Comfortable in Kona

 Kona was just a laid back Hawaiian kind of day where we wandered without doing a whole lot but we certainly enjoyed this port.

Just a quick view of Kailua/Kona as we came into port the morning of the 18th.  It was a bit surprising how many lights there were.

I got several nice shots of Serenade out in the harbor from different angles today so decided to put them all in a collage.  We have really grown to love our home away from home.

It's always nice to see a greeting when you arrive in port.  As we waited for Laura and Bob to come in on the second tender, one of the local security guards asked me, "Are you looking for the Stake Center?"  I responded, "What was your first clue?"  I had to assume not too many people got off a cruise tender dressed like we were.  She told me that as soon as she saw Karl and I she had told her husband that she knew that's where we were headed.

My new friend the security guard suggested that we take a taxi to the church because it would take us an hour to walk.  Our maps told us it would only take us a third of that time so we decided to meander since it was such a lovely day.  I knew it was going to be an uphill walk to get there but I'm not sure Karl did, and he was wishing we'd done the taxi option up the hill as we were rather damp from perspiring by the time we got to church.  We enjoyed the Sacrament Meeting and had a nice visit with the bishopric when we got there as we were 30 minutes early.

The lovely Kona Temple is on the same grounds as the church.  We learned that it had just recently closed for refurbishing and wouldn't open again for about three years.

We always enjoy spending time with Laura and Bob.  It's crazy how even though we are on the same relatively small ship we can go for days at a time without seeing each other.

It really was once we got to Kona that it felt like we were in Hawaii.  The palm trees on the temple grounds may have been part of the reason why.

Probably the other reason I felt like we were in Hawaii were the beautiful tropical flowers we saw as we walked to and from church.  The plumeria will always be one of my favorites.

Just to give you an idea of the hill we had to walk up to get to church.  You can also see that Karl shed his tie as soon as he could after the meeting.

Just a couple more unique plants we saw as we walked.  The one on the left is something called a Tahitian Screwpine, the fruit of which is red, sweet and supposedly tastes like a combination of mango and pineapple.  It's sometimes called hala fruit.  On the right is a fruit called soursop.  This one has a texture like a banana on the inside and a flavor some say is a combination of strawberry and apple with a little sour citrus note, although it smells similar to a pineapple.  Go figure.  I would have been willing to try either one!

Having skipped breakfast we were ready to find someplace for lunch once we got back into the commercial part of town.  Laura had heard the fish and chips at Foster's Kitchen were exceptional so we made our way there to try them out.

You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful location to sit and eat your lunch with a warm, tropical breeze flowing by as you looked out over the bay.

I decided I wanted to try a little roasted tomato soup as a starter.  I was pleasantly surprised that it also came with a small grilled cheese & sweet onion sandwich.  Both were oh so good.  Karl had some gumbo and enjoyed that as well.

The fish was so good that I forgot to take a picture before there was only a small piece left.  Karl and I shared this local treat along with some garlic truffle fries and a yummy coleslaw.

We opted for a different venue for dessert, a shop called Gypsea Gelato.  The treats were really more of an ice cream than a gelato but they were local flavors and quite scrumptious.  Karl and I both had a cup with Mauka Trail (chocolate & coffee flavors with macadamia nuts) and Toasted Coconut Haystack (coconut ice cream with chocolate-covered coconut shreds).  I also tried just a taste of one called Tom Kha (ginger, lemongrass, coconut & turmeric), excellent, but I felt like it was more of a stand alone flavor.  Laura said the Salted Caramel was good and Bob liked the Tahitian Vanilla Bean.  Note to self, look for some vanilla in Tahiti!

We made our way back to the ship after our ice cream.  I have no idea why this little guy was stuffed into a hole in a wall.

The Farmer's Market we walked through was so tempting.  It was killing me to not be able to take any of that fruit back on the ship with me.  And I was too full from lunch to just buy some to eat then and there.

There was a massive street market with dozens of vendors on the main road along the coast, completely closing it off for what seemed like a mile.  Kara crochets cute animals like these on the left.  The style of the art on the right is something that Karl and Ashley had planned to work on to create a tabletop for the kids camper van.  Unfortunately her resin she ordered from Australia months and months ago has still never arrived to do the project.  I sent this photo to her and said maybe I just need to pick up the resin in Australia when we get there!

Finally, a beach to get a little sand on, although it's supposed to be bad luck to take sand away from Hawaii.  I'm really hoping that's just an old wive's tale.

The small Niumalu Beach doesn't have much size but it's definitely in a pretty little spot just down the street from the tender pier.

Doesn't get much more tropical looking than Karl here with the beach behind.  Doesn't that clear water just make you want to sigh?

My tropical look came later on that evening as we went to dinner.  All the waiters and assistant waiters on the ship were wearing leis that night, either around their necks or on their heads.  When I told our assistant Fares that I liked his head gear he immediately took it off, put it on my head, and told me it was mine.  I was definitely the most decorative person at the table that night!  All in all it was a lovely, relaxing day in the paradise that's Kona, a place I'd be happy to spend a week or two in.