Okay so let's start with Tuesday first...My family and I picked our instructor up and the first place we went was a little local breakfast shop called Cinnamon's.Now let me tell you, this was probably the most DELICIOUS, RIDICULICIOUS, ONO-LICIOUS, YUMMYLICIOUS breakfast I have ever had in my life!I had a Hawaiian omelet which is probably the weirdest thing I've ever eaten in my life, but definitely amazingly delicious.It had Kalua pig (which is like smoked pork), diced tomatoes, white and green onions, and lu'au leaves.That came with a side of buttermilk pancakes which were to die for and I slathered them in butter and syrup.My Mom had a basic breakfast which was scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a biscuit that was utterly amazing as well.My Dad had Portuguese sweet bread French toast with a guava chiffon topping that was to die for!Definitely the most delicious French toast I have ever had.So breakfast was a HUGE success plus our server was so amazing and once she found out I was a chef she scored major brownie points with me saying that I was a very pretty chef and she said she was surprised because most of them are burly men.So I left her a note sharing in the aloha spirit and thanking her for her hospitality and left her a $20 extra dollar tip.That's the aloha spirit at its best!
From there we went to a lookout where we could the see island of Makapu'u.This was one of those scenic lookout points that was absolutely amazing.Such beautiful scenery and we were so high up we could see a lot of the island and the amazing beautiful shades of blue of the ocean.From there we went to the sight of a blowhole where if the tide is high enough you can see the water shoot outta there like a geyser.After that we made the trek to the Lyon Arboretum.I have to say all of that foliage was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life and after being there, in such a peaceful and beautiful place I'm contemplating seeing if I could get married there when that occasion would arise.Our instructor is a docent for the arboretum so he was able to take us "off the beaten track" so to speak.He showed us all about the nature there, showed us the all the fruit growing there, and even showed us some handy tricks.
There is a tree there that they call a pickle tree which he had told me about on the phone previously and I was so excited about that because anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty much a pickle fanatic or a pickle whore as many like to call me!So here stands this pickle tree that is sprouting fruit that looks just like a dill pickle.Well Professor pulled one down for me and me being the brave girl that I am I tried it.Well, that's the last time I ever do that!Imagine eating a Sour Patch Kid, but multiply that by 100 and there you have what the so-called "pickle" tastes like.Probably the most horrible thing I've ever tasted, but live and learn!They also have a chocolate tree there which I didn't believe, but they really do.The tree bears the cacao bean that they use to make chocolate so I actually touched a chocolate tree.I know it sounds like something out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but it actually does exist!
From there we grabbed a little "snack" at Bubbie's Ice Cream and I had a POG (Passion Orange Guava) smoothie which was to die for.Got the coolest shirt from there ever and you will see the picture below.So after a little refresher we went to the local Zippy's to have lunch.I had an amazing somen salad that has pretty much changed my life forever.For those T-Bird students I have tried this recipe at work last tri-mester and I will be trying it again once I get back.Zippy's to Hawaii is like Denny's to Arizona but much better than that. Just a cool local hangout that has a lot to choose from and an amazing bakery.From there we dropped our instructor off, took a little snooze and then it was out again.Our instructor wanted to take us to St.Andrew's Cathedral which was absolutely amazing.I definitely feel out of place in religious settings and I did a little bit here too but all of that dissipated when you see how beautiful the stained glass is.They have a bell tower there that my instructor wanted us to ring with him because he's a trained bell ringer, but unfortunately it was closed so we're going to have to try that another time.
Well from there we "accidentally" ran into where they film Dog the Bounty Hunter which is at Da Kine Bail Bonds.So obviously I had to take a bunch of pictures of that.From there we hit the Zippy's again (same one) and had dinner.I had a seafood platter that had salmon topped with garlic vegetables, a seafood patty, and tempura battered shrimp with French fries.So after that we were pretty much done for the night and we returned "home" and called it a night.
Wednesday July 14, 2010
We got up super early and met our instructor and went to the local swap meet in Pearl City.This is a more local kind of swap meet where they sell a lot of fruits and vegetables almost like a farmer's market, but also like a HUGE garage sale.We didn't find much as far as souvenirs go but we did get some vegetables, malasades, and I did pick up a Sam Choy (my Hawaiian hero chef) cookbook for 5 bucks.We took our instructor back and then returned home to get some beach time in.Hilary, who is dating our instructor's son and who lives with them, came over to our house and taught me how to paddle surf.I had wanted to do this for awhile so I finally had the chance.It's definitely not as easy as it looks.The boards are very ominous and the ocean, be it very calm where we're staying, can turn on you in an instant.I had a pretty good time on my knees paddling that way, but popping up on the board is difficult.I fell a lot, got a lot of bumps and bruises, but it was so much fun!
We stayed out there for awhile, tanning and getting some sun and then came in to take a nice long nap.After that we went to Pinky's Pupu Bar and Grill for dinner.I had Pinky's Aloha Plate which had macadamia encrusted mahi mahi, seafood lau lau, kalua pig, macaroni salad, French fries, and lomi lomi salmon.It was AMAZING!!!Very fun and entertaining little local place.After dinner we went to Long's grocery store to pick up some aloe vera to cool my parents' sunburns and some sandals as souvenirs.Then we went to Don Quiote which is an Asian market and picked up some groceries for a dinner that we were going to fix at the house.After that, which was a lot for one day, we decided to go back home watch Dog the Bounty Hunter actually in Hawaii and call it a night!
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