Aloha Travelblog, Day 4

Day Four: After three days of life in the islands, with its balmy breezes, warm waters, fresh fruit, and idyllic landscapes, we all agreed that there was only one thing that could make life better: GRANDMA'S ARRIVAL.

OK, go ahead and tease me now; I brought my Mommy on my vacation. I realize it was naive to think that John and I were going to be able to really relax with 3 1/2 year old and 9-month old children along for the ride, but I truly didn't think it would feel so much like life at home in terms of meal preparation, kitchen chores, laundry, feedings, baths, diaper changes, nap management, sunscreen application, sand rinsing, etc.

Did I think little Hawaiian hula fairies would fly out of the lush vegetation to help us with these normal duties? Sort of. What I did know, though, was that life would get much better once Grandma Emely arrived, if only that the kids would have a tireless play partner and Grandma wouldn't expire from missing her grandchildren so much back at home. So it was with great excitement that we all went back to Kona Airport to greet her--with a lei, of course--as she deplaned.

On the way back to our condo we stopped at the grocery store for some supplies and grabbed a quick bite at a tiny Korean BBQ. Here in California we are blessed with an abundance of really great Mexican food; I can think of at least 10 spots in our town alone that I could go visit right now for a solid Mexican meal. In Hawaii, however, given its proximity to so many various island cultures, it's Asian food that's similarly plentiful and accessible. And while I love Mexican food, anyone who knows me well knows that this new breadth of culinary access couldn't make me happier. In most shopping centers we saw, both big and small, there was at least one Asian-based food store: Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and more. MMMMmmmmmmmm. Add the fact that you can buy poke, the delicious fish dish I mentioned in my last post, in most regular grocery stores, and that's nearly argument enough for me to begin filling out my change of address paperwork at the post office to notify them of my impending move to Kona.

And if we're taking the island relocation fantasy to its logical conclusion, it should be mentioned that once settled in to our new Kona residence, nestled snugly between the Thai and Japanese restaurants in any given shopping center that sells more than three types of fresh poke in its deli or fish department, we would have easy visitation access to my brother, Eddie, and his fiance, Amy, who moved to Hilo, about two and a half hours away on the other side of the island, just after the beginning of the new year.

Ed and Amy arrived at our condo about a minute after we returned from the grocery store, so suddenly our group of four blossomed to a group of seven and we could NOT have been happier about it. In fact, so eager were we to share the love that we also had Kirk and Heather, Jasper and Ila, along with new friends Melissa and Brian, over for a big ol' BBQ that night. We were blessed with great food, great friends, and great family. And six, count 'em, kinds of fresh poke. The islands sure have some ono grinds.