Hawaii: Off the beaten path

Different trips offer different tourist adventures. Although the Big Island has whale watching, hiking, volcanoes, star-gazing and more, we have devised our own agenda.

With no whale watching planned, I wanted to make sure my commitment to marine biology was clear to all, and so I packed ONLY whale shirts for my workouts here. Here’s my favorite:

I wore it the other day and I saw Kris notice it right away and she smiled and I thought to myself Kris is going to come over and ask me some whale biology questions/compliment my shirt but instead Kris was coming over to tell me I had a really long “tail” of toilet paper hanging out of my bike shorts.

While Ron is perhaps more competent with toilet paper, he has fallen in love with this piece of large “art” outside the gym for our complex and has made it clear to everyone that we are to devise a way to steal it (it’s not attached to anything at all, how heavy do you think it is, it will fit in our rental car, Valerie, but not the other car).

We have two new house guests here with us and I feel like they have adapted to the low energy/low key atmosphere of the house just fine. I can’t tell where they stand on toilet paper dangling issues/willingness to commit felony Hawaiian art theft yet, but yesterday I caught each one of them picking up and admiring this bottle of dish detergent and it makes me feel like they’re the kind of easy-to-entertain houseguests I’m always seeking:

They’re a perfect fit join the activity that has become the single theme of this outdoor Hawaii hiking/beach adventure: looking up the cost of the items in this house.

Look at this cabinet filled with Le Creuset (combined price estimate $5000):

And then the Calphalon cabinet (combined price estimate $1000):

Each of the bedrooms has numerous of these pillows. They weigh 10 pounds each and cost $275. Total house investment in these pillows is over $2000.

Here, finally, is one of the knife collection drawers (there are two drawers full, plus a knife block on the counter):

And here is one of our new house guests, using the house cooking machete to divvy up a malasada.

None of this household stuff appears anywhere in my real life at home. But staying here has been a fairy tale interlude that feels well-deserved in our current difficult year.

Hawaii’s been awesome and we’re hoping to set back out in January and catch up with you then!

I’ll leave you with these pictures of my favorite “hike” and then Chef Ron in action:

17 thoughts on “Hawaii: Off the beaten path”

  4. Thanks for the updates. You seem to have found what qualifies as the antithesis of this year. I know zip about Hawaii–I’m such a northern boy I always figured it would just spit me out. I’m glad it let you in so hospitably. I’m guessing that wasn’t Dostoevsky you were reading on your “hike.” Safe travel home.

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    1. I’m obviously too embarrassed to share the title of my book but it’s the perfect pal for my hours in that little pool. I reach an embarrassing level of laziness here – but this year I feel we deserve it.

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  5. I now know that you can write about anything. Have you considered writing a book? You and Ron are looking much more relaxed!

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  7. Thanks for the laughs. Your blogging style is now well-crafted and eminently fun.

    With all due respect to Chef Ron, I’m more moved by the salad in Hilo!!

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      1. Quite frankly, I’m currently looking at flights so that I can have it, so a two-hour drive seems like a small price to pay. But, of course, my order would have to be for at least four of those. GCD.

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