Happy Aloha Monday, everyone!
This morning started very early, with a 5:30 wake up call and breakfast (at the Big Island Breakfast, of course) at 6:30. We were due at the Cowboys of Hawaii Riding Stables on Parker Ranch at 8:15, so we needed to leave the hotel around 7:30 at latest. The Parker Ranch, for those of you who didn't follow the blog last year, is among the largest cattle ranches in the United States and has been here for more then 160 years. Here is a little more history for you.
Our guide's name was Rachel and she was fantastic! It was only the four of us (Becky, Doug, Mom and myself) on the tour so she basically let us do whatever we wanted. And, believe me, you can do a lot of whatever you want on a two-hour tour! I hadn't ridden for about 10 years I'll bet, but horses are a bit like bicycles... though I couldn't get PJ (my horse) to go faster then a canter (and boy, does my bottom wish I'd gotten my horse into a full gallop :-/ ) but it was a ton of fun! Since we'd all identified as "beginner," I'll bet Rachel was surprised at us though! :)
After our amazing morning, we drove back to the hotel to collect Baba - who has a few bad memories of the last horse he knew, so opted out of the tour - and then headed back to Kamuela for lunch. The gentleman who arranged our cars at Dollar when we arrived recommended a pizza/pasta/sandwich place that we decided to try. It was called Pau, and the recommendation was well deserved. We did a half-and-half pizza - split between Royal Hawaiian and the Classico, and it EASILY served all 5 of us and could have probably satisfied more! Our pizza was made by a recent Chicago transplant who also provided good conversation and so we 'talked story' with him for a long while.
Lunch having been finished, no trip to Kamuela would be complete without a stop at the Gallery of Great Things. I got a beautiful print of a piece called "The Journey Home" by a local artist.
Becky had a chance to hit up her bead and book shop - Andrew will remember the hippie owner well - before we came back down the mountain.
We had about an hour to kill before dinner at this point, so Mom and Becky and I walked the grounds a bit with the intent of going to the Lagoon and (finally) getting into the ocean! Mission accomplished, and moreover - we saw two Honu!!
We ate dinner at the Boat Landing Pavilion again, myself opting out due to fantastic pizza still lingering in my tummy.
After dinner, we'd planned on driving to the Kona Village Hotel to see John Keawe perform, and we did - but through a veil of rain that kept us from the full experience. We did, however, get his autograph and Becky and Doug had the opportunity to chat with him a bit as well.
Due to the rain, a wedding that was being held at the Kona Village Hotel was forced to share the small bar area with those there to see John Keawe perform, so we felt a bit like interlopers, but oh well! They didn't seem to mind...
Around 9:00 we made the trek back to the hotel and are now about ready for bed. Slower start to the day tomorrow, as our WHALE WATCHING TOUR (!!!!!!!!) doesn't depart from the Marina until 11:00 am. You know I was excited about this last year, and well - that hasn't changed!
Aloha!
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