One of our days we spent whale-watching. Supposedly, this is the season when the whales come to the Big Island to give birth, feed their babies, play in the surf and give us people great opportunities to see them. This is Whittington Beach.
There were quite a few people here watching for whales...and the scenery was incredible. All of these pictures were taken with my iphone. We never saw a whale, though. We looked really hard!
We also went to a very cool 'black sand beach'. Our friends who live nearby sort of lamented that they hadn't really been to a white sand beach in quite a while- I guess the white sand beaches are all near Kona and Hilo and that trip usually entails and all day shopping venture to Costco, Target and a quick stop for lunch before the 2 hour return trip to the southernmost tip of the United States. There are consequences to living in Paradise away from the tourists!
The black sand beach was pretty gritty and HOT...it was only about 75 degrees but the sand was a little too hot in places where the surf didn't moisten it down...seriously, the 'slippahs' (flip flops in pidgin Hawai'ian) were only off for the one picture!
It didn't keep the sea turtles away! We could see a lot of them in the surf, but not quite ready to lay on the beach and cook...except one very large fella!
We spent that late afternoon driving around on the golf cart on the award winning golf course immediately adjacent to Rich and Aarah's house. It was beautiful, but it's sort of a sad situation. It shut down a few years ago and the owners never restored it. They let the club house and tennis courts go to overgrown weeds and the greens are only mowed by the snowbirds who stay in Discovery Harbor during the winter. This course is awesome and has so much potential...but the 'people against everything' have stopped any development in the area, to the dismay of the people who own homes and lots nearby. It's a shame because it could really bring home and lot buyers to the area if the golf course was actually operating.
There is also a very sacred site to the Hawai'ian people on the golf course incorporated into the landscape. It's called a 'heiau' and it's a temple to bring offerings to the gods. This was pretty cool. Rich and Aarah said that native Hawai'ians sometimes leave offerings wrapped in leaves to this particular one.
It's made out of lava rock and supposedly was also used for sacrifice -animal or maybe human. We don't know.
We also had some amazing meals each night at home...so here's one of our dinners/recipe Island style...
2' thick firm fish fillet or a nice petit steak
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
garlic powder
one whole pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced into rounds.
brown sugar
torn lettuce leaves
home grown tomatoes
home grown basil
home grown avocado
toss the fish fillets (or steak) with the olive oil, pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Sprinkle brown sugar on both sides of the sliced pineapple.
Toss the fixings for the salad together with your favorite dressing....or not. Trust me, the avocado will make it's own dressing!
Heat the BBQ. Brush the grill with some oil and put the Pineapple on for 1 minute on each side. Remove to a separate place.
Put the steak on the grill for 4 minutes on each side. Put the fish filet on the grill for 3 minutes on each side. Serve.
Oh yah- open a big bottle of wine and sit outside in the moonlight, drinking wine and laughing with friends.
Repeat each night for a week.
Aloha!
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