surfing for the first time...

Kailua Bay Resort on Dwellable

Day 23 - Friday - Honolulu/Kona, Big Island!

Friday was the start of a great, long 4th of July weekend!

I got into work and didn't feel hungry at all, but then around 9:45pm I was super hungry.  Takes my tummy a little while to wake up.  Per the suggestion of a director, I went to C & G's Luncheon for breakfast.  It's a little hole in the wall kind of place that serves make-when-you-order breakfasts.  I got 2 eggs over easy, SPAM, and fried rice for under $5.
 

Overall it was SPAM satisfying.  The eggs were slightly overdone and the SPAM was slightly underdone (I like my SPAM well done) but the fried rice was excellent and everything mixed together tasted great.

I wasn't that hungry when lunchtime came but I knew I needed to eat since I would be getting on a plane to Kona, Big Island and wasn't sure when I would be eating dinner. A fellow law clerk and I headed over to Komala Curry House where I was pleased to learn that the curries had no dairy!  Got the chicken masala (no picture, sorry, I forgot) which was fine but kind of expensive for the portion.

After work, it was off to Kona!  I was staying with my aunt and uncle-in-law for the weekend.  They live on the west side of the Big Island.  They have chickens and a pig.  Right now they are working on their house with the hope to set up a little B&B in the back.

Got a great plumeria lei as a welcoming from my aunt

My aunt made a Spanish tortilla with fresh eggs from her chickens, potatoes, and green onions

 This lil chick was living in the house because her leg was hurt and she hopped around on one foot.  Her name was Poop Monster, can you guess why?

Day 22 - Thursday

Thursday there was a litigation team meeting during lunch where we got sandwiches from Honolulu Cafe where I ate the day before. I didn't take a picture of it, but I had turkey avocado sandwiches that were tasty, but only had turkey and avocado - I wish there had been more ingredients.

An attorney came back from the World Cup in South Africa and brought back from ostrich jerky for the office to try. I wasn't much of a fan since it's pretty musky tasting.

Ostrich jerky - not so good

After work I went to see Eclipse! Some ladies in the office went on Wednesday (opening day) and said it was really good, so I wanted to see it. It was pretty good - better than the first two for sure, but still not that amazing. Eclipse is my favorite book of the whole series and my favorite scene in the book is not in the movie. *** SPOILERS WARNING, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND/OR DON'T WANT TO KNOW MY FAVORITE BOOK SCENE, SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH*** Anyway, my favorite scene in the book is the part after Bella and Jacob talk about how she loves him and it's just not enough (first, they butchered that scene in the movie. Bella's totally crying in the book while Kristin Stewart just look uncomfortable like she always does). After Bella leaves Jacob she gets in her car and starts driving away, but she doesn't get far because she just breaks down crying about how much she loves Jacob and can't be with him and she cries throughout the night over the fact that she's choosing Edward over Jacob. Edward is with her during this time and actually says that maybe she made the wrong decision and should be with Jacob (this is when I actually start to like Edward), to which Bella responds that she knows who she can't live without (Edward) and she has finished mourning the loss of the life-that-would-have-been with Jacob. This is all heavy stuff in the book and in the movie they skip from a rather unemotional scene between Jacob and Bella to Bella and Edward being all happy in a field of flowers. Then end movie. Ugh, no emotional turmoil. Clearly the movie makers are a little too Team Edward for my liking.

Okay, Eclipse aside, after the movie it was pretty late so I headed over to my trusty Menchanko-Tei (open until midnight!) for hot miso menchanko. Has all the ingredients that regular menchanko does but is spicy! It was tasty but saltier than regular menchanko.

Yummy! Menchanko and spicy = Love!

Day 21 - Wednesday

Wednesday was my first day staying late at the office. I needed to get my assignment done and since the internet was not working at home, I worked until 9:30pm and stayed until 11:30pm to use the internet.

I was starving when I headed off the bus in the morning, so I decided to try out This is it Too, a local bagel shop that makes breakfast sandwiches. The reviews kept talking about how the bagels were like real NY bagels (since the owner came from NY), but I was skeptical. I ordered the Egg, Ham and Cheese (but no cheese) sandwich on a regular water bagel. I was pleasantly surprised at how doughy the bagel was! Definitely not as good as the bagels my law school roomie brought back from NYC, but definitely better than a regular CA bagel. Yay!

The egg/ham part was absolutely huge

Very tasty!

In the afternoon I had to get a lot of work done so I hopped over to Honolulu Cafe which is in the same courtyard as my building. The reviews were praising the salmon Caesar salad, so I decided to get that but get mixed greens instead of Caesar salad. It cost $14, so I was expecting something amazing. I took it back up to my office to find cheese sprinkled all over the salad. Yuck. So, had to go back down and get a new salad. They were apologetic and gave me a free cookie (again, not getting that I can't eat dairy) which I gave to a fellow law clerk. Overall, the salad was disappointing. It was just greens and fairly tasteless salmon. It was a big piece of salmon, but not very tasty and I had to try super hard to finish it.

Salmon salad - meh, not tasty

Worked through the night and the firm provides dinner if you're working. On Wednesday dinner was coming from Yard House which is also over in Mountain View. I got the turkey club sandwich. I wasn't impressed with how long it took them to deliver our orders and how when it got here it was all mushy. Bleh.

Only ate 3 out of the 4 quarters, too mushy

Fries were mushy and way too oily

Got home around midnight and crashed, only to start the grind all over again on Thursday!

Trump Tower Waikiki on Dwellable