More of our Hawaiian adventure!!

Our adventure has been so full! We are really managing to accomplish so much while here. Most importantly, we've enjoyed the relaxation of the beach and pool. However, there have been times where I've needed to attend to the liveliness of my 4 year old! His energy surpasses that of a handful of 12 year old tweens at a Miley Cyrus concert. He does not slow down. Thankfully, I've had my sister and my mom pick up where I drop off (like at the side of a ravine ready to jump off)! That said, all in all our trip is truly magical!

Slightly loony at this point! We've had our fair share.

We took a morning to drive to a coffee plantation for some 'true Kona coffee.' DELICIOUS! We ventured over to Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation in the hilly region of Kaloko, which is about 3500 ft above sea level and considerably cooler temperatures (by about 20 degrees). What a beautiful place! We had a tour of their facility where all the beans are sorted and then roasted (and organic). We also tasted coffees and reveled in the smells of the beans roasting (boy do I love a good cup). What a treat! We headed into their coffee store to purchase coffee which ended up being about $350 dollars worth, between the three of us (included coffee beans, cremes, candies, and tea for ourselves and friends to be shipped to our home). Yikes! So worth it tho, supporting this small producer and farm!

Newly roasted beans spilling out of the roaster.

Still hot, the beans make a popping sound, (its the oils)!

Here the beans are being swirled to cool them down.

The beans also continue to expand in size.

My morning breakfast: oranges, papaya, lime and pineapple.

Unfortunately that beautiful coconut sitting there still hasn't been opened

as we don't seem to have a machete lying around.

We arranged to see a Lu'au at the neighboring Hilton Waikoloa resort. Henry was ecstatic about the performance. His favorite parts were the loud drums and the fire dancer! It was a night of Hawaiian food and culture!! :)

Bright eyed!

Hen and Nor with the fire dancer!

Hula dancers

We took another morning to drive through two towns. The first being, Hawi (pronounced Ha-vee) is a cute little hippie town, with jewelry stores, good organic eats and coffee and Kava cafes (more on Kava later).

This is the view from the road on our way from Hawi to Waimea.

Cute town of Hawi!

Waimea is a larger town and more established with the history of Parker Ranch, one of the largest cattle ranches in the United States. Think Hawaiian cowboy! We hoped to have visited some of the original homesteads but were disappointed when we learned they had been closed due to the economy. They are hopeful to re-open. To learn a bit more about Parker Ranch, read HERE.

Hen and I relaxing on the patio!

Signing out, but more to come!