Waikiki Brewing Company, Waikiki, Hawaii

We're finally in Honolulu.  We are off the ship!  Thank goodness!

We have discovered over the past ten days that cruising is just not for us.  I like to see things more thoroughly than you seem to be permitted to on a cruise.  We were only ashore in each place from around 8.30am until 4.30pm and, for me, this was not long enough to experience each place properly.  I love to try new food and drink, but the cruise itself was so expensive that you felt you really had to get your money's worth during breakfast, before disembarking for the day, which meant that by dinner time (lunch for you posh folk) you were still stuffed from breakfast.  It was the same with drinks.  The beer is 'free' on the boat, so why pay for it ashore if you can help it?  If only we were rich and could just drink all the beer...

We stayed in an Airbnb.  We have used Airbnb a few times and have been really pleased each time and this was no exception.  The view we had was awesome, and the place was conveniently located near all the things we wanted to see, as well as being almost next door to Waikiki Brewing Company.

We visited twice in our short stay as it was so good and really just a little too convenient.  We each had four wee beers to taste, making sure they were all different ones as I don't like to think that I'm missing out on anything.  The beers were awesome, my particular favourite being 'Jalapeno Mouth'.  I just LOVE chili beer and I now seem to be seeking it out wherever I go.  No luck so far though.  Brewdog did one called 'Chili Hammer' a year or so ago and it was really good but it's not available anymore.  I'll keep looking.  

Take Home Maui, Lahaina

This wee shop was great.  It sells lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, all grown on Maui.  We originally stopped in past because Alan was on the hunt for another coconut to drink from...

...but we were sidetracked by this wee cutie...

This is Kehau and he lives on the porch outside Take Home Maui.  I'm always drawn to parrots, especially African Greys as I had one as a pet when I was small.  Freddy originally belonged to my granda but he became too frail to look after him properly and so my folks took on the challenge.  It's not that Freddy was a difficult pet to keep, but he was quite particular about who he liked.  He was definitely dad's boy!  Unfortunately Freddy died suddenly and left us all heartbroken.  He had lived to a very healthy age of 47!  People are often surprised when I tell them this as they don't expect parrots to live for that long.

This beautiful lad seemed to be everyone's friend and even let me give him a wee scratch on the head.  I'm desperate to have one again!

Hilo Hattie, Lahaina

We're still in Lahaina and we LOVE IT!

I had a few things I wanted to try whilst we were in Hawaii and Dole Whip was one of them.  Dole Whip doesn't seem to exist in the UK.  Why not?  Lack of pineapple plantations?  Sounds like an excuse to me.  Get it sorted!

Hilo Hattie, a touristy shop in Lahaina, sell Dole Whip and that's where we found ourselves so, never folk to let food opportunities pass by, we ordered a small for me and, I think it was a large, for Alan.  I managed to tear Alan away from the Hawaiian shirts that he insisted he would wear 'all the time' when we got home.  This is the lad who won't even wear any mildly patterned clothes for fear of drawing attention to himself and looking 'different'.  *eye roll*

I'm not really sure what's in Dole Whip; I guess at least some pineapple and a ton of sugar but apart from that your guess is as good as mine.  It had a fresh, pineapple sherbet taste to it and was much more refreshing than ice cream.  It wasn't icy like sorbet but not creamy like ice-cream.  It really was like someone had whizzed up a load of pineapples.

I've scoured the internet for a recipe and have found one from Fat Mum Slim.  I can't wait for the one or two days of Scottish sun that we are due this year so that I can try it out!  Don't let me down, Scottish weather!

Breakwall Shave Ice Co., Lahaina, Hawaii

Neither of us had ever had shave ice before.  I'm really glad we tried it whilst we were away.  At Breakwall we were able to watch as a fairly large block of ice was put into a machine and turned into something delicious.

I think we got a large sized one as we intended on sharing, and it really was large - I'm glad we didn't get the 'massive' size, I can only imagine how big that would have been.  Ours was around the size of my head (take that as you will).  I'm afraid these photos don't seem to capture quite how big it was - the shaved ice, that is!

Once the ice is shaved, flavoured syrups are then poured over the top.  We had pineapple, watermelon and mango.  I didn't think we would manage to eat the whole lot but we did.  I also I didn't think the syrup would make it to the bottom of the cup but it did so it was delicious all the way to the end.  

What a tasty way to keep cool, and definitely less sickly than a huge ice-cream would have been!

Cheeseburger in Paradise, Lahaina, Hawaii

We're in Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

We had burgers for breakfast!

They come with a wee slice of pineapple, so that makes them healthier, right?


 

Hilo Farmers Market, Hilo, Hawaii

The cruise ship sailed around the Big Island and went past an active volcano.  We were lucky enough to see lava flowing into the sea.  Unfortunately we only had our phones with us so didn't get any awesome pictures.  We thought our DSLR would be too bulky to cart around with us, but I regret thinking this as we missed the opportunity to capture something we will not likely get the chance to see again. 

Never mind, I'm just really glad we saw it.

We docked in Hilo.  Hilo is like a step back in time and although we felt there isn't really much to do in Hilo itself (apart from an awesone sweetie shop!), we took the opportunity to travel a little further to see the Botanical Garden and also Richardson Beach which has black sand because of all the volcanic rock and is where sea turtles hang out.  Here's a picture of one (he's right in the middle).

We also had a wee wander around Hilo Farmers Market where Alan bought a coconut.  It came with a free starfruit.  As you can see he is absolutely delighted about this.

He kindly decided to gift the starfruit to a homeless person.

I love my husband.

Kona Brewing Company, Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Finally we are off the ship!

YAY!

Here is a picture of our very smiley faces to show how pleased we were...

It was a whole lot hotter than it looks in this photo.

We visited Kailua Kona on the Big Island today.  We rented a car and drove to what I keep calling the seahorse factory.  It is in fact a seahorse farm.

At Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm they breed seahorses for both conservation purposes and as pets.  We got to see many different breeds including sea dragons, some pregnant males and teeny tiny baby seahorses!  The staff at this family run business seemed very knowledgeable and I'm satisfied that the welfare of these beautiful creatures was of prime importance, especially given the fact that some breeds are nearly extinct.  We even got to hold a seahorse - an experience we will likely never get the chance to repeat.

Here is a photo of Alan's beautiful face...

One for the wall :)

We then toddled off to Kona Brewing Co. for a quick bite to eat and some cold, refreshing beer.

We both love beer and trying local brews.  It was an absolute treat to try these ones.  There are some that are brewed with tropical flavours such as passion fruit or coconut and we found them very appropriate for our first day in Hawaii.

We sat outside and felt like we were in a lush green paradise as we listened to the birds tweet singing around us.  My favourite beers were the Lemongrass Lu'au and Castaway IPA.

I tried my first 'poke' too.  I'm a particular fan of raw fish and the traditional Hawaiian dish was delicious.  I'm afraid I didn't get a photo of it.  Alan had pepperoni rolls which he refused to let me taste - I assume this means they were good.

Today was a breath of fresh air.  Here is a picture of a wee chap we found outside.