There She Goes…

Kona is very well known for its production of flavor-forward coffees. I don’t actually know that’s true, but you hear about Kona and coffee so much that we decided to do a coffee roasting farm tour. On the recommendation of the bartender from yesterday, we went to Hōlualoa Kona Coffee Co.

It was a bit tricky to find the place but after calling for directions from the side of the road, we met Carolyn at the “Tours Begin Here” sign. She was a funny little character who was equally abrupt and long-winded. Our tour consisted of one stop to see the two types of roasting machines and ended with a tasting of 5 different coffees paired with various sweeteners. Hand-crafted coffee is expensive but we splurged on a bag to bring back home to remember our Hawaiian Big Adventure.

Avoiding any Death Marches (aka 2+ mile hikes), we decided to check out some beaches that were easily accessible for some fun in the sun. David found a turtle beach called Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park. The GPS guided us to the Ranger Station and after asking about the most direct beach access, the Ranger directed us “three rights to the boat harbor” for a 10 minute easy walk to the beach. What a beautiful beach and seeing sea turtles pop their heads out the water was mesmerizing. I love sea animals the most. It’s the Pisces in me.

After the beach excursion, we stopped at Keoni’s Point Of View for bathroom and snack break. It was a small food shop that had a 2p happy hour. We bought poke nachos and French fries, expecting nothing great by the looks of the place but looks were definitely deceiving as the poke was fresh and very flavorful. Some might say it was “flavor-forward.”

We tried to go out for dinner but open/close times are just suggestions for restaurants living the island-life. Finding a Japanese/Chinese restaurant open, we ate there before heading back to our VRBO to finish watching Moana (David’s movie choice since we are in Hawaii). Another adventure awaits us as we have plans to go see some waterfalls on Wednesday. This island is full of things to see!