ODR Outlook

Archive for July, 2010

After yesterday, just staying around on the farm, we decided it was time to take a trip around the island and the see one of the Big Island highlights, “Akaka Falls“.

So we did just that, we got an early start and we headed north up the west side of the island.  The Big Island has one main road around the island nicknamed “Hawaiian Belt”.  The Hawaiian Belt is 200 miles of road all the way around the island and connects you to all the tourist spots on the island.

So yesterday, was a very good day, we saw Akaka Falls, bought local produce on the side of the road, went to the Hilo Farmers Market and bought a Indian Wrap Skirt, and did a complete circle around the island all in one day.

Enjoy the slideshow and movie clip below:

Tuesday we decided to relax and stick close to “home”. Since it was Ronald’s birthday we had plans to go find a place to eat supper and desert. The place where we are staying is someone’s personal home. They built a rental house next door to help them pay for their home projects. It is a beautiful little home with a large deck that overlooks the ocean. His property is full of a variety of plants and trees. The majority of their October is spent picking coffee cherries off of their coffee trees. Wayne (the owner) told us he would give us a tour of the coffee process when we had a chance. So that is what we did. This is the process and other pictures from the day.

The tallest coffee tree

Coffee cherries. The red one is ripe.

The machine that squeezes the cherry off the beans.

Then the beans are soaked and dried here.

The dry beans need to be hulled. There is a tough, thin shell surrounding the bean which gets discarded.

The beans are then roasted inside here when they are ready to be sold.

This is the front of our little house with our rental car.

Inside the house

More inside. It is one big open room with bed, couch, tv, and full kitchen.

The big open deck which should overlook the ocean, but its been overcast with ash from the volcano everyday!

We went to the grocery store that day and wanted to show a picture of the Macadamia nut farms on the way. We picked some up from the store and they are delicious!

This is the entrance to the property where we are staying. Very beautiful gate!

This was possibly the best desert I've ever tasted. Banana and brownie wrapped in tortilla and deep fried with chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top! Can you say heart-attack?

With our deserts at a Mexican restaurant celebrating Ronald's 28th birthday.

No pictures from yesterday. We decided it was time to visit the beach. Despite the weather conditions, we went anyway. Since we arrived on Friday evening, it has been hazy all day long every day. The volcano is blowing its ash over this part of the Island so we’ve had no sun. Some parts of the Island don’t get the ash so it is more sunny, so we thought the beach might be better. It didn’t turn out much better. Although there was no ash, it was not sunny. It must be a summer thing. But we found a shopping area and then found a place to eat. We were especially tired so we just came back to our cabin and slept early.

One of our goals while we are here is to try an authentically Hawaiian food called Poi. I tried it a few years ago that was sent overnight from Hawaii to Spangle, but it wasn’t that great, so I want to try some fresh. We’ll blog about it when we do try it. Apparently it comes in fresh every Friday to the markets.  

Today is Ronald’s birthday. We will go to town and celebrate later tonight and post pictures tomorrow.