Maui 2020-2

I should start today's post by recognizing the many people that made this trip possible. Scott's boss, co-workers, and dealers gifted Scott much of this trip for his retirement. They are a fabulous group of people. Also, we would not be able to travel almost guilt free without the help of Tarra and Jessica Sutphin - our cat sitters. My sister Nancy helped us find them. They take great care of our kitties, giving them lots of love in addition to feeding them - so thank you all!

Now on day 2 of our great adventure. I said yesterday that we found a dangerous place a block away from the condo - a strip mall housing the Farmers Market Store and farmers market three times a week. We bought vegetables to saute the nights we cooked, a pineapple and star fruit. They didn't have any fresh, local fish - so on to check out other stores in the area.

Of course a trip to the farmers market included a stop at Bad Ass Coffee. They sold coffees from Maui and Kauai. The condo only provided coffee for one day, so we bought a small, one pot package of Maui coffee to try and a mocha. 

Still wanting fresh, local fish for dinner and a veggie tray for evening snacks, we explored a store called Times. We found the local fish we were looking for and bought fresh Au. We had never had the fish, but learned later that we were in for a treat. The store carried a variety of Hawaiian novelties such as Macadamia Nuts and Macadamia nut chocolates, clothing, souvenirs like journals, etc. The store carried a lot of great fruit and veggies, but no prepared veggie trays - so on to Safeway where we found our veggie tray for snacking. We found during our stay that we would use all three stores, depending on our needs. 

One of the greatest joys for us today was standing on the lanai and watching the Hawaiian green turtles. Scott was up early and spotted it for me.

                                       

"The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black. The largest populations of green sea turtles within the United States coastline are in the Hawaiian Islands and Florida. " Wikipedia 

The Hawaiian green sea turtle, also known as the honu, symbolizes good luck, endurance and long life. Green sea turtles are seen as navigators who can always find their way home. Because of the sacred status of turtles in ancient Hawaii, only members of the royal family were allowed to eat them. https://www.reference.com/world-view/turtle-symbolize-hawaiian-culture-6323cb6758581033

It was fun learning about the sea life we saw. We tried to whale watch from the lanai without success. 

We planned to eat dinner in, so lunch was found at the Island Cream Company. The ice cream is a special blend of ingredients that produces a product that is not ice cream, not gelato, but perhaps the best, creamy treat one has ever had. The cream is made daily on site with a huge variety of flavors, many reminiscent of the islands. They also make waffle cones on site - regular and chocolate. You can sample as many flavors as you wish until just the right flavor appears. A one scoop cone can be split into two different flavors which we both did. The scoops of each flavor were huge. After much sampling, we both had a chocolate cone with two different creams each. I had a chocolate turtle and a macadamia nut. Much sharing occurred. I don't think anyone could leave hungry.

While we rested we found a new to us TV station - Cooking Hawaiian Style. You can find them at cookinghawaiianstyle.com.

Scott cooked a most fabulous dinner of baked Au with pepper, garlic powder and dill, roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables. 

We both enjoyed an evening on the lanai with adult beverages. The weather was warm, windy and misty.