Hawaii Happenings

Mae Travels: St. Lucia

2010-12-19T14:44:00.001-10:00

Mae Travels: St. Lucia
A nice post from one of our friends/Kona Lisa Coffee lover costomers blogs. Love this picture and glad they are having a nice time there.

Summer

2010-08-30T08:58:00.004-10:00

During a birthday phone call I was reminded that I hadn't blogged in awhile. Yes, that is the story. I don't tweet but I do the rounds on Facebook which seems to take up some blogging time. Plus summer has been a fun time here. After heading off to Tennessee and sharing a week at Myrtle Beach with the family we brought two of our grandchildren back here to Hawaii with us. Sydney, 15 and Casey, 12 were the lucky ones. Or should I say the ones who didn't have other pressing summer activities at home. Sydney lives in Tennessee and had been to Florida and therefore been in the ocean. But, Casey lives in Michigan and Myrtle Beach was were first time to play in the ocean. We all had such a great time there that Ron even suggested that we go back there next year. That was a thought but just yesterday I was able to get a reservation for all of us to do Wisconsin Dells, the water park haven of the Midwest.
Sydney and Casey had decided that they wanted to stay here 3 weeks and on this island we knew it wouldn't be hard to fill up their days. The middle two weeks in July produced some extraordinary surf swells at the beaches and gave the girls a chance to put their boogie board and body surfing skills to work. They did Ho'okene, La'aloa, Makalawena, and Hapuna Beaches and never complained once about those waves knocking them down. Imagine that! We snorkeled at Two Step and swam in Kealakekua Bay. On a Monday we headed up north to the Pololu Valley lookout and some zip lining. Casey and I did the zip lining and Ron and Sydney did a spectacular helicopter ride over the Waipio valley with so many waterfalls that Ron lost count. Casey and I actually zipped over one or them on our tour. Another day was spent hiking in the National Park, the one with the volcano. Being we were near Hilo the next day was spent shopping there and driving up along Hilo's noth coast. On a scenic drive to Onomea bay we stopped at a one lane bridge to photograh a waterfall. To our surprise, sploosh, and a diver jumped off the bridge into the pool just below the falls. Soon another group of locals came and lined up for the breathtaking leap. The girls decided that would be one activity they would pass up. On the way home we used the Saddle Rd. and stopped at the Mauna Kea astronomy center for stargazing and storytelling on the mountain.
Well they have traveled safely back to their respective homes with all their gifts and souvenirs and I still miss them. We are already looking forward to that Wisconsin Dells trip and bringing back more family next summer.

Similarities

2010-04-04T11:26:00.010-10:00

Following the picture of the penguin egg in the earlier post and since it is Easter Sunday today, I envisioned more similarities of our island with the marvelous scenery and experiences in New Zealand. And one was this week. First I have to say I thought Thursday mornings outrigger paddle was the best. Everything came together so perfect as we paddled over some of the clearest ocean water on the planet. It reminded me of the clarity of the inland waters we espied all over New Zealand. Just so you know, I love the grandeur of our earth, so visual tourism is special to me. The scenescapes of New Zealand still float in my mind and are still hard for me to describe. It's one of the few places where I was awestruck over and over. Strangely in editing and reviewing these pictures I came across one I was sure was New Zealand but then realized it actually was taken here on Molokai. Travel enables you to experience the climates, the people, the smells and the moments you can't have except in that place at that time. Message to myself seems to be that I am ever greatful for this Hawaii adventure and appreciate the charm of all the cultures floating in the blue Pacific. Another message I seem to be getting is that the last paddle is always the best. Especially when the last one had a large puffer fish come to check out my toes as they dangled from the canoe.

While In Hawaii why not a trip to New Zealand

2010-03-03T16:32:00.001-10:00

When we discovered New Zealand is the same distance away as a trip back to the midwest it was a no brainer. From beautiful scenery, great homestays, weather extremes, and a downright good time it's would be hard to mention all we saw and did in our 17 days. So I won't but here is just a sampling of pics showing the diversity of New Zealand.

Rainbow

2009-10-15T19:36:00.001-10:00

A first for me. An ocean rainbow as seen on Molokai

Molokai Rocks...!!!!

2009-10-02T18:49:00.014-10:00

Welll, not really, but it does show you some fantastic scenery and history. Actually Molokai is probably the most laid back island, having signs such as "If you are in a hurry, you are on the wrong island." There are no stop lights on the whole island and the population is about 7000 with the largest percentage of true Hawaiians than any other island so therefore the island most like old Hawaii. With very few condo complexes on Molokai we felt lucky to get a nice one bedroom in a well manicured site, oceanfront with pool, BBQ's and tennis courts. Molokai is also called the friendly isle. No problem getting info and directions. We scouted the isle the first day and booked our tour of Kalaupapa for Monday. Molokai has the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere and isolated beautiful beaches. Sunday they have a local jam session on the lanai of the Coffees of Hawaii building with sing alongs which, of course, we participated in. Local recording artist 'Lono' made a guest appearance with the house group and we like this style of Hawaiian music, kinda jazzy. But now on to our highlight, the hike down the highest seacliffs in the world onto the coastal plain. This is where Kamehameha V banished the Hawaiians who contracted leprosy. And while we were climbing down you could see how this is a natural area with no way out for them. You could also see fantastic views of the ocean, the pali, more sea cliffs and the now restored village below. Father Damien will be canonized a saint any day now in Rome, festivities to be followed here in Hawaii and on the peninsula next to the restored St. Philomena church and his gravesite. During our tour we realized what a good man he was, as those afflicted would not have survived without his dedication and gift of hope. Next was our hike out. So as not to describe the difficulty in covering the 2000 ft straight up with countless switchbacks I will just say that my quads and calfs screamed at me for two days after. Yes, you can take a mule down but we thought we would experience it the way Father Damien did when he went 'topside'. Only later did I learn that he mostly rode a horse up. Nowadays there is a landing strip there. We had a full bus tour with 6 flying in, 6 of us hiking in, and at least a dozen including our bus driver rode mules down. Learning of the history of the colony was both enlightening and starkly moving. Definitely a must do when on the island. The next day tentatively was to do another hike to the Halawa valley and falls. We decided the hike was out but we would still drive the amazing easterly coast to the valley floor and view the falls. What a drive. I say, better than the road to Hana although shorter, thankly. It was one lane hanging on the cliffs with hairpin turns and awesome views. At the end was a surreal valley where Jurasic Park II was filmed. Our last day was spent at the Meyer Sugar Mill now restored with much of the original sugar making equipment. What is so great about touring these remote islands is that the written history is so short, now just a bit over 200 years, and so much has changed these islands in that time. And to me Molokai rocks along with the rest of these islands! Next stop Lanai.

Meeting fantastic people

2009-06-01T19:07:00.005-10:00

Meeting great humans of the world is one of benefits we enjoy on the farm. We are lucky to be only a mile and a half from the famous Painted Church and just up the road 800 feet from Kealakekua Bay where, historically, Captain Cook both landed and met his death. Also just down a bit is Pu'u uhonau o Honaunau National Historic Park also called Place of Refuge with the renowned snorkel spot call 'two step' next door. This means we get tourist traffic and some choose to stop for a farm tour. I think yesterday was our best yet. We first met Tsuro and Hiloko at the farmers market on Sat. His English was hard for us to understand and our Japanese is zero but he was able to relate that he wanted a large order of coffee to take/send back with him. He asked if he could pick it up on Sunday at our farm because as we could see he was very busy with Hiloko. He asked prices and related that he needed it all ground. We have learned that Japanese households evidently don't have coffee grinders as they all buy ground coffee. Then he said okay, if I want, and he pointed to the pound pkg, I say big one. If I want 1/2 pound, I say small one. Late Sunday morn I received a phone call from the Outrigger Beach Resort Hotel saying that a guest wanted directions to our farm, could I speak with him. He was very able to understand the directions, and he he told me how many big ones and small ones he wanted. Sure enough in less than 2 hours he and Hiloko arrived at our farm. He is the most attentive devoted husband I have ever seen. You see, he was feeding Hiloko lunch on Sat., and he must move her out of the car and carry her in. We never did understand what her ailment was but Tsuro cared for her like a mother cares for her newborn child. This is no exaggeration, but in America many like Hiloko are cared for in a Nursing Home as she requires constant attention and must be fed all her meals. He does it all while he enjoys his travels. He visits everywhere he wants and lovingly talks to Hiloko. And he does it all in stride with little effort, just patience. Not to mention how well groomed both of them were. Hiloko's hair was combed and colored a pretty reddish and her nails were painted and she couldn't even raise her arms. He told us they had been over to see the volcano last week. He never leaves her side. I could tell he wanted to have Ron show him more of the farm, so I offered to sit with his wife. We couldn't speak to each other but she all of a sudden said my name, I hugged her and she smiled. Tsuro was the most joyful, happy man. He seemed to enjoy everything, so much and was amazed with our large mango tree. He told us they have three grown children and that he comes to this island because the spiritualness was good for Hiloko. He also asked us if we would remember him if he came back next year. How could we forget!

Orchids

2009-05-10T18:33:00.004-10:00

Jacaranda

2009-05-10T18:30:00.001-10:00

I just had to mention jacaranda because it's in blue-violet bloom right now. A beautiful tree and I just love to say 'jacaranda'. Also is one of Ron's favorite trees. But I'm really here to talk story of the pics of the orchids above. I had the chance to attend the Kona Mothers Day Orchid show. Orchids grow exceptionally well here. I have some out in the yard that came with the place and I buy and replace more when I see unusual ones. The bloom last months, so they sure are fun to have around as they seem to bloom year around whenever they feel like it. Good for me they take little care, little water and low lumens of light. I leave them alone and they surprise me with beautiful blooms. I only brought one home but had to photograph some of the rest. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Then go to www.ronskonacoffee.blogspot.com to see the pics of our gorgeous ripening coffee trees.

Correction

2009-05-07T21:26:00.001-10:00

http://www.ronskonacoffee.blogspot.com/

New blog

2009-04-27T14:40:00.003-10:00

We did get out website updated and were able to add a blog to it. The new blog name is http://ronskonacoffee.blogspot.com. The blog can be reached by going to our website www.konalisacoffee.com. It is listed below the picture header on every page. You can also just type it in and go directly to it. Some current postings are already there with more to come. It's also listed below our signatures in our emails.

Catching Up

2009-03-08T15:50:00.002-10:00

Just got reminded that I haven't blogged in 6 weeks. I knew that and here's whats been going on. Besides working on our website and introducing myself to Facebook, then adding Kona Lisa Coffee.com to Facebook, getting my computer updated, fixed and deletd of all it's rubbish and finally getting a new flat screen 20in monitor, updating tax info, Faxing tax info; well that's where I am as far as the office goes. Seems like we have been eating out way more that usual. There is a wine tasting Sunday every week at Jackie Reys resturant which we take in occasionally with 4 other friends and then do dinner. Went with Ro, Tom, Marci & Chuck to Holualoa Cafe, and did a Red Hat event at Akoni's on the beach. Drove in with my neighbor Cheryl to that RH event in her gleaming orangish Corvette convertible. She broke the speed limit all the way there and back. Hard not to do that in a Vette. She added a bit a trivia on our ride home. While her brother was here and driving the Vette he happened to count all the curves riding the pali back to our neighborhood. He told her there are 61 and I have meant to count them myself eversince, but there is so much to see and look out for on the way I haven't remembered yet. I live at least a mile plus past her place and there are at lease 14 more curves to my driveway. So just remember when you come to visit us that the last four miles consist of 75 curves and they are all fun and scenic.
Last week I hulied while out in Keauhou Bay with a 6 man outrigger crew. I knew it was a bit choppy, but was with a great steersman and crew. Our stroker mentioned the ama was bouncing and before we knew it over we went and I was swimming collecting paddles. Bruce our steersman had the rest of the crew take their spots and flipped the canoe back the first time and then the bailing started. Another canoe came over to check on us and gave us an extra bailer. We got 'er bailed out and all back in ready to paddle. I found out later that if this happens in a race, you have only 7 minutes to do all this, and be back in the race paddling or you are disqualified.
Been working with Mark on having some T-shirts screen printed. They are done and shipped but not here yet. I plan on posting some pic's either here or on Facebook and probably on our website when they come. Today I worked on Kona Lisa Coffee.com as a Facebook profile and it is up. I posted pics there already. Become a fan and comment on the coffee when you can.
Ron had been pruning the coffee trees since the picking season ended and I believe he is finished. He was worried about the trees getting stressed as we hadn't had any rain in awhile. I don't dare tell the rest of the island as ever since he complained we have had three strait days of rain. Those coffee trees sure look good though. And we will probably get another blossom as they always blossom in the winter after a good rain.
At our KCFA.org yearly meeting I was asked/drafted to be on the board and voted in. Then I was asked/drafted to be this years Secretary. I declined so they could get a real secretary on board. Well no one stepped up and quess what!! This months meeting I have to submit my first set of notes. I am the first one to admit that I am a terrible secretary but after this post I will be putting notes together to submit to the board online before our next meeting. I've already procrastinated too long.
One of the things we may do with our website is add a blog there. So I may be ending this blog soon and blogging on our website in the future. Will let you know and send a link to access the new blog when that happens.
I sure can't keep up with 2 blogs as may secretarial duties may diminish if I tried. All that won't happen until we take a rest. On April 4 we are taking a week off to visit San Francisco, Santa Rosa, California and the Sonoma/Napa wine country. We decided to spend our 32nd wedding anniversary doing something else besides coffee.

This week in pictures

2009-01-16T21:24:00.004-10:00

I promised pics and they follow this blog. Winter flowers shine now as the vog has cleared and we are getting some awesome sunsets too. Take a look below.

I got the opportunity to go swimming with some neighbors this week and was taken to some new sights. We first headed to Kealakakua Bay to see if the dolphins were in. Not then so we mosied over to Mehnini Beach and they showed me how to follow the opening in the sand in high tide and float past the coral out into the bay. We swam past big schools of fish and I even saw a new fish. Green and black with a yellow eye and a long narrow body. Then we swam out to a pair of underwater arches. John showed his expertise and dove under them. Pretty good job as they are a good 25 feet down. Clear as a bell to watch though. When we headed in Ron met us at the beach and said he had rode his bike over to Honounou and said the dolphins were in there. The dolphins had decided to put on a show for the tourists that day and left us locasl to play alone.

If you are hearing the news, yes Oahu is getting pounded with wind. We luckily have not had any of it. The surf has been high and the surfers are lovin' it but no wind. And we are getting beautiful winter sunny days. Comparing Honolulu on Oahu with our weather here would be like comparing Knoxville to Memphis or Pontiac to Mackinaw. It's hardly ever the same is it??

Soon I will be working on a complete overhaul of our website. Will blog about it when i get time. I find that our current website is way to slow, but I did get an order from Norway the other day. But I get more calls about how slow it is, so time to change things.

So far we have send our coffee to 6 foriegn countries, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy & Norway and to 24 states. With any luck a new website may attract hits from all 50 states.

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Been Busy

2009-01-09T20:08:00.005-10:00

Yes, I really have wanted to blog. Then there is ocean jogging, coffee packaging, Red Hat lunches, yoga, paddling and answering emails. Yes, I'm trying to get to all your emails and answer them personally. It will happen, I promise. Meanwhile, I am getting crabby emails from my children asking why I don't call them back. I do, it just takes a little longer these days.
Today was a gorgeous day, Halemaumau has lightened up and vog had decreased and so has the rain. Now we are in the dryer season, whales are here; we see them from our lanai, picking is done. And next year we will take our little Christmas trip after Christmas instead of before. I think that is what put me behind. We went for 5 days to Honolulu before Christmas, what was I thinking??
We have been having some different and interesting flowers blooming lately. Will try to take a few pics and post this weekend. Our kitten, Little Lisa, is growing and is quite a pal to Toonces. Will do pics of them too.
Just so you know I do miss Knoxville. Can't explain why, but I do. Jackie visited with Sheila over the holidays and loved it there. Made me kind of nostalgic! Well, I gotta go and answer those emails. So you guessed it, if you want any more info on what's going on here do send an email. I love hearing from you and you will get an answer,,,,,,,eventually.

Happy New Year almost

2008-12-31T15:38:00.004-10:00

New Years Eve means we have been on the farm for 1 year. We officially moved in on the 1st of 2008. What a great year! I think I've learned, played, worked, met new and interesting people more this year than in any other year in my life. The experiences an exotic island can sustain are unlimited to someone like me from the Midwest. Just one example is the number of fruits I knew compared to now. If I could name 50 fruits before, I have heard of at least 500 now. And no I cannot name them all and I am still on my way to trying them all. Haven't found too many I don't like and some are fantastic. Like sapote, and there are several kinds of sapote. Just like there are about 50 varieties of bananas and 50 varieties of avocados. I didn't know that, did you?
Okay now it is 10:30 and most of the world has already had New Years. We just got back from a New Year Eve party enjoying the company of several couples. One from So. Africa & Amsterdamn. and another from Poland & Germany. The hosts hail from Maryland & Florida. But all or us are farmers. Whoops now the fireworks have started and I have the hiccups. Fireworks are a tradition here. Locals love it and I think we are infor a night full of noise. See you tomorrow.

Clear here

2008-12-07T12:29:00.010-10:00

The last few days have been very clear. Ocean views from our lanai are exquisite. Ron hurried and called our neighbor to see if she had heard that the volcano shut off. That wasn't happening, I guess the winds have just shifted. Good thing the whales should be coming down this way soon.
I also saw a pretty inclusive article on the history of Kilauea's eruption history here: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2008/12/07/volcano//volcano.txt

Sorry for the need to cut and paste. I haven't been able to make this blogs link button work. This is a pretty easy blog site to navigate so I know it's just me. Maybe I'll figure it out later.

Chocolate

2008-12-04T21:24:00.005-10:00

There are many things good about Hawaii and chocolate is just one of them. I'll just talk about a few here and start with chocolate. Our coffee organization took a visit to the 'Original Chocolate Factory'. Chocolate grows between 15-20 degrees latitude either side of the equator and our 'Factory' is at 18degreesN. They are at the same elevation as our farm, 800'. So I guess we could grow cacao trees. The trip to the factory/farm is a worthwhile sidetrip while you are here so I won't go into too much detail except to say that the chocolate is yummy. And priced just right at $40 per pound!!! In a way chocolate is harvested and processed a bit like coffee in that you have to take the slimy beans out of the pod and ferment them, dry them and then roast them. You get genuine US grown and made chocolate and coffee only from Hawaii both very unique industries.
I read today that Hawaii ranks as the #2 healthiest state. The rankings were done by the United Health Foundation and the American Public Health Assoc. I had read earlier this year that Hawaii ranks #1 on the mental health/happiness scale. Easily explained. We get all the chocolate and coffee we want here!!

Last week or so my visiting friend & I had the chance to take a snorkel tour on one of the nicer boats leaving from Kailua pier, called the BodyGlove. A nice two level catamaran with ample room to wander around and enjoy the short sail out to Turtle Point. Really there weren't near as many fish there as other spots, but we did see a turtle. And I saw my first Crown-of-thorns starfish. Quite a large starfish with about 16-18 tenticles. And venomous so I have heard. No worry we were snorkeling near the top of the ocean and he was down on the coral feeding. After the snorkel we had our second meal. We had a continental type breakfast on our way out to the point and lunch was waiting for us after snorkeling. BodyGlove also has lots of water toys and, for additional fees, will take groups on snuba and diving. We stayed on board then and let the kid in us emerge by using the water slide. Nothing like a long plunge into the clear aqua blue ocean to wake up the kid in you. In fact it is not a one plunge slide. So much fun it called for another run.
While I'm thinking of it a good thing to happen here right now would be rain. Thru the summer we are used to almost daily rains, usually in the afternoon. Winter has arrived the the sky has shut off. With all the lushness and foilage and of course 'needy coffee trees' just a week or so without rain and we feel, dry, dry, dry.
Enough of the good things, but in truth I can't find anything bad about anywhere I have lived. Michigans snow is beautiful. I just don't care for it anymore. Tennessees everything still reverbs in my senses. But now I totally like living without air-conditioning.

Link

2008-11-25T14:38:00.006-10:00

Seems like I did not put that last link in correctly. Trying it again. If this doesn't work, well I copied and pasted it and it worked fine. Is it just me??

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/scenes_from_antarctica.html

What happened to the coffee farmers??

2008-11-25T13:42:00.005-10:00

Now, I just bet all of you are wondering that aren't you?? But it has been awhile since my last blog. I keep telling myself to come here and write and then it finally occured to me that I can save what I write and come back to it later to finish. So this may be a very unconnected bit of ramblings. And where do I start. Guess I'll just go back to the end of last month when Natalie was here. Natalie is a friend of a friend who seemed to become one of my daughters while she was here. We enjoyed her short stay so much and hope she comes back someday. We did a whirlwind trip of the island in 3 days, visiting 2-step snorkel area, walking on the lava coast and writing her name with coral on the black lava cliffs. (This is a local custom.) Then we took a trip across the saddle road to Hilo, 2 sets of waterfalls and of course the mighty volcano. See what you can do in a weekend and still do the market. A couple days later friends from Michigan arrived. In fact they are still here. We've shared island trips with them and they have picked coffee for us and it has worked out great. (Just so you know, coffee picking season is from Aug-Nov.) We'll be sharing Thanksgiving with our outrigger paddle club on the bay and then they are off to the cold mainland. They actually have taken trips out and saw most of the island. Luckily one of the day trips we took with them was to the green sand beach. It is definitely on our list to recommend everyone go to. It's just so unusual and the sand is totally green. Olivine is the mineral, I believe, that makes it happen. It's down at South Point, a pretty desolate, windy but dramatically striking area. One of the most facinating things we did was to swim with the dolphins. Locals tell me that we are more likely to have dolphins in Kealakekua Bay during time of full moon. The morning we were down there was the day after and the dolphins where jumping and spinning in the bay so we decided to go in, swim out to where they were and watch. They were quite comfortable with us there, bringing there babies right up near us. Let me tell you, if you can't tell already, that it is a mighty awesome experience. One sight I have to tell is watching three dolphins circle around, dive down, and come up perpendicular and parallel to each other. Then they start rolling. Suddenly I realized that I was witnessing them prepare for their spin. I got to see the whole technique from beginning to end as when they reached the top I quickly looked up and watched as they spun out of the water, something most people only see from shore.

Okay, where am I now? Yes, it's whale whatching time and tomorrow Dorothy & I are taking the 'Body Glove' snorkel trip. I've never snorkeled on the island north of Kailua-Kona and this boat takes us north. Well, north is where our wintering humpback whales have already been spotted this season. We have our fingers crossed that the captain knows where they are and after snorkeling he'll take us on a mission to spot them before returning back to the pier.

Time to post this, getting a bit long but before I go I have a wonderful friend here who is a professional photographer. And of course he knows many other photographers and I just have to share this site of pics he sent me. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/scenes_from_antarctica.html Another awsesome place.

Then May you always have Love to Share, Health to Spare, And Friends Who Care.

Recap of pictures below

2008-10-17T09:28:00.004-10:00

Random photos. I posted some random thoughts in pictures. They are of a sunset(viewed from our driveway); Rascal, the puppy we took care of for two months; Ethan, our grandson, wearing his new Aloha shirt; our updated coffee label; Toonces, our cat, ready to ride on the neighbors scooter; new crop of coffee drying on our drying deck; passionfruit flower (it smells lovely too); an orchid blooming in our garden; and last but not least, Charlotte, our resident spider.

I finally got a good picture of Charlotte. She has been hanging around on her web for the last couple of months. She built her web connected to the plumbago bush and the rail heading into my office. So I get to check on her everyday. I'm not sure what she does all day but she must like it there as she hasn't moved.

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Where's the Beef?

2008-10-04T23:24:00.002-10:00

Fantastic event here on the island last night. We drove up to the Waikaloa Hilton with Cheryl & Rog and ate our hearts out. We feasted on the annual 'Taste of the Range', a food fest with Hawaii Island Grass-Fed Beef. There were at least 50 area resturants featuring mostly their best beef recipes also with some lamb, pork and even a goat dish. Parker Ranch is the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the US and all their beef is grass-fed, raised without added hormones and without antibiotics. Yes, we do eat more fish than beef but when we do have beef it is the best. While speaking of Parker Ranch I have to mention Paniolo. They are the cowboys we still have here and we just had a celebration and of course a parade. Doesn't take much to cause a parade to happen here. But 100 years ago a Hawaiian cowboy/paniolo by the name of Ikua Purdy stunned the American West by winning the 1908 World Roping Championship in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The paniolo history is interesting and adds to the mystic while visiting Parker Ranch. Since I love history, here is the short history of cowboys in Hawaii. Captain George Vancouver brought cattle as gifts to King Kamehameha in 1792. The first horses arrived in Hawai'i about 1804. Vaqueros were invited to the islands in 1832 by Hawai'i's king to teach Hawaiians how to ride and rope wild cattle. Since these islands are in the middle of the ocean people either came or were brought here from all over the world. I suppose those vaqueros were from either Spain or Mexico. Portuguese were brought here to foreman the sugarcane plantations. In 1900 after a devastating hurricane hit Puerto Rico thousands came here to work in those plantations.

Wild Ride

2008-09-24T15:55:00.002-10:00

Heading out with the outrigger canoes last week our steersman asked if we wanted to go south with the group or head north and surf the waves. The stroker yelled 'let's surf' so off we went up to the surf spot. I had heard and seen others teams talking about and trying to ride the waves and I was looking forward to the excitement. After paddling about a mile we found our surf spot and tried catching a good wave. As we caught our first wave we paddled as hard as we could and rode it a bit, then paddled back to look for more. Next wave didn't take us far. Then....steersman, Robert, yelled 'hit it' and off we went paddling hard until we were going so fast that I couldn't even paddle anymore! Steersman was yelling at #4 to lay down on the ama and since I was #2(in case names are forgotten the steersman calls out the number seat we are in)and couldn't paddle because of the speed I also leaned down on the 'ioku as we sped along. What a fun wild ride! People onshore were watching us and taking pictures. I guess thats because we were yelling and laughing so much. That was my first wild ride out there and the rest of the paddlers said that was the best wave they had ever caught. 3 of the crew were seasoned paddlers so I guess I was just lucky. Tomorrow I go again and can only wish for another great wild ride.

Cherry pickin' time

2008-09-16T20:34:00.006-10:00

Been wanting to blog lots lately. I get thinking about it and then I can't decide how to say it all in less words. So this could be long. It's supposed to be 210 days from a blossom till the coffee cherries are ready to pick. But which blossom? Sometimes you get 10 blossoms a season. Usually though only a couple are really big, but we haven't figured out if all the cherry from that blossom ripen all at once or what. You pick a tree many times going over and over it for several weeks and even a month or two. So needless to say we are still picking. Well I have to admit, not me. We have pickers and Ron picks a bunch himself. I kinda just take care of the roasting, packaging. I help some with the pulping and raking, though. And today I did two things. I made a lilikoi reduction to go with the fish we had for dinner and this morning I stood on my head at yoga class. I was so excited with that. I don't think I have ever done that before in my life. While the teacher was explaining I was on my hands and knees saying,'ya right'. Then decided what have I got to loose? I only held it for a few seconds but it was just the thing my back and hips needed. Everything seemed to realign in my body. Hope I can do that again soon!
We don't always work on the farm, although there really is a lot to do this time of the year. But, last week and then the week before was went with friends and did evening sunset cruises with pupus(Hawaiian for finger foods/snacks/appetizers)and cash bar. Slow tourist season, I guess, and good kamaiana(locals)rates. It's beautiful to be out on the ocean anytime of day and especially when you can get a lovely sunset. Even if you can't the views are spectacular. This morning there had been a full moon and from our lanai it just looked so peaceful glistening on the ocean with small little clouds sprinkled around it. A picture you can't really take, you just have to remember it!! Well this could be longer but I am freezing setting here in my tank top. I really cools off some evenings with a breeze coming down from the mountain and makes it nice for sleeping. It's always nice for sleeping but we just have to pull the covers up tonight.

Seasons

2008-08-23T13:27:00.004-10:00

I'm finding the seasons here quite distinguishable. Being from Michigan and actually seeing everything change from cold to rain to warm to snow, I thought I may not like perpetual summer. So far not so. Everything here definitely has it's growing season. Some faster than others but they all have their time. It's easy to see now why almost any time is a good time to visit Hawaii. If you come here in the summer I think you get to taste more of the fresh fruits and vegetables. Right now we have dragonfruit coming in. We eat it like a melon and it looks like a magenta kiwi inside only much bigger. Pineapples have been ripening and have been part of our breakfasts besides drying a few. Lilikoi are dropping like flies. You don't harvest them, you just pick them up when they fall. I made juice out of them and froze most of it. Mangoes are just about done and I have some of those frozen. Smoothies taste great with them. After all that work now they tell me all I need to do is take some chopped up fruit and pour vodka over it and let it set. (For how long? A long time is okay, I guess). Then you just pour a glass of 'happy Hawaii' anytime guests arrive.

Of course the big deal here is that 'picking' season has finally arrived. Today we have about 6 pickers out in our coffee orchard and we will be weighing and counting this evening. We will sure find out how much cherry we are able to process today. Ron had been picking some as it slowly came in and in one month we got about a total of 700 pounds. We will surely get more than that just on one day today. Then we will go into drying and raking mode. They probably will not get it all today so pickers will be back Monday to finish up. Meanwhile we have more cherry still on the trees that needs to redden up so we can hardly calculate how long picking season will last. We have guests coming in Nov. that want to pick so we can only hope we still have beans ripening up till then. I think they will be glad it's only a few.

Five of us took last Sunday and went up to Wiamea to see the "King & I' at the community playhouse. Vog had cleared out and the views were spectacular. We could see Haleakula on Maui from the road there and everything was so green against the Kohala Mts. Later we had dinner at "Cafe Pesto's". My first time there and a definite go back and nice place to stop in Kawaihai when visiting.

No matter the season new places to snorkel keep me busy. Our closest beach area here called Mahini beach is my next stop. Maybe tomorrow. I need things to take my mind off something I discovered. Even though this may be paradise, they still have root canals here. Yes I have to have one and it looks like next Wed. is the day. Never had to have that done before but one thing I know is that when I walk out the door after the procedure I will be looking at the beautiful Pacific and that's, I think, something to look forward to.

So much happens in summertime........................

2008-08-01T20:10:00.002-10:00

I don't know that I have the time to write all about it! Ron bought a tomato plant last week from a vendor next to us at the market because tomatoes are hard to grow here----huh!! Well it's in a container and it has doubled in size already. It's like we have a conveyor belt of fruit pouring in. It's a shame to waste it but we are overwhelmed. After spending the spring and summer months in Michigan praying and tenderly coaxing our greenery to grow and ripen before frost, it's amazing to watch it grow here. In fact, try to stop it! Ron calls me the wicked witch of Hawaii as I tend to grab, pull, cut and stomp on foliage and plants I don't want and they 'just come back'. One good thing, all this 'extra'(so they say)rain is producing a bumper crop of coffee. Ron is spastic over all the coffee trees that are falling over, heavy with cherry.
I did get him to take a day off and go to the 'Two Step' snorkel/swimming area with me. He even got out on a body board and floated awhile while I did my jogging exercises in the bay. Then Tues I went to the Honounou NP area with some neighbors. A lava area that Ron & I were able to walk across last winter was filled with water and a nice pool and waterfall area was created because of the extra high tide occurring. We were having a blast when a huge surge came in and swept quite a ways inland and I was enjoying the ride until I realized that I was being carried out into the open sea. I immediately tried to swim back and the force was too great. A young boy was right next to me and we grabbed on to each other until the surge let up. It was actually shallow enough to stand when we grabbed onto some rocks to steady us. Meanwhile my friend had been pulled out much farther and her husband was trying to pull her in. I was luckier than Marci & Chuck who were scraped up a bit from being bounced into the rocks by the huge incoming tide.
Later that evening Marci and I and 4 other friends met for dinner and a movie. Mama Mia is showing and I remembered how much I liked the live version, so we made it a girls night out. Let me tell you we thought the movie was as funny and raucous as the live show. We shared many belly laughs and James Bond "007" singing in Elvis style bell bottoms was a hoot!!
Ron took a bike ride yesterday and he makes a loop which takes him down to the bay and back up to the highway. He saw some friends heading down to the bay to swim and watched as dozens of dolphins were swimming and spinning around. Today he ran with Mark, his friend from Michigan, who has been here for a few weeks. They came for dinner one night and told us they are thinking about moving here. In fact Wendy has taken a teaching job here to try it out. She'll be teaching at Kealakehe Middle School. See, it's possible, y'all can just move here too!!!

Moving along

2008-07-27T08:49:00.003-10:00

My July is almost gone and this is only my 3rd post. Well summer can be a busy time here. I am slowly learning what season brings which fruits. Papayas are pretty much year around but they have even slowed down. Mangoes are very prevalent right now. And we love them. They are great cut up, frozen, and then used in smoothies. I think the season only lasts a couple of months. Next batch I get, I will be dehydrating. Bananas seem to come whenever. We have had mucho pineapples right now. I've been told they take 18 mos. to 2 years to go from planting to harvesting. So I have saved some starts and will be planting them today. Come in early summer 2010 and you will have the best pineapple you have ever tasted. Macadamia nuts have started to fall. That is how they are harvested. Like most nuts you wait until they fall and then pick them up. But then they have to be husked and the shell is almost impossible to crack. We do have a special cracker, so we get to eat them too. I also dehydrate them as they last longer then. Avocados are slowly ripening. The variety that Ron likes best doesn't come in until about Oct.-Feb. but we should have some that they call butter avocados by Sept. I like them too. We can't keep the Hawaiian pumpkin vines back. They also seem to produce year round. We love them and they sell well at the market. Lilikoi (passions fruit) are proliferate now. I love the fragrance of the juice. All I need to do is ask around and find a good recipe to save them or freeze them. Not sure how long the vines produce but you have not seen anything so beautiful as the flower of the vine. We sorta have dragon fruit. Our fruit just doesn't seem to get very big. It tastes kinda like kiwi but it's red inside. We heard they are very hard to grow and they are also very hard to get pollinated. A reason ours are so small, I think. It's probably all true because I've seen one dragonfruit sell for $5 and it's only as big as a large apple. Oh, and yes we do have coffee!!!!.....................COFFEE is moving along too. The trees are loaded with cherry. In fact many are toppling over, they are so heavy. Most of the coffee cherry is still green though. Ron has picked some in the last couple of weeks, but not the large crop we need. Our coffee flowered at least 6 times this year and the cherry ripens about 7 months after each flowering. The really big blossom was in Feb. so the big crop will come in late Aug. to Sept. Yes, we have dried and roasted what Ron has picked but it's still not enough to open the online store. Just a few bags to have around here and to take to the market. He ended up picking well over 100 pounds but after processing I think I ended up with about 36 pounds of roasted coffee. So, yes it takes a lot of fruit to make one pound of coffee, and a lot of waiting and work to take it thru all the processes to get it to our coffee cup. But, of course, I wouldn't drink any other kind of coffee and the hands on picking and care is what makes Kona coffee one of the best coffees in the world. ............................We keep waiting for the big fruit crop to ripen, some of the cherry is turning yellow and will follow with red. We also had a large blossom later in Feb. or March so we will get two big picks and four or so small picks. We have had rain at some time in the day, every day in July so far. This is the most rain I've seen since we've been here. But I do believe we are supposed to get lot's of rain in July and Aug. When we returned from TN & MI is was still not as hot as I thought summer would be here. Well add humidity to the equation and I think I would say that summer starts in mid July in Hawaii. It's been a bit sticky here with all the rain and we started using the fans in most the the rooms. So I would say that summertime here is fantime. ............Ron is out riding his bike now and the sun is shining bright. I do my ocean jogging now at TwoStep bay and got Ron to go with me last week. He took a body board and floated around while I exercised. Mark Daniel, a running buddy of his from Flint is here visiting and we took him outrigger paddling with us last Thurs. He said he really enjoyed it but didn't feel he got the 'sinc' of it yet but could see how great an upper body workout it can be. He is off doing the Volcano run this weekend but will be back to do a few intown runs with Ron next week...............And last Wed. they had a Kamiaina (you get local prices)sail on the Red Sail with a sunset cruise including drinks and pupus (snacks) so we took off with Al & Linda for that. It was great to be out on the ocean. We saw the sun, but not actually setting. It came down and set into either the clouds or the vog, not the ocean horizon but it was still beautiful, big bright and red!! Well time for me to take off and get my clippers out. The plants near the driveway need cutting back and I think I hear the dog barking, meaning Ron's back. No, we do not have a dog. We are dogsitting a friends MinPin for two months while they travel back on the mainland. His name is Rascal, he's only about 8 mos. old and he and the cat are finally making nice. He's lots of fun and cute but reminds us that we are not yet ready to take on the whole responsibility. Baby/DogSittng is the best idea. A little fun and then he goes home..........

We did it!!

2008-07-11T20:20:00.005-10:00

Well two different things.....but Ron and I are both proud and excited about them both! Ever heard of the little devils 'coqui frogs'? They are about as big as your thumb nail and chirp a (co like 'go'--key)sound in the evening especially after a rain. If you have ever been in Hilo you have probably heard them and they are an unwanted pest. One sounds cute but I can't imagine thousands chirping at bedtime. A few have found their way over to this side so Ron & a buddy went coqui hunting. You need to go after dark to hear them, decide which tree he is in and spray a mixture of citric acid and water on the tree and ground. Well Ron has been successful on all his hunts and our neighbors, Tom & Rosemary, who live in a round house are forever grateful. Unlike snipe hunting, you can believe Ron if he wants to take you on a coqui hunt.

This morning I went by myself down to Two-Step in Honaunua Bay and did my ocean jogging. Except for not seeing Jane, Marie, Nanette, Claire, Krysta, Cindy & Connie and missing out on all the towny gossip, I had a blast! Not being a swimmer, let me tell you, it was a bit daunting to decide to go alone. But, of course, alone I wasn't. If you can imagine, here I was, jogging around talking to all the snorkelers. One came up and said "spectacular"!! I think I have found a new jogging route, it's 5 times closer to my house. And I think next time I will take my snorkel mask. Everytime I go down there I forget how I believe it to be the best snorkel area I have ever seen. My experience is pretty much limited to Kauai, Hanauma Bay in Honolulu, Mazatlan, Mex.,Paradise Is, Nassau and St. John Is, in the Virgin Isles. But the water here is the clearest and the deepest with tons of fish and not all small. Marci can expect a call to join me next time so maybe we can start our own group........

Memories

2008-07-09T11:49:00.004-10:00

Aloha, aloha, aloha! Wow we are back here in Hawaii and pretty much getting back into our routines. Tonight there is a 'coffee talk' at the UH Extention building. Ron & I are going and meeting up with some friends to do dinner after. There is always much good info and workshops for us coffee farmers and quite a helpful community. I am back to my Tue morn yoga classes, will paddle tomorrow and maybe even try a new spot to do my ocean jogging in this week. With gas prices so high,$4.50/gal here, I don't like to drive all the way to the Kailua pier unless I have other errands or a Costo trip to add. So this a.m. I just did a nice walk down Painted Church Rd. and Ron did a bike ride with a neighbor, Michelle. I'm anxious to see how my new spot will work. It's down at 2-Step in the bay and lots of locals and tourists go there to swim and to snorkel. I will have company eventhough I may look wierd doing my water jogging there. There are usually dolphins there so maybe I can have them accompany me. And it's only 2 miles from home. We had loads of trimming to do. Bushes, landscaping and all plus weeding in the coffee fields. Ron even picked a little coffee and some is already processed. We should have new crop coffee ready to send out in about a month or so. Yeah!
But first back to June, which is when we were able to catch a few memories. There are so many things we love about living here in Hawaii but it sure wouldn't be for everyone. Seeing so many of our friends and relatives brought memories back of why we liked MI & TN so well. Flat, flat, flat running in MI sure does help one along. And of course the cool, cool mornings just seem to push you along. Getting out with old running buddies and using the Clinton River Trail near my daughters reminded us how good running can be in MI in June. We even took our grandchildren on the west end of the CRT which is then called the West Bloomfield Trail and they loved it. In fact Casey did quite a bit of running with us while we were there. She seems to like to run as a cross training for her soccer. Then in TN, eventhough it was hot, hot, hot we realized how many wonderful friends we had made in such a short time. Grandkids there are both teenagers but we still can have great conversations with them. All on all it was great fun to see everyone and evethough we are back at work here on the farm we are already talking about our next trip to the mainland.

Synopsis of the last few weeks in May...........

2008-05-26T15:04:00.003-10:00

as I can guarantee I won't be blogging in June. Exactly a week from today we take off to TN for the first leg of our trip to visit with family & friends. Two weeks ago we got the opportunity to take a trip to Sedona, AZ. We had never been there and it sounded like a nice r&r for us after the winters care of those coffee trees. You can't deny the beauty of Sedona, especially as you drive in and view those huge red rocks. Only 2 hours away, the Grand Canyon is also quite an experience. I think besides the size I was most struck by the colors of the Grand Canyon. No matter what venue I took to view, it seemed like a painting in front of me and i had to blink to remind myself I was looking at natures painting. The weather was good although a bit hot in the sun. Sometimes you couldn't help being in full sun if you were hiking and that's where I got sun-blistered lips. It took getting back to Hawaii here to heal them up and put some moisture back into my body. As I quenched myself with the ocean water I also looked down and again saw how clear our water is here. All the colors of the sea coral are visible while swimming, snorkeling and paddling. So I guess, to me, it's what color do I prefer. I'll take the greens and blues anytime!!!!

I read an article about the volcano the other day trying to crystal-ball this latest eruption. And that is all scientists can do. It's all unpredictable. The article said that Kilauea erupted/smoked almost continuously from 1832-1924. From 1924 to about the 60's not much happened and then some lasting from 4 months to 18 months until now. Right now this is the longest lasting one in almost a century. What it seems to have done is make this May a bit cooler and rainy and also very voggy. Forget the beautiful bright views. Views are still there just not as dramatic because, to me, they look blurry. Ag consultants from UH are finding that some fruits are delaying to ripen. Fruits like figs and mangos need more sunlight to ripen. Luckily coffee doesn't seem to be bothered by Madame Pele'. That is, I'm sure, why coffee grows so well in Kona. It really likes the weather here. After all, they planted coffee here in about 1825 and it grew and flourished no matter what Kilauea was doing.

2 more birthdays.............

2008-05-26T14:34:00.002-10:00

and they happened on the same say last week. One was for 8 yr. old Chloe our 5th grandchild who lives with her mom, dad, sisters and brother in Michigan. Chloe is one hardy little girl. She seems to be able to go her own balanced way and takes it all in stride. A hard thing to do with two older sisters but she has learned to do her own thing and enjoy herself doing it. While she was in my care after her brother was born she took quite a fall, hitting her head on a stair edge and causing lots of blood to gush from her forhead. She was far calmer than me on the way to the hospital and was a perfect patient. She also loves soccer but favors art in school. She says whe has artwork to show me when we see them next month. Chloe was born on her aunt Sheila's birthdate. Sheila is my eldest(she is going to get me on that) daughter. But she got lots of talent being the oldest. She is musical, mathmetical and very creative. She is very giving and teaches many of her talents, like victorian stitch quilting. But most of all she likes to beat Ron, and other friends at scrabble and any other word game you can think of.

Time to blog

2008-05-09T12:10:00.003-10:00

Last week while paddling we thought we saw a pod of dolphins, but then realized they weren't swimming like dolphins. After stopping and taking a closer look it was a whole school of manta rays. They were probably feeding on some plankton and when they swim on top of the water one wing seems to stick out and looks like a dolphins but then they flicked their tail the mystery was over. May 3rd was our first anniversay here and we celebrated up to the Hilton with friends for dinner and went to a Sugarland concert. It was outside and it only rains about 10 inches a year up in Wiakoloa where the Hilton is located. Well just before the concert started I think they got the whole spring rain. We had a small water resistant covering with us and we didn't get soaked, but close. How wonderful to be in weather where it really doean't matter. The show went on, we were in barefeet and our clothers dried before it was over. And Jennifer Nettles and the rest of Sugarland put on a great show. Great songs and very entertaining!
I also don't think it is as warm as it was when we arrived last year. I go in the ocean to water jog weekly and the water seemed to be the coldest in April. We need some warm spring weather to warm that ocean up. And I also believe the rainy season is finally upon us. As it should be. Winter is dry and now the rains are coming and is that coffee ever growing. The green beans are getting larger and larger and we think that we will be picking very, very soon. We see a few scattered red beans even now. So I'll bet Ron tries a picking before we leave for TN & MI in June.
Meanwhile today we are heading off for a little R&R. Taking a week in Sedona, AZ. Finally convinced Ron that those beans could ripen on their own.

Sydney......................second born grandchild

2008-05-09T12:01:00.003-10:00

I sure didn't forget you! I just get overwhelmed when I get ready to take a trip. I also enjoyed talking to you on your birthday. Sydney is such a character. Oh, a fun & whitty character. She always has something up her sleeve. She seems to have great talent for understanding. Sometimes even more than you would think her years permit. She is always asking questions becuase she says she wants to learn things the right way. She will keep with the questions until she thinks she has it right. (I didn't tell her yet that Mimi & Papa don't really have all the answers!!) Her passion is in creating videos and movies. She is an aid to the girl scout leader and teaches the troup the art of making good video. Not long and we will be visiting with you and and I am looking forward to being in one of her videos.

Kilauea

2008-04-18T09:04:00.003-10:00

Everyday we look out to the ocean to see how much vog we have. (Vog is very different from SO2). Yesterday we had some breezes and it cleared out to a beautiful day. Today I can see Keei point from my kitchen window but I can't tell the difference from where the horizon meets the ocean as I look south. I still think it's exciting that for the first time in 84 years the volcano is acting out. Early Wed. morning the crater exploded again. I had been glowing. They say it's not lava that you see but incandescent particles seen best just before dark. That small explosion Wed. sent pink ash out over a small area. Meanwhile the park is back to opening everyday. There is really no danger from magma or lava or the gaseous plume. The only problem would be with the SO2 and that seems be only over on the east side. Yet Wed. they did record some very high levels of the gas over high mountain areas of Ocean View but they came back down within hours.

Link to the live webcam situated to show the Halemaumau crater
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam3/

Casey

2008-04-15T09:02:00.003-10:00

Casey had a birthday last week, I talked to her and she passed on to me her grades. All in the 90's and some over 95. We certainly are proud of her. Not only that but she is a great little gymnist, but most of all she loves soccer and all the training the comes with it. Right now she appears to be the only grandchild that likes to run. She likes running because it keeps her in shape for soccer and she tells me she is looking forward to get back out on the track in Michigan after not being able to do too much running this winter. Even with all that vigor my take on Casey is that she is sweet and shy, determined and cute. Oh and did I say a brave little risk taker for only 10, and then............ As a grandmom I guess I could go on and on couldn't I??

Volcanoes and coffee

2008-04-15T08:38:00.006-10:00

Fortunately Volcano NP only closed for 2 days and now they are raving about the reddish orange glow over Halemaumau crater seen best at dusk. The glow is not lava but a color caused by gasses and other chemicals beneath the surface coming out thru the rupture. What an amazing happening!! There is a picture somewhere and I will look for it and post it later if I can.

I ran across a cute video on youtube and posted it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9p9weUWJ0&feature=related (copy & paste)
Now at the end he says go to KonaMountains website. Oh don't do that just go to www.konalisacoffee.com for a taste of our coffee processing.

I am trying to keep up with our slowly deminishing inventory and have put aside green for customers who have asked me to. Still not sure when I will run out but I will run out. But the greatest news is we had some good weather and a great blossom and the trees are loaded with beans. Ron is out irrigating today as he's worried that we aren't getting enough rain to help those beans grow. Picking season will tell the story. That is in August and we are still signing on pickers.........just in case you were wondering!!!

Just took off a batch of mac nuts from our dehydrator so I'll package them and bring them with me to the mainland in June. Today I will dehydrate some extra bananas and I have a pineapple that we picked last week that looks like it is ripening beautifully. Doubt we can eat the whole thing so I guess I will dehydrate some of it to. We can bring dehydrated/roasted items back to the mainland so depending on how long it keeps and how much more we get in I hope to bring some with me in June.

Link to area of Hawaii where the volcano is venting

2008-04-09T14:52:00.001-10:00

http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/09/news/art2c_large.jpg

Lavaman & NP closure

2008-04-09T13:58:00.004-10:00

Lavaman is the name of our Olympic distance triathalon here in the island. Held last Sunday so Ron & I spent the day up there volunteering. Arriving at 5:30am to help with body marking/numbering. The body marking was staged at what we call "A" beach near the Hilton in Wiakoloa. All transitions are done there. The swim starts at 7:30 in the bay (1.5k), they pick up there bikes there in the parking lot area for a (40k)ride, a loop down to the Four Seasons and back leaving their bikes to do the (6.2) mile run. We left body marking to take ice to the bike turnaround point and stayed and gave out bottles of water before returning with tubs and trash. The last few runners were still taking off but the party had begun with music and dancing on the beach and one of the biggest food spreads I have ever seen and the food kept on coming all catered by the Hilton. I think the winning time was 1:54 something and Bree Wee, a local, was fourth in and first woman in 2:04 I believe. Fun day and then Monday was had company for dinner, then I did yoga on Tues morning and I was so exausted by Tues afternoon that I slept the rest of most of the afternoon. It was that getting up at 4am on Sunday that upset my inner clock, I'm sure!!! Today was back to normal as I managed to get in my early morning hour ocean water jog.

As I drove home from town I listened to our daily Civil Defense update on Kiluea. As a precautionary measure they closed the Volcanoes NP, the Kiluea Lodge and Military Camp and the Volcano Charter School. Lava is not the problem, of course, but the fumes are. It is thick as pea soup over there as the gas plumes flow out from both Halemaumau and Puo'o crater vents. Winds coming from the southeast somehow keep the smoky stuff over there and some heads up towards Hilo and the Hamakua coast. Usually 'the Trades'/tradewinds blow it south and Kona winds send stuff called vog up our way. Vog is a mixture of volcanic gas, dust and moisture in the air. By the time is does get to us it just makes our area hazy in some areas. It has been very voggy this week after a few clear days last week. Today we are supposed to get some rain. Rain seems to clear it out and the coffee trees can use a drink too! No one seems to be able to predict why all this volcanic action, fumes and molten spatter is acting up. Could be that the magma is rising and there will be a breakout of lava in the Halemaumau crater which has not happened since 1924. The high levels of sulphur dioxide levels are almost unheard of so I believe that it's just trying to clean itself out, spurt some lava and then go rest for another 60 years.

Shelby

2008-04-02T09:32:00.002-10:00

A couple of days ago our oldest granddaughter had her 15th birthday. As I was talking to her she was in a car blindfolded and her friends were taking her on a surprise venture. She asked me if I knew where she was going but I didn't. I believe that is the first thing she has ever asked me for in her life. Shelby seems to always be happy with what she has and never asks for much. She also is a lovely ballerina and performs in many local shows. She also is a talented writer. She has been writing books since the age of 10. Ron & I love to read her books as they are quite interesting & creative novels. Shelby also is a great animal lover so we can't wait for her to get here and see Toonces our $300 cat. Happy birthday, Shel, and we are so looking forward to seeing you, your sis & mom and dad in a couple of months. She did tell me on the phone that she was now old enough to drive and that she did know how so I may be in for a big suprise this June.

June flights are booked

2008-03-28T13:20:00.002-10:00

And we will be visiting the mainland from June 2-24. There are a few things I don't seem to be able to find here in the island and will want to pick up on my trips back. In case anyone is shopping and see those wine pourers I like would you pick them up for me? They are the flat silver ones that you roll and put just inside the bottle top to stop any dripping.
Day before yesterday I went to my first yoga classs since I have been on the island. I believe I found one of the best instructors ever. There are quite a few yoga studios here, kinda expect that in Hawaii. But until paddling and ocean jogging slowed down a bit I never took the time to check them out until I saw this one 7 minutes walking time from my house. Hooda is the kind of instructor I like. She shows the moves and then walks around the room helping with the moves and showing alternives and corrections. Then at the end, during relaxation, she sang. Sounded like a yoga chant and at first I wondered where the music came from as there was no background music during the class. I got a great class in a gorgeous, quiet setting and met some new friends.
I did my computations on how much coffee we have left. We weighed the parchment and reduced that by about 1/3 as that is how much weight is lost during milling and roasting. We figure we have about 300 pounds to last us until when next crop is ready in Sept.-Oct. I am saving some back for our regular customers and of course we will be gone in June and only time will tell if supply will meet demand. We hope so. Meanwhile tourists keep pouring in to see the volcano erupting. I actually think they are downplaying the story. It's both an awesone and frightening event and I believe they are leaving the scary stuff out. I don't mean that the lava will get to anyone as it moves so slowly that you have plenty of time to get out of its way. But it's the smoke and dust. Our days over here have not been the clearest and the NP data shows that the sulfur dioxide fumes are at the highest ever calculated. Right now the VOG blows southeast of the eruption spot and the only towns it is bothering is Volcano and Pohala. I think most of us would just rather fire-goddess Pele would make up her mind what she wants to do and get on with it instead of spewing and gushing with the smoke.

Wouldn't you just know....................

2008-03-20T18:48:00.002-10:00

So, today, a snippet of recent scoop. Madame Pele exploded two nights ago. The summit of Kilauea spewed rocks from a gaseous explosion which was at first thought to be an earthquake. (We did not feel it here.) It was the first volcanic discharge since 1924 in the crater and the the first eruption in Kilauea caldera since 1982. Scientists are still uncertain as to what's next!! Meanwhile last week we did travel to the Puna area to view the new lava flow. I had not known that some 30 years ago there were small farms growing fruits, mainly papaya's, right where we walked. Where we walked was total lava. Very different than the lava near us. It was still shiny, I suppose because it is a fairly new cover. Yet, there were still small homes built there in land reclaimed. I believe the day we went that the whole population of the island including locals and tourists where there too so we couldn't get a parking spot close. As we hiked in and it got dark we could see the incandescent orange glow of the lava. We didn't go in all the way as we learned that the flow had taken a new course, as it seems to be doing daily, and went underground again before reaching the ocean. Earlier in the day we hiked to the black sand beach and saw a few whales playing. Then we stayed the night at the Ala Kai bed & breakfast (www.alakaibb.com) , which was a real treat right on the ocean. Breakfast was served with a bright morning sunrise and tons of fruit from the island. And speaking of fruits of the island. Never do I cease learning of a new one almost weekly. We brought a 'sapote' home with us from the market Sat. and tried it today. How about eating a pear sweetened with brown sugar. Maybe a bit more custardy, but that is the flavor. Then there are rambutan, lychee, carambola, lilikoi, guava. All new to me and I like them all. Tomorrow our apple bananas are ripe and I'll dehydrate some more. The last batch went to Nic & family with our own mac nuts (dehydrated also). Next Jackie gets a batch and I owe Sheila & family some bananas as they got macnuts and coffee last week. We have about 10 pineapples ripening at different stages and I am anxious to feast on one. I am told they are called white pineapples and are much sweeter than the gold. Avocado season is just about over. Ron is sad as he has really grown to like them. But now we see tons of mangoes hanging from the trees.......not the same trees.....mango trees. I understand that they should be ripe by May or so. We are coming back to the mainland (Mich. & Tenn.) in June so I hope we don't miss most of them. Wish we could bring them back but Ag rules won't let you carry them on and if I packed them I think we'd have mango juice before we got them to you. But you can always come and sample them here!! Just a while ago I headed down to Paleaku Gardens (about a 6-8 min walk from here). I was headed to a yoga class which unfortunately for me was cancelled. I'll have to go next week, but the caretaker was kind enough to show me a bit around the complex. Lucky for me as it is both beautiful and spiritual. You cannot tell from the road how lovely it is as it opens to a commons area where they have retreats and weddings. They charge for tours (I think $5) and I recommend it and will be taking guests down there if they'd like as they have a unique garden there called the galaxy gardens. You can see a sample of what's there at www.galaxygarden.net . There also are small temples ,obelisks, or statues in areas representing every religion on the world right down to native Indian, etc. Then they also have star gazing nights, as the garden is also an astronomy center. Neighbors did the gazing one night and said it is spectacular. Ron & I plan on viewing at the next one.

Always controversy

2008-03-10T17:05:00.005-10:00

We thought we had left politics behind when we retired but no matter where you go it finds you. We haven't been here long enough to make hard decisions on many of the local issues here but are involved in one only because we are coffee farmers. Our video from the KCFC.org we belong to made it to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8-lKZb64l4. There is a bill in our local House looking to pass a law that to be labeled Kona coffee you must have at least 75% Kona beans in the package. Currently it is legal to package a 10% blend. Truthfully it seems to me not to matter as the package is labeled either 10% of 100% and the price also reflects the difference. And the taste definitely reflects the difference. So this is one thing I hope not to get too involved with. But most of the members are quite determined to continue to support the new bill to the end.

Spectacular

2008-03-07T20:24:00.002-10:00

Yesterday the lava reached the ocean. This hasn't happened since last June when a small earthquake near the current flow at the time changed the course. The old Pu'o vent quit smoking for a few months. Later as scientists expected the lava found a new route. It headed very slowly towards an old abandonded subdivision in Puna. Two diehard men still lived there and were interviewed occasionally on the news until last week lava closed off the road they rode their cycles in to their homes. So they hiked in the back way as the lava continued to cross the road. Meanwhile the NP system feverishly was rebuilding an old road that was used approx eight years ago for tourist viewing of the old flow. We had some visitors here that told us they were there last week and could easily see the new flow. Now the flow has made it's way to the ocean so Ron & I are off Sunday for a visit to the volcano, new lava flow and hike to the ocean to see the spectacular plunge into the ocean. They are reopening the road Saturday and of course the best time to see the glow is after dark. So Sunday evening that is where we will be hiking with our flashlight to view what happens no where else in the world.

Haley

2008-02-21T19:48:00.002-10:00

Last week I had the idea to not only say happy birthday to my family here but to write a bit about each of them on their birthday. I'm already a bit late for the first one of the year, Haley. But I figure I'm going to try to keep up with this all year and to paraphrase an email just received from Jackie, you're last "hahahaha". Haley turned 12 a few days ago and is a very talented young lady. She sings, plays french horn, acts, and was student council president last year. Most recently she had a part in Suessical the Musical at school. She has tried out for both acting and singing parts in the local community also. Plus she emailed me last marking period that she had received all A's. She really loves swimming so I am looking forward to having her here to go snorkeling with. I must mention soccer as we went to not only her games but all the kids games when we were back in MI and look forward to seeing some more this spring/summer. Just a few nice things to be said about one of my granddaughters, since I am a bit far away but it wouldn't be the same if I wasn't able to keep up with all of them on their day to day affairs. I know she had a fun birthday because she told me so!! Her 'great' mom also tells me little funnies that they say and bring up. Haley told her mom that she wanted to visit a coffee shop. Nic asked her why because she didn't think she ever had coffee. Haley said 'well it must be good because I love the smell of fresh roasted coffee'. Wait till she smells Kona on a roasting day!!

This weeks musings & coffee update

2008-02-19T11:22:00.004-10:00

Funny how when you know what you are looking for it is much easier to see isn't it?? Heading out on an early morning paddle our captain steered us out further from shore. The purpose of our float plan would be to see more whales out there. Between us and shore at about 10 o'clock a blow spout when up as there was several whales between us and shore. Our stroker lost count he was so excited so we stopped and watched until they dove of with a wave of their tail. I believe it is called a fluke. I learned that once you see that they are diving and will be down for about 20-25 mins. before they come back up and you see the blow spout again. Ron was wondering why we hadn't seen the whales from our lanai but Sunday morn during breakfast he pointed to several spouts and with our binoculars watched as they entertained a boat of either whale watchers or snorkelers. Whichever they got a great show and so did we. The boat was actually a big zodiac style which is a large tube looking boat somewhat like the river rafts only with an outboard motor and much larger. From our vantage point you could see the whale as he was underwater near the zodiac and he was much larger than the boat. Now these zodiacs carry probably 20 people or more so you can imagine how large our humpbacks are.

I also want to mention that we do coffee farm sometimes. Well Ron more than me. Well, I mean he is out there pruning (yes, his buddies are teasing him that he really is running the farm 'one handed'). But the pruning is for next seasons crop. We are also getting another blossom in another area and more on some of the trees that already had a blossom. We can only hope that this means a good crop this year as we are already running low on parchment. Parchment is what we take to the mill to get milled and roasted for retail. We are not sure but it looks like we won't have enough to take us thru to the next picking. We will be coming to the mainland for awhile in June-July and hope to bring some back with us but maybe not. Moral of this post is if you are thinking about ordering any coffee from now until August or Sept. let me know now so I can save it for you. We only sell coffee grown and processed from our farm (some farmers will buy cherry or parchment from others and sell it). The former owners had picked their crop and we bought the product with the farm so we don't know how much we will have next year when we produce it ourselves. And sometimes, as all farming goes, it depends on the seasonal weather conditions. So far we seem to have had ample rain. We only irrigated a bit in Jan. and then the rains came and right now the trees look healthy and beautiful. Ron is doing a topnotch job pruning and the orchard looks great. There are coffee berries, green, and about the size of a small pea already growing. We can hardly wait till picking season. More fun!!

Whales

2008-02-10T20:09:00.000-10:00

Yes, we finally saw some of those famous humback whales of Hawaii today. We drove up the Kohola coast a bit to the Mauna Lani and saw a few spouts and tails flapping. We then drove up for some beach time at Waianea Beach and all the good spots were taken so we went a bit further to Hapuna beach. There even the overflow lot was being used so we headed back down to Anaehuumalu, better know as 'A' beach down by the Hilton. Ron sunned and I swam a bit and we sat on the sand watching the whales seeming to play around as they were flipping tails and spouting and breaching. It was time for lunch so we headed down to the Four Seasons. They have an awesome location and we sat right on the beach at the beach bar and saw more whales. We tend to forget how pretty it can be up there and always sunny. It truly was a nice day.

I have to add a addendum to the blossom tale. Ron told me that on Thur morn as he walked out towards the orchard all he could hear was the hmmm hmmm hmmm of all the honey bees out there. They love those coffee blossoms. Sadly the hard rain turned them brown, no more snow. But now we saw blossoms on some of the higher elevation trees on our way back today.

I've had some requests from Canadians on my website for our coffee, so in the morning I'm off to the PO with an order to see how much to send them 2 pounds. We get a lot of Canadian visitors here and it will be nice to be able to get an idea if it's feasable. And happy birthday Haley, your birthday present will be on it's way also.

Fragrant mornings................

2008-02-09T20:22:00.000-10:00

waking up to the sweet smell of coffee blossoms wafting thru my bedroom window the last few mornings has been my new favorite thing. Now that the blossoms are open fully and the scent stronger I can lie in bed and smell them and I would say they are a mixture of gardenia, jasmine and orange blossom. So our Kona snow is fragrant! I took a walk down our road and all the coffee plantations on the makai side of the road are in a strong bloom. We do get several blooms a year but this looks like the big one and in seven months we will get most of our picking done because those cherries will be ripe. Rain has finally come and we have a good soaking of the trees roots and of course now we have to go on a weed chasing expedition. We have a good chance of sharing the pickers. I made a wrong turn out of Lowe's yesterday and took the high road back home and none of those trees up mauka where in bloom yet. Yes the lower warmer elevations do bloom first.
That was the good news, a little accident the other day slowed Ron down some. He was pruning coffee trees and laid on the loppers a bit to much and cracked a bone in his left hand. He sees the ortho on Tues and hopes to get a small splint cast. Right now he has his arm wrapped and in a sling to keep any swelling down so this week he held the ladder for me while I climbed up and picked avocados. A first for me. I also picked some papayas on the way back. Tomorrow I'm out to pick some Kona limes. Our limes here are orange when they are ripe and reeeeally tangy! They make a good vodka & tonic though and also puts some extra zest on the avocados and papayas.

2008-02-06T20:23:00.000-10:00

http://www.konalisacoffee.com

Kona Snow

2008-02-06T20:18:00.000-10:00

We're gonna have coffee!!! In 7 months that is.

Blossoms

2008-02-05T16:15:00.000-10:00

We have blossoms!! Coffee is in bloom and it is luscious. They call it Kona snow and now I know why. It actually looks like new fallen snow hugging to the edges of each branch. Coffee is related to the gardenia plant and has a fragrance close. But as I walked down by the trees I also got a sense of orange blossom scent. Pictures are coming. We are getting a bit of rain this evening which is good as we have been low over here on the leeward side. The last 4 days Hilo (on the windward side) has been getting pounded. It was reported that on Sunday they received 9.5 inches of rain. We got none. Rivers were swelling over and the surf was surging. About 150 homes were flooded. That is the prime reason (besides coffee grows better over here) that we don't live over there. Too much rain!! It's great for a visit, as it is so lush and green with many gulches and beautiful high surf areas. We like the dryer side better except for when we have to irrigate the coffee.

Moonglow

2008-01-30T14:25:00.000-10:00

While driving in the early morning taking the winding Napo'opo'o route last week, I seemed to be in full daylight. This, of course, was due to the full moon that night. The moon was glowing onto the water of Kealakekua Bay and shining on the slope surrounding the Captain Cook monument. I don't believe I ever understood the meaning of moonglow until that morning. What a way to start the day!! I was on my way to paddle up at Keauhou Bay and hoping to spot some whales. Friends have been telling me of seeing the whales out paddling and even from shore. So far the only one I've seen was before Christmas and it was way out. But it did breach for us! Reports are that there are numerous whale spottings up at the Mauna Lani beach. So we are going to take a drive up there soon so I can report on the whales.

Saturday turned out to be a remarkable day at the market. We sold out of everything. We have been trying to estimate how much to bring each weekend. But each weekend brings a different crowd and we never seem to out guess our customers. We always take stock back and that is carrying coffee in and out. So it would be nice to figure out a pattern. Last Sat. we thought we had plenty but sold it all. Sure was nice not to have to bring merchandise back. The first 'Chef Series' was the draw. The market is promoting a 'cooking & eating Hawaii grown foods' series put on by local chefs and using foods sold at our market. There were bigger crowds there last Sat. and all the vendors said they did better. We will be looking forward to next months chef and will hopefully be better prepared. Check out the coffee at
www.konalisacoffee.com.

I am such a whimp. Because it has been cool the last few mornings I have not gone up to water jog in the ocean or paddle this week but I did walk 3 miles yesterday. Fortunately I ran into a neighbor I had not met yet and walked with her for awhile. That's the reason I scheduled a massage appt. for tomorrow. She pushed my pace up a bit and my back is squacking at me today. Or was it the 50# bag of coffee I lifted later that day. No matter Keri said she would fix me up tomorrow.

Ron's pruning is continuing. He says it will most likely continue for awhile. Like the next month or two. We finally got a few good dumps of rain. One good one Sunday eve and one yesterday. Amazingly we had a couple drops of hail with the rain. It started out raining hard but the sun was still shining. Pretty soon some dark clouds came in and it cooled down really fast. After it rained I headed up to the store and my car showed 66 degrees and that was at about 2 pm. but the store is at about 1500ft. We are at 800 ft. Next we are finding out about tropical pests. TERMITES! We were warned about them in TN but never had them. It's a given here. You just constantly treat for them. We have them and we are getting our house tented Friday. We'll be spending the night up in a cottage at Ka'awa Loa Plantation while those critters get fumigated. Al loaned us his pet crate as the kitty goes with us. We don't want him fumigated as his job is to keep other pests away. So goes it for life in the tropics as we learn more about it every day. One thing Ron is looking forward to is blossoming. The story is that after a good rainfall you get new coffee blossoms which starts the cycle for the nexts years coffee cherry. Although we hear it's either 5 or 7 months after blossom that you harvest. I think it depends on elevation so we will be counting.......

Extraordinary learning morning here...................

2008-01-19T16:04:00.000-10:00

...........at the market today. Kawiala, who is a solo singer slack-key guitar player at the market every week, drinks our coffee and chats with us on break. He is a chemist by trade but now does what he enjoys a bit more. His music and CD's are beautiful. While talking about dehydration processes here he mentioned that he worked on the mainland for a company 'Coffeeberry.org' that dehydrated the whole coffee fruit. Coffeeberry.org now has a patent on this process and freeze dries it for health food and drink additives. Coffee fruit is full of polyphenols and anti-oxidants. My what we do by accident!?!! Ron & I love to just pick our coffee (berry/cherry?) and bite into the whole fruit and after chewing the sweetness out of the pulp which you can either eat or spit out but leave the beans in your mouth and suck on them as they have a sweet coating. Sometimes visitors ask if you can eat the cherry and we show them this process. Now we have a health food angle to tell them about, too!! All this and I remind myself that I didn't even know how coffee grew until about a year ago. I saw Juan Valdez picking it on TV, but his trees seem short and I didn't know if they were trees or vines. Maybe this has been an extraordinary week but I also experimented with the coffee by having another coffee roaster roast my coffee. All the coffee I sell is roasted in a drum roaster which gives it the smooth smokey flavor. So I tried his air roasting method and roasted it medium. Couldn't wait to bring it home and try it. Well I absolutely loved it even more than the coffee we now roast. Ron is not sure as he says I always brew it stronger than his liking. Now I am thinking about adding this roast to our line. It will take awhile but it will be fun thinking it through. Next I am going to try the air roasting to a darker flavor and then a lighter flavor. Hey, all that experience in wine tasting is finally paying off.

Today........................

2008-01-16T16:57:00.000-10:00

was, we believe, the coldest day we have seen since we moved here. We now sleep with a light blanket but with the windows open. This morning we closed them for awhile. I also decided to pass on water jogging. We are going to reflect on today when next summer comes as it was totally perfect. Soon it warmed up and we were off to town to shop for a few things. We stopped at Fujimama's for lunch and did a little town people watching. Town was busy today as a cruise ship was in and we decided we enjoy town even more now that we don't live there anymore. Have to recommend Fujimama's. The resturant is from Tokyo and they have opened a second one here in Kona. I had a green curry with MahiMahi and carmeled onions, shitake mushrooms and peppers. Whalla!! Should have tried the shushi but what can I say when Ron ordered a burger. (They do have one of the highly rated burgers in town, so there was reason to try it). We stopped by a fellow coffee farmers place on the way back for Ron to take a look at his operation. He does much more marketing than us and has much more equipment to do it with and he is always ready to help and add some advise. We get local honey from him and sometimes sell it at the market along with our coffee. Our coffee for this week got roasted today so when I came home I packaged up the beans. We haven't had any rain since Christmas Day so Ron decided to do some irrigation. (This is supposed to be the dry season anyway.)We are not sure when to irrigate as Ron claims, just like running the New York marathon, everyone has a plan on how to do it best. We feel like we are experimenting this year and hopefully find some of the better methods and employ them. Do those trees need moisture now or not?? We will see how much they need when we get that water bill....right?? I think I hear the dinner bell ringing! See ya another day....

A few of my favorite things

2008-01-15T16:17:00.000-10:00

I've been told that I'd better get blogging. Yes I know I have been slacking haven't I? Well I continue to enjoy it here so I suppose I should share some of the whys. We have our sign "Cornerstone Farms" out on the road and when we put the open sign up we seem to immediately get guests. We are amazed and flattered that so many visitors want to see the farm and get a small tour of how coffee is grown and processed and we enjoy showing them around and talking up the Kona coffee area. It's fun meeting people from all over the world. So far we've had visitors from several European countries, Japan, Quebec and other areas of Canada, plus many states back on the mainland. We always feel home has come to us when we get tourists from Michigan and Tennessee. We find even more things to talk about and catch up on.

Continuing to paddle and jog in the ocean is still on my list. Altough I was soooo glad that they started a winter paddle at 8a.m. instead of 6:30. This morning we saw several whale spouts but the whales were out quite far, not so the dolphins. They were swimming right next to us.

Ron mentioned the other day after having dinner with Linda & Al how glad he was that I met Linda while working down at the pier. Al is a new coffee farmer just like Ron. So we all understand that we need to take a break together and enjoy some beers and talk some story.

Our backyard, I believe, will always continue to amaze me. Last week Ron saw a large white bird high up in a tree. Using our binoculars we were able to get its markings and determine that he is a Hawaiian hawk. They are on the endangered species list but we think he lives in our yard because we have seen him fly over before. Hopefully he is doing his job and keeping the varmits away. Today I was reminded by a friend while paddling about our spectacular sunsets. Denise says she is going to start making her own postcards with the shots she has taken and I thanked her for the idea. Sunday we watched an outrigger, cruise ship, wave runner, more single paddlers, fishing boats, and smaller dinner cruises all go by us. What fun!!

So those are just a few of my current favorite things. I sure am glad I have them to rely on because I do get lonesome for my family, kids, grandkids (especially), sister. The trips back to the mainland are already becoming special to me and I am looking forward to the spring/summer visit already.

Happy New Year..........and Sharks!!??...

2008-01-02T12:17:00.000-10:00

The new year rolled in here just like everywhere else with fun and lots of noise. Fireworks and firecrackers seemed to go on for hours. Long after we celebrated with the Keauhou Canoe Club. NYeve we partied with the paddling group and dropped the ball at midnight (New York time, that is). Our ball consisted of Katy standing on the shoulders of the biggest guy there and dropping a coconut as we all counted down. We're Hawaii, we have to improvise!! Earlier that day I took a jog in the ocean. As Debbie stopped to talk on her swim back to shore she told me about the shark sighting near Keauhou Bay and the closure of Kahaluu Beach the previous day. I felt a little freaky being the only water jogger that day and hurried back to shore. Thinking about it though, really there are always fish in the water, maybe sharks too. I love the ocean and Ron loves to bike. So I'll continue to go in the water hoping the sharks stay away from me and Ron will continue to ride his bike hoping the cars stay away from him. I also couldn't believe the morning radio news. Must have been a slow news day as the local station here reported about a shooting at the Hooters in Knoxville. The story they told was the shooter then would not put down his gun when cornered by police and was also shot dead. We seem to miss so much news was out here in the middle of the Pacific and was surprised to hear that snippet. Our new friends Al & Linda have become Hawaii football fans and wanted us to meet them at the Oceans Tavern to watch the game and share pupus. It was a good time but a sad ending to the one to the teams best football seasons. Ron was just happy that Michigan finally won a bowl game and so did TN. Therefore not a bad football day afterall. We heard MI got 15in of snow in places in Oakland & Lapeer Counties over the New Years night. Snow is beginning to seem surreal to me but have heard there has been a bit on and off on Mauna Kea. In fact, most disturbing, but a Michigan family is still searching for a lost relative who was hiking on the mountain during one off the snow storms. An last but not least Ron is out picking coffee again today. He spead some fertlizer during the last week and both times we got some rain afterwards which was a good thing of course. The trees are looking beautiful and we look forward to blossoms soon. Did I tell you that coffee trees are a relative of the gardenia family and when they bloom scents of gardenia prevail?

Merry Christmas with lightning

2007-12-25T11:50:00.000-10:00

Seems like not long ago I wrote about thunder and lightning being an unusual event here in Hawaii. That's is what we still are told and, I guess, like all weather events around the world 'shit happens'. So this a.m. as at least 3 dozen of us gathered to take our early Christmas morning paddle lightning flashed out over the ocean. A long 7-8 seconds passed before we hear mild thunder but it was enough to keep us ashore. Too many people and too many boats to take a chance. Not all was lost though as the after paddle brunch was just held a little early. As we were exchanging holiday greetings and eating at Kahaluu beach the clouds moved further out and another beautiful day appeared.

Oh yes, now back at the farm, I am still unpacking. I think this is going to be a longer job than usual because I keep getting so many interuptions. Like yesterday when friends called and asked us to join them snorkeling and then lunch at Big Jakes BBQ. Who could pass that up?

I miss being with the grandkids. This is one of the first times we have not spent Christmas in Michigan. I think there was only one other time and that was at least 20years ago that we were in FL for Christmas with Ron's parents. So family is constantly on my mind today. I called all of them earlier but didn't get the greatest connection on the cell phone so right after this blog I'm calling again. I'm thinking we all need a webcam now so I can enjoy the presents being opened with them. And no, Glen & Shirley, we do not miss the snow. Okay, snow is nice, but to me the warm ocean is better!!!

Whales and other noteworthy happenings

2007-12-14T09:00:00.001-10:00

Yes! We saw a whale yesterday! Paddling out from Kahuluu beach area we saw the water spout so we stopped and watched the tail several times and then a full breach. Beautiful for such a large mammal. Whale season is here as they come to the warm Hawaiian waters to birth their young and some to breed for next years return. Ron is absolutely excited as he picked and pulped our first very own round of coffee. Picking season is basically over and the former owners received the whole crop already. Since se needed stock to continue selling Kona Lisa Coffee we are buying what is called the parchment from them (very expensive way to do it). Anyway there are pockets of areas where the trees are still producing ripe beans that the pickers missed or felt the area too small to bother. Ron picked 113 pounds Mon and 126 pounds Wed. We did our first pulping by ourselved (successfully). Yesterday after the last batch fermented we rinsed them and loaded them off the converyor and on to the drying deck. Mondays coffee is already there drying (takes about a week). I had saved this blog to draft to finish later but this is now way later. At least a week has passed. Last Thurs. I was rear ended by a flat bed coffee truck. Luckily I am okay. They took me to the hospital as I had quite a whiplash and did xrays. I was plenty sore for about 5 days but again I feel very lucky. Now,Dick, you know why I haven't blogged in a few days.
Meanwhile, we have bagged the coffee (it looks beautiful) Ron picked more, that is now drying. We got about 26 pounds of parchment from the 113 cherry. Then you loose more when it is milled and roasted. And that is from a full day of picking. You can see why we will be hiring a crew to pick next year for picking season. We are still moving in and unpacking. We knew we brought too much and now we are lookin for places to put it all, but we love being down here now. Last night we ate our first dinner out on the lanai and celebrated. Oh my, less than one week till Christmas and very, very few cards went out. Well, there's always next year! Hard to believe Christmas is already here sitting here in shorts and tank top. Winter is here though, we don't need the fans on and I did pull a blanket up during the night a few nights (windows are always open). We will be sharing Christmas cheer with a few freinds on both Christmas eve and day and will be thinking of all of you (our friends and relatives) and wish you could be here too!!!
p.s. One more thing, our coffee WON 1st place "Peoples Choice Award" at the Sat. market coffee tasting 2nd anniversary. There are seven coffee vendors there and the customers vote. We are new there so we were very excited to win. Today I'd better get busy making a sign for the market and getting something ready to put up on our website. Always something isn't there..............??

Time to blog

2007-12-09T23:10:00.000-10:00

Our container arrived, was unloaded, Ron painted almost the whole inside of the house, I packed coffee for Christmas orders and washed windows. Not bad for a weeks work. And all while we were having a bit more rain than the norm. Luckily the farm sets in an area that didn't get flooded but plenty of other places did. Of all the islands Maui seemed to get hit the worst. We are now driving back and forth between the condo and the farm daily. I love the drive and am actually going to miss it when we move down there. To me it's one of the prettiest drives in the whole state. Oh yes,we'll still get to drive it just not daily. Actually we have already had people stop by the farm and we aren't even totally moved in yet. A Japanese couple came by and wanted to buy coffee but that day I had it all up to the condo waiting to take it to the market the next day. Then a few days ago a couple came by with a fellow I recognized. He is one of my customers from the market and he had brought them down as they wanted to see a live operating coffee farm. And coincidently they had met Kelli & John at a luau in Honolulu the week before. K&J had told them about us and of course Mark & Jen's friend John knew us. Mark & John are both photographers so we saw pics of K&J at the luau and John made me a CD already of the visit. I'm getting so good at packaging so this year I've sent the Christmas package to Mich and TN and getting ready to send some more. Maybe if I get that done I'll get to writing out Christmas cards......Ah, don't hold your breath. So to all Ron & I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And lastly there is a nice article about Kona coffee in the newspaper. Here is the link http://starbulletin.com/2007/12/09/news/story08.html. Sorry you have to copy and paste, I haven't figured out how to make this blog take links yet.

Storm

2007-11-29T09:28:00.000-10:00

Wow, we had quite a storm here yesterday afternoon and into the evening. Lots of rain which washed out roads. Even thunder and some lightning (very unusual to get t&l here). Went down to the bay to paddle this morn. Not happening, the flooding left us with a crevice in the launch area, washed out most of our sand and washed some canoes out into the bay. We will need a work crew and some repairs to the bay and the boats if they even hope to paddle Sat. Everyone down there said they have never seen anything like the storm we had yesterday. More thunder than anyone has heard and tons of rain. Well some places needed it but not all at once. I have heard reports of 3-7 inches depending on where you live. Mike called us from the B&B down in the Napoopoo area and said their power just came back on but all seems back to normal now and it is sunny and calm. So he was hopeing we could bring up some freshly roasted coffee today. I am getting on that right now as I have orders to fill and coffee to package for the market Sat. so gotta go. Take a look at the web site at www.konalisacoffee.com.

Milestones

2007-11-26T09:44:00.000-10:00

Unbelievable that we have milestones already!! First milestone is one year. Yes, one year since we developed this crazy idea to come to Hawaii and coffee farm. Not in my wildest dream did I ever think we would be doing the things we are doing right now. Second milestone.....we were honored by our first visitors. Kelli & John were here for four fast paced days. (Ron & I are still recovering) But it was the best. Let's see we paddled Thurs. morn (saw dolphins), then visited the farm and picked coffee, bananas, papayas & avocados and then had dinner at Sandra's beautiful home. Fri was the trip to Hapuna Beach, a bit windy there but great swimming and on to Hawi for lunch at Luke's Place. Then the hike down to the black sand area of Pololu. On the way back we took 250 into Wiamea and on the way had perfect views of Maui, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, & Mauna Loa. The drive was indescribable, right K & J? Sat. everyone helped set up the market and R,K&J went for a bike ride. I don't know what Ron did to them but the afternoon snorkel got cancelled for a leisurely rest on the beach with dinner at Kona Inn on the ocean. Does that describe the absolutely great time we had with our lovely first guests? I hope so as we thoroughly enjoyed their company. Milestone number three would be papayas. Yes, I believe I just finished my 1000th papaya since arrival. Boy those fruits are tasty!!!

Around the island, literaly, the Ultra Man just finished. Yes, there were ladies in it too. In fact on my way to Costo Sun. afternoon the only ones jogging were three gals. The crews were finishing a grueling weekend of 6.5mi. swim from Kailua pier to Keauhou Bay, where they boarded their bicycles for the 100 mi+ ride to Volcano. They got a twelve hour break and then it's up the highway on the bikes to Hawi for a two day total of 261.4 miles. Then they get to exchange bikes for running shoes as they complete the 52.4 mile run back to Kailua. Awesome way to tour the island, huh!!

The Store.........

2007-11-20T09:49:00.000-10:00

.......seems to be working fine. Ron worried that we wouldn't have enough parchment(what coffee is called before it is milled and roasted). I thought that would be the best of our worries, that we would sell it all! Turns out right now parchment isn't the problem, roasting enough is. But that's okay, you just keep those orders coming in & I'll let you know when I run out. You see, being so new at this we have no idea how much coffee to roast each week and that is the core of our coffee retailing. Our niche comprises fresh, fresh and fresher coffee so we roast as much or as little as traffic bears. Only we don't know the traffic patterns yet. So I thought I had enough coffee for this week and for Sat. market but I am really running low and company is coming so I planned another roasting day next Mon. to fill the rest of the orders. I know this is Chrismas shopping time and all retail says that this is the most active time so I guess if I get through this I will be experienced. Today I realized what a back order is. Be happy if your order went out yesterday. And by all means if you are ordering for Christmas get the order in soon. Also thanks for all the feedback on the website (www.konalisacoffee.com), it was wonderful to hear from you.

You can buy coffee now & Snow

2007-11-12T10:02:00.000-10:00

No you don't need to buy the snow. Probably some of you in Michigan have already had some snow. Maybe, maybe not, but we have had it here. SNOW in Hawaii?? Yes, I forgot to mention that we saw it on our trip last week over to Hilo. Taking the Saddle road you pass very closely to the peak of Mauna Kea and they had to close the road up to the peak last Sun. because of snow up there. On Monday morn cars were parked early waiting for the opening as locals like to go up there and play in the snow, make snowballs and bring them back and put them in the freezer. A magnificent picture is to stand in the water at Hapuna Beach and look east toward the mt. in January and take a picture of all the sun bathers with the snowcapped mt. behind.
Now that's explained and I can talk about the website and coffee. You can take a look at our website at www.konalisacoffee.com. It's not finished yet but I don't have the patience to wait for help to complete it so it will remain a work in progess for a bit. You can click on Mona to get in and then click on the 'about us' link and any other link at the top. Only the Zen Cart isn't set up yet so you are welcome to order coffee by emailing me at konalisacoffee@yahoo.com. I also don't have the shipping prices in yet so I can quote those if you email me. Prices are on the website if you click on the products to the left on the 'company store' link. Next I was able to give many of you a sample when we were back in MI & TN and then some I was not. So, if you don't believe this is the best coffee in the world and you want to order anyway, I will send your sample along with the order. Just ask. That's all I can think of now. Oh, how do you pay for it, ya, that's a thought. I can take a check and by today sometime I am supposed to be having a secure site set up for credit cards.

2007-11-08T21:41:00.000-10:00

Hilo

2007-11-07T22:16:00.000-10:00

Ron's happy! He finally has his truck here. There is lots to be done as we transfer the business and property down in Captain Cook so we really need 2 cars now and especially the truck. To get the truck we took a little overnight trip to Hilo going over on Tue. on the Saddle Rd. Saddle road is the only cross island road and it needs loads of improvements. The west end is curvy and narrow but after the Mauona Kea State Park it's being widened so there's quite a bit of construction. Most of us islanders can't wait for it's completion. For the first time since our honeymoon we cruised down Banyan Dr. The banyan trees are bigger than ever and the hotels a bit older. We didn't stay there 30 yrs. ago so with a Kama'a'ina rate and a chance to chill for a bit we checked in. I took pictures of the lovely Hilo Bay and Coconut Island that I'll post when I get them downloaded later. Our main reason to stay was to visit the Hilo market as it's supposed to be the best on the island. I liked it and if it's not the best it sure is the biggest. Managed to buy a couple Chrismas gifts, some fruits (our first time to try rambutans) and veggies, had lunch at Ron's favorite place, Cronies, and then headed home along the Hamakua Coast. Wow, I had forgotten how lovely that drive is along the ocean. I think it's my favorite coastal drive here. Mostly high coastline views with smashing waves and thick tropical forest. We wound around at least 3 named gulches and then all of a sudden you seem to pass into another land as the landscape changes to look like possibly upper NY state, then in a few miles like southern Calif, and then maybe Colorado like as we head into Wiamea. Remember we have 11 of the 12 climate zones on this island and you can visit them all in a day. You wouldn't see much but you could do it. Best thing is to take some time here and enjoy the spectacular diversity. After we got back today we picked up our roasted coffee and packaged some of it. We are green at this and to tell you the truth have no idea what we are doing. We only planned on getting a coffee farm, not selling it!! Never thought, what the heck do you do with the coffee cherry after you grow it, did we???

2007-11-05T13:27:00.000-10:00

Two clarifications needed, while I'm thinking about them. First I wondered why the old Japanese carried lanterns with them while they picked coffee. Didn't they do it in the daytime like we do. Well not exactly. They picked and picked until it was all picked and this usually went into the night. We are closer to the equator here than any of you so we have close to equal day and night year round.(In the winter it does tend to get darker a little earlier). And today hand picked coffee is still what you get in Kona. Everyone tells me it is about the only place left in the world still doing it this way. Even in Maui and Kauai they machine pick. The difference is beans don't ripen all at the same time. So a machine, and they use them in So. America and Africa too, strips all the beans from a branch both green and ripe cherry. Green beans make the coffee bitter. Our pickers are instructed to only pick the ripe cherry and we pick 3-4 times a season, by hand. So that's the story as to why Kona coffee is a mellow, not bitter coffee. That's one of the reasons and it only is available in 100% pure Kona coffee. I guess I'll get into more at a later time. And now I forgot what the second clarification was so I guess I will get to that at a later post too. Good Day all........

Coffee festival and other activities.

2007-11-05T10:24:00.000-10:00

Yes, lots of activity going on. The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival runs from Nov. 2-11 and includes all kinds of local color. Fri nite Ron and I were in the lantern parade. A friend once mentioned that a Knoxville parade was Americana at it's best, but she never saw Hawaianna at it's best. I carried an old Japanese lantern and Ron a coffee pickers basket. Ahead of us was a Filipino group with drums, and behind us was a very vocal cheering group from a local school. We had an excellent singing group, dressed and sounding like the 40's-50's Andrews Sisters, of course Hawaiian costumes and a Japanese rock group. What is hoot it was, yet culturally complete. Then there was music and food at the Hale Halawi Rec center for the rest of the evening. Then it was head home to get coffee ready for brewing in the morn as we were setting up for the Keauhou market on our own for the first time. Ron had picked some bananas, papayas and avocados to sell along with the coffee, so we were on our way. It's a fun little market and only goes from 8am-12noon. Probably the hardest thing for me is getting up so early, but I'll need to get used to it. I was whipped when we got home but I wanted to go to the Holualoa walking tour at 3 and I did. Saw some beautiful artwork, ate more goodies and bought a Hawaiian cookbook and a painted Holualoa tank top. Last nite we went to the Kona Coffee Farmers Assoc. dinner and silent auction with friends. Linda and Al also just bought a farm here and we eagerly traded infomation. They both, like Ron, enjoy picking coffee. I guess I will have to try it sooner or later, but I was never to much into picking blueberries so I may stick to the racking and roasting part. Mark has part of the website up. I sent him some pictures, but he said the clarity needs to be worked on and then we will be good to go. Ron's truck is in Hilo, so tomorrow we are going over to pick it up and probably spend the nite to take a look at the Hilo Farmers market on Wed. Then it's back home to package the coffee on Thurs. Right now I can hardly type as I went ocean jogging this morn got completely wore out from the big swells. We had rain yesterday for the first time since we came back and are now having Kona breezes so the ocean was a bit stirred up and cooler in spots. There are underground fresh water rivers running into the bay and with all the water coming down from the mountains every once in awhile you hit a cold spot which makes you jog a bit faster. Today is turning out to be another beautiful sunny calm day so we are off to the farm to pick up some parchment to get milled and roasted for this weekend.

2007-10-31T19:02:00.000-10:00

Oh my, that last picture looks like the moon doesn't it. But it is a lime. No one has even given me a hint as to what kind it is. Hey, this is an interactive blog and sometimes I need some help.
This week has been big for us. Ginny wanted to turn over the business so she could be on with packing and moving. So this Sat. I will be taking over the Keauhou Market shop. Little did I know what that involves. First I had to sign up for the State farmers organization to be allowed to sell there and then join the local Kona Farmers Market organization, then get a license for the GIT tax, and get a VISA/MC machine. Meanwhile I had to have coffee inventory and have it roasted to package and label. Whew, I'm tired just writing all that and all this week. And did I tell you that each of those orgs & tax entities charge a fee.....Just what I came to Hawaii for; to offer my retirement for the betterment of the State of Hawaii. Many times ago I warned my kids that I was going to have a good time on their inheritance. And they still were supportive of our coffee farming fantasy. Crazy kids!!!
I think hawking the coffee may be easier on my body than ocean jogging and lava walking. I did that this week and am totally sore. Monday Ron dropped me off a few minutes late at the pier and the gals were two bouys out already. It took me till the turnaround point to catch up with them and they had an Ironwoman with them! I also beat her back because I had an appointment with the tax man (see above). Not completely healed, but yesterday I went to check out a new trail while waiting for Ron to finish a tile job he was doing. No, no, no, I had sandals on and shouldn't have done that. Tomorrow is a paddle day so I'm really looking forward to the upper body workout this time, ha ha.
Then I have to deal with Ron debating on running the Hilo marathon. Today was the last day to sign up at 1/2 price. I remembered to remind him and he is still in oblivion to an event to be held in March. He has visions of coffee trees, coffee beans, pruning & fertilization, walkways, harvesting fruit. Can't blame him. Who knows what life will be bringing us in March anyway.

2007-10-27T13:20:00.000-10:00

2007-10-27T13:07:00.000-10:00

2007-10-26T17:02:00.000-10:00

Today, is Friday. Last nite was a gorgeous full moon. This a.m. I went to the pier for my morning ocean jog and Ron ran his usual 10 mile route. He says he is going to miss that route when we move, which should be soon. Ginny & Dick are wanting us to take over all aspects of the farm & business soon, soon soon. So I began connections with shipping to continue the process of getting our belongings here asap. I got an email today from a tourist that I met downtown asking about coffee already. I still am not set up to sell over the internet yet. Hope that comes together fast. Today I ordered a new FAX,copier,printer so I can get some more learning time on the computer, ugh!! We both will be glad when we are moved in down in Capt.Cook as Ron travels the 13 mi or so there quite often to work and learn on property. He's met some neighbors, one named 'Turtle' who picks excess fruits and veggies. Ron has been bringing home bananas, avocados and papayas daily. Like all plants, when harvesting time comes you always have way more than enough.Turtle told Ron he'll bring fish in exchange. The other day a friend from the Outdoor Circle gave me some limes. Actually the best limes I've ever tasted. But I have never seen this kind before (pictures posted here). The ones on our farm are greener, smaller and very tangy. These are just right but I don't know what kind they are. All for now, Sat. is already here.

Maui sharks, paddling w/dolphins, Akaka Bill, DL's & coffee

2007-10-25T11:06:00.000-10:00

Just all kinds of stuff going on right now, so had to form a title so I'd know what I was talking about this am. Yes, shark sightings in So. Maui. Had to close a few beaches this week. One was one of our favorites, Wailea's Ulua Beach. But locals think the hammerhead may be sick as it just cruises close to shore. People are even taking pictures of themselves by shore pointing at the shark as it's not being aggressive. Others are mentioning seeing it as they take there evening walks, very unusual. (Like the little squirrel that kept coming to visit Ethan and his friends under the swingset,very strange). Then today Ron finally went paddling with me and the rest of the Keauhou group. I had to go at least a month before we sighted dolphins but Ron saw them on his very first trip. What's up with that!! We have a breakfast after paddling on the last Thurs of every month so Ron got to meet some new friends. One was a longtime coffee farmer so he (Ron) liked soaking up all the info. We also met Lisa who is bringing her dog over from the mainland, although they only plan on living here about 7-8 months of the year. Since I miss Zeke so much we may work out a plan for us to dogsit 'Sparky'. Sparky is part Australian Speepdog and Blue Herder.
And we are now officially Hawaiians. That's because we passed the test. We have our DL's with our pictures and all. Only took us 4 hours yesterday. Then something I haven't formed an opinion on yet but I think is worth pondering. The US House passed the Akaka Bill yesterday which is a Hawaiian sovereigns law. Census says there are about 400,000 true Hawaiians in all the US and this law would give them approximately what the native Indians and Alaska indigenous people have. There is much controversy over the law here and in Washington, I guess. Because Geo. Bush says he will veto it if the Senate passes it. Bush says it would be racist and divide the very stable and ethnic society that we have here in Hawaii. I understand that, as ethnically things go very well here. But I can't see how we can say it is all right to give sovereignty to other peoples on their homelands and not the Hawaiians. Got opinions???

Fire Girl

2007-10-21T22:53:00.000-10:00

Oh we went down/or I really think it is up to Michaels place this eve for pupus and drinks.(Their place is only a couple of miles from where we will be living soon.) He & Greg had guests and company plus a new arrival to the island who works with him. She spins fire. Like the Samoans and Hawaiians do. So she showed us her talents out in the yard. What a show! I told her I didn't know how much Mike paid for the show but King Kamehameha productions had a job waiting for her. Amazing, a haole doing a fire show. We asked her where she learned the art. She answered, in Amsterdam! Who would have thunk!! As always we met many interesting people tonight and talked about all the fantastic sights on this island. They were interested in our coffee knowledge. You know, how it's grown, how we process it and one of the guys was in marketing and wanted to know how we were going to market it. Well I dunno!??! I did run a few ideas by him and he seemed to think I was headed in the right direction. Who knows..............
Most if the ironman tourists have headed home and we are back to almost normal. So funny, I saw so many ironmen participants. They get their number painted on their arm and when they wash it off it is distinguishable in plain white with tanned skin surrounding it. So they are so easy to pick out.
The farmers market really seemed to be picking up this weekend. While up there with Ginny, the seller from our new farm, I noticed many new faces and they said they were just arriving and will be spending the next 3,4 or 6 months here and they came up to purchase Hawaii grown crops and coffee.
Tommorrow I will be sending our Kona Lisa Coffee label in to the Hawaii Food and Drug Adm. to make sure it passes label inspection. For those of you who got a sample, the lable basically will stay the same but I may need to make the name font larger and change the border a bit. Then I can get on with ordering stationary and business cards to match.
Meanwhile Ron keeps reading and researching all the proper techniques to coffee growing. Soon he'll be up there pruning. And so it goes, he does the hands on part and I do the marketing part. And neither one of us knows whether it will ever work but so far we are having fun trying.

Ups & Downs

2007-10-17T20:00:00.000-10:00

Let's give the down side first and then get to all the ups. Went to the DL bureau today. Both of us left without Hawaii DL's. First you must have a SS card. We showed them our passports, our TN voters reg card (which has our SSN on it) and our birth certs. No dice. I have those cards, I just saw them within the last month and I know they will show up or...we will stand in line to get new cards next week (on the 24th that is or else we go to Hilo or hopefully I will find them.) Then we will get to take the written test. Everyone say,"hope you pass". Cuz if you don't it's come back next week and try again, no kidding!!
Meanwhile all the up stuff as I went paddling with an Ironwoman. She was a 27 yr old German girl who finished 99th woman in 10:52. It was good to see her laughing and enjoying Hawaii after hearing about some who are still having trouble walking. We also had some Kiwi's with us (from NZ)plus lot's of dolphins. We actually had to stop paddling once as we seemed to be running into them. I think it's just that they like to be around us because as they came along side and we started paddling again they swam with us. They were so close that I could see them swimming with us underwater. Spectacular!! We've been able to go down on the farm and Ron's been soaking up info on maintaining, processing and even taking some time picking the beans. So far he loves it!! Good thing, huh!

More IronMan news

2007-10-14T10:12:00.000-10:00

Good grief, I had 13 pics uploaded and only 4 posted onto the blog. If you want the rest here's the link. http://picasaweb.google.com/laker2m/IronMan2007. Good picture of the winner is included. He wasn't ahead at that time but wasn't far behind. Maybe 10 mins at the 10k mark. What a day! I could never imagine seeing over 1700 athletes do a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mi. bike ride and the run a marathon all in one day. I found it almost sci-fi except I did see it with my own eyes. 34 yr. old Australian, Chris McCormack, won in 8:15:34. Chrissie Wellington of Britain won the women's race in 9:10:00. It was a windy day for the bikers up in Waikaloa and then a skorcher down here in Kona for the runners. Ron's friend finished in 11+.

IronMan Pics

2007-10-14T10:10:00.000-10:00

Ironman highlights

2007-10-11T11:26:00.000-10:00

You will probably be sick of my Ironman blogs before this is over. But you can just feel the excitement in town even as we arrived back yesterday. Here is a video site that is awesome. Click on the arrow and play the video. More to come as we move towards the big day, Sat. the 13th. http://www.youtube.com/IronmanTriathlon. This is just one of the inspirational stories.

WNBA in Hawaii????

2007-10-11T05:44:00.000-10:00

Small world it seems. On our connection from Phoenix to Hawaii, next to me sat Ashley Robinson of the Seattle Storm. Many of you will remember her from the 2000-2004 Lady Vols. No I did not ask that tall drink of water (6'4") if she played basketball, but it came up as soon as she heard we were from Knoxville. That broke the ice though and we reminiced about Pat Summit & Knoxville while I learned about WNBA and Texas, where she is from. She was on a little vacation and was joining some players who had gone to UConn and then next week will be off to Madrid to play in the European league. So as you can tell we are home and it's 5:30am. I never get up that early!!! Guess I'm just not back on Hawaii time yet. Flights went better than average as we arrived in Phoenix to an overbooked flight to Kona due to the Ironman passengers. USAir asked for two seats to bump and we grabbed 2 full round trip tickets back to the mainland to use within a year. Meanwhile they put us up at the Sheraton in Tempe. Since it was early afternoon our driver took us in to downtown Tempe, home to ASU, and we had a leisurely time shopping around, seeing the sights ending with dinner at Gordon Biersch Brewery for dinner. They served garlic fries there, yummy, and everything else too!! We'd always thought it wise to be able to stop over in a west coast town when traveling to/from the continental east to Hawaii. It's a definite 'do it if you can' now. After a relaxing day in Tempe and a good rest it made for an easy flight home. So gotta go as it's 6 am. and paddle time!!!

Return to Paradise

2007-09-29T03:22:00.000-10:00

Ron & I wondered how we would feel coming back to the mainland. Would it be weird, would we miss Hawaii, would we want to stay here?? The flight seemed to go very fast and we were in Nicki's car and off to Walled Lake last Friday. The weather was perfect for a warm Michigan fall day and everything was green and full with a few trees turning and the smell of autumn in the air. We shared dinner with the grandkids and 'talked story'(that's a Hawaiian phrase) with them and learned about Haley's new school, listened to her practice her bit for a play tryout and listened to Casey's campaign speech as she is running for student counsel. Sat. & Sun. we attended soccer games for all of them and saw Chloe score the first goal for her team. Back home we met some of Ethan's friends, all girls. Yes, he is a ladies man already at only 4. Spent time with some friends, my mom & sis, and gave them samples of our soon to be coffee. It was really lovely and I think I was homesick for MI for the first time in a long while. That time was all too short and we were off to Knoxville. It would have been easier if all the 'stuff' in our storage unit had just 'poof' magically dissapeared. We have been without it for 6 months now and knew it would be difficult in all sorts of ways to decide what goes to Hawaii and what cannot. We know we probably don't even need 50% of what we decided to take and are already laughing about a few things we mistakedly threw out. Emotionally it can be hard to do that, but we are now through it and ready to move on. We've decided that Sept. must be a good time to visit both TN & MI because we are truly enjoying most everything we grew to love here (except the traffic). Ron is off right now bike riding with a team of his friends and I took off for a 45 min. workout walk here in Sheila's neighborhood. I wasn't out 1/2 a block when a car passed me and the driver waved, and then soon another car, driver waved and of course I waved back. I didn't know them nor they me but that is just TN and is part of what we miss about it. Sydney is studying about places and cultures and mentioned Machu Piccu in Peru. She said she would like to go there sometime and it reminded me that everyone has goals and I encouraged her to keep that goal although many others may supercede it at times. Now back to paradise. Ron & I never really had Hawaii as a dream to move to, we just kinda developed it as we moved on with our life. Certainly producing coffee there sounds adventurous to me but not what would have kept me there. But I know just the ocean, beaches, and always warm weather was not enough to keep Ron there so the 'coffee shack' will become our next new home because paradise is different for all and can be different for each one of us at various times. One thing that still holds true is, we go back to our curent utopia, you'all get to spend the cold winter here. And that's why we feel we will be living in paradise!!!!

2007-09-20T10:47:00.000-10:00

Today was my last 'paddle' for awhile so 'Sarge' took me out on the single hull outrigger for a great ride. We surfed a few waves and paddled over to thread the needle. We even stopped once to see the sun rising over the mountain. I guess they wanted to make sure I remembered all I have grown to love here on the island. Also I wanted a better workout as I'll have no ocean to do them on for a few weeks. I seem to get a much better workout on a single hull canoe than a double hull. Tonight we leave at 11pm from Kona to arrive in Detroit tomorrow afternoon with only one stop in Phoenix. We don't have a Honolulu stop either way this trip and that saves us a lot of time. It seems like I should be packing more but everything is really still back in Knoxville and I have not been out of tank tops, shorts & sandels since we arrived. (So what is it I need??) Oh, furniture............ We are trying to bring back an empty suitcase to load it up when we return. Do you think that might work? As you see there is a lounge chair in some pictures I sent. Maybe that's all we need. And right now it's hard to remember what we stashed in the storage unit. I think we are in for a surprise when we open it. Most of all we are looking forward to seeing everyone possible. If we don't see you this trip there will always be another and just maybe some of you will see us here before then. Wouldn't that be nice???

Coffee samples coming to the mainland

2007-09-14T18:03:00.000-10:00

Yesterday we filled and sealed about 25 four oz. bags of Kona Lisa (our new label) coffee beans. We will be bringing them back with us, so if any of you want to sample some 'to die for' coffee put your order in now. Let me know so I can save you a sample.

Trolley, the Farm & flights reserved

2007-09-14T17:46:00.000-10:00

Hey, big week here. This week was my last week up at the pier as I told them I just couldn't be there anymore. I will miss all the lovely people up there but said I would come and visit. On my last day Ron had to go south to a coffee class so he couldn't pick me up. They have an open air trolley from the pier up to Keauhou and back, so I finally got a chance to ride it. Not bad, 20 mins. and I was nearly home. It was a 3 block walk downhill so I enjoyed that. Thurs. we met the owners again for more info on the coffee farm. So far we have picked, pulped, dried, milled, roasted, bagged and sealed the coffee beans. Ron went out on the grounds and learned a bit about trimming, planting, and weeding. We don't know if we will ever remember the names of all the fruit trees planted there. The ones I currently remember are lillikoi(passion fruit), banana, lime, dragonfruit, papaya, avacado, mango. If you like fruit you will never go hungry here. On the other hand we hear it can be hard to grow veggies. No wonder they are so costly at the supermarket. We usually buy them from the local farmers market. Then best of all we got flights to Detroit, will visit with the kids, grandkids and drive down to Knoxville to sort out things and plan to be back here by Oct. 9. We are really excited to be able to see everyone as it seems so unreal to us. Hope we get to catch up with as many of you as possible when we get there. See ya soon.

2007-09-06T10:36:00.000-10:00

See my new paddle....!!! It worked very well today on its virgin paddle.

2007-09-06T10:32:00.000-10:00

There it is!! Orchids!!

Orchids and Paddling this week

2007-09-06T10:25:00.000-10:00

Well I didn't manage to get all the pictures on. But the one showing is our crew today coming back in from a 2 mile tour. Click on the picture to get it full screen. I am third back on the left side. Friends & I went to a commercial orchid farm on Tue. and I will try to follow with at least one pic of my orchid bouquet.

2007-09-06T10:01:00.000-10:00

Coffee farming is moving along. Right now we are in the middle of picking and pulping season. This week we visited with the sellers of the farm and Ron got a lessong on pruning. They invited us for dinner and later a neighbor came up with 600 pounds of cherry and we watched as they ran the pulper. The beans then soak in the water for 18-24 hours and then they are shuttled on the converyor to the drying deck. You should always have dried parchment ready for milling and roasting if you want to offer fresh coffee. So the dried coffee is rotated and the coffee pulped this week will probably not be milled and roasted until next year. The next day I met the seller at Greenwell's where they mill & roast for her. I went through the process as her coffee went from her bag and right back to her bag ready to be packaged. All coffee farmers are guarenteed that they get their own coffee back. No beans are mixed. Kona Lisa is an Estate coffee. Many of the big coffee growers do mix beans from all sorts of orchards or else how would they get enough coffee to supply their wholesalers. And we made a plan. We will be moving into the house on Jan. 1st.

Hawaii loves Holidays

2007-09-03T11:36:00.000-10:00

Holidays are big events in Hawaii for several reasons. Mostly it's for family time and getting together to 'tell story' and relax. We have been here for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Statehood Day Aug.18th, and Labor Day and there is always something going on to enjoy. This weekend was the largest outrigger canoe long distance races in the world. Teams from all over the world, like New Zeeland, Haiti, Samoa,and the list goes on come to Kona for an 18 mile endurance race/paddle from O Honaunau to the Kailua Kona pier. Sunday were short distance races which Ron & I watched. The colors were spectacular with canoes of red, yellow, turquoise, blues and greens lining up for a short siren and they were off. Summer is such a great time for these races as the ocean cooperates by being fairly calm. My big event was to paddle with our Keauhou club and bring one of the boats back to our bay. Boats from everywhere are brought in for the races to use and we get to paddle them back the 6 miles. That was my longest distance so far and our steerer was 'Sarge'(will have to tell you about Sarge later). I knew this would be a challenge for me but the awesome dolphin show was well worth it. Dolphins were swimming with us at 1 o'clock and jumping and spinning for a show I'd never seem before. These islands are the only place they have spinner dolphins. Several boats had seen them and we saw them spinning from aways. They seemed to wait for us and when we were near they started putting on their show. They spun and splashed for us and we clapped. Scientists say they spin to shake a parasite off them but today they were spinning just for us as they waited for each canoe to come by and spun for each of us. Stopping to watch them was a good rest for me. I had wondered how I was going to endure the six mile paddle. Also Sarge gives us a rest occasionally. About half way back she barked "No.1 paddles up" you can take a break for 2 sets." A set is 15 strokes on one side and 15 on the other. I was in seat no. 5 so I sure was ready when my rest came. The canoe is now put onshore and I await tomorrow when I can go for a more relaxing paddle but always and interesting one.

2007-09-01T13:16:00.000-10:00

Starting our 4th month here and so much has happened it's hard to get it all down. Ron wrote this little verse in one of his emails and I thought it was worth sharing.
What you won't see there:(I think he means where you are......
Grown men riding a skateboard to work.
Mopeds with surfboard racks and beagles on the handlebars.
Guys with blue hair riding mopeds and singing with their I-pods.
Surffers doing situps and then having a smoke before getting on their boards.
Old Japanes guy power-walking with two tennis balls and a flower in his mouth.
Paddling a surfboard while standing - down the beach.
One bedroom condos for over half a million dollars.
$3.39 for gas - nowhere to drive though.

In wrapping up my time at the coffee shop in town I worked 2 days this week and waited on my first non-English speaking couples (they spoke only Japanese). Amazing how when someone wants to buy and you are selling it's a world wide language of pointing and shaking heads and using our hands for numbers, etc. Both couples did manage to get their point accross and ask for a discount which I immediately replied with an up and down head shake. We laughed alot and one couple pointed and laughed at the package of one product as it had instructions in Japanese on it.(They in turn bought 5 packages). Upon leaving they did say one English phrase 'thank you'.

Things seem to be moving well on our coffee farm purchase. So well that they are projecting closing sooned that we expected. This requires a fast trip back to Knoxville to either dispose of more furniture and things or shipping them. We are still in a dilema as to what we will be doing. It will break the bank to ship too much but then you know how much it can take to set up a household with everything new. Does $10,000 weight itself either way? I wish I could figure it out as then I would know whether to ship or buy. Either way I am still holding firm that that's a small price to pay for paradise.

2007-08-29T09:33:00.000-10:00

Ohhhhhhh the fins got their workout yesterday. Went snorkeling with some friends down at Two Step which is the snorkel bay near O Honaunau National Park. It's a beautiful area full of native fish, pretty almost transparent blue eels, turtles, baby barracuda and dolphins. It also has some of the most proliferant coral to see. All colors and some of what they call cauliflower coral.(Yes it looks just like big heads cauliflower) It's also only about 2 miles from our new place. I was able to swim out much farther than I usually do as I had partners to swim with (didn't use a swim belt). After looking around we came up and 'wow' we were out past the Zodiac boats. The Zodiac boat boats bring tourist/snorkel trips from downtown and the cruise ships to this area. Back on shore at the picnic table I found out I'd also been snorkeling with a RedHatter. I put on my RedHat birthday present(the bathing suit cover up with the slim figure and Maui skirt and lei)and got some laughs. So now I am invited to go to the nearby orchid farm with them next Tue. Luckily I brought along one red hat and I now have a purple aloha dress I had been wearing to work. Although I have not been working the last couple of weeks, my choice, I guess I will go back in and do some final restocking of coffee for them as I told them they need to get someone else in as soon I will have my own coffee to merchandise. And yes, Rich, I stopped at the Macadamia Nut Factory on my way back from Two Step and picked up a pound of macnuts for you. As soon I as I get my coffee I'll put it together and send it to you. My brother has reminded me that I need to send supplies to the UP. In the evening we went to my favorite restaurant here, 'Jackie Rey's' for dinner. BTW I only was able to stay up last nite for part of the lunar eclipse. I saw the beginning at 11:20pm so I laid down to rest when Ron awoke at about 1:10 and it was at it closing so I never did get to see the orange glow of the total eclipe which probably happened between 12-12:30am. Guess, I'll have to do that next time in 2010.

Birthday presents

2007-08-26T14:58:00.000-10:00

Ron said 'how would you like a new paddle for your birthday" and off we went to the Polynesian Paddling store to get my birthday present. They have the most beautiful paddles there (I will take pictures). Always all wood. The expert was out training for her next reace and they didn't seem to have my size there. The other owner said he could cut one down for me but we decided to wait until the expert was in to make sure of the right size. The length of the paddle to your arms is very important as you twist a little with you shoulder while you reach out and then dig that paddle in and quickly pull back with the other arm. So if the paddle is not the right length you do not get the right power. If it's too short you will lean forward too much and tire you back/not good when going 6 miles. If it's too long you will go too deep in the water which is inefficient. So no paddle yet, but still 2 days before birthday. I am going snorkeling with some friends on Tues. and my fins did not fit me right so we stopped at the snorkel shop on the beach and got some new fins. I also want a new water jogging belt as the one I have seems too big and ends up rubbing against my arm. I saw a very small one and debated, but looks like I am going back as I believe I can also wear it snorkeling. I have never worn a flotation device for snorkeling but most of our friends here are great swimmers, which I am not, and after awhile I get tired and can't keep up. I think the flotation belt will come in handy for those times and I will be able to stay out longer.
Ron ran 16 miles this a.m. and wanted to get a big breakfast at his favorite place, Aloha Cafe. That's on the way down to the Keei area and we could drive by the land. At the Cafe you get to have breakfast with the geckos. The are all over here but at the cafe one came up on the top of the railing next to our table and crawled right up on Ron's shoulder and looked at him, begging for a treat. So we did our usual, opened up a apple jelly packet on the rail and the whole fam damily came for breakfast. (Have to write nicely, my grandkids read this blog.) The couples in the tables next to us were so tickled I think they took dozens of pictures. Just like we did when we first came. Whoops, will have to send some when I find them. The geckos are easy to spot. They look just like that little guy on TV! They are bright green with blue eyes and a splash of red on their backs now and then, usually anywhere from 2-5 in. long. They seems to take care of the bug and jelly population around. Once while out on the lanai I spotted a pretty spider. It was black and yellow stiped with some blue in the center. When I went around to the other side to take a picture the spider saw me an moved quickly and boom out of nowhere the gecko jumped. Spider gone.

WOW!!!

2007-08-23T10:04:00.000-10:00

We did it, we signed the papers today!! We will have our coffee farm!! We are very excited so here are only a few details. It's on Painted Church Rd. near Honaunau, Two Step snorkel area. At an elevation of about 800 ft. with a view of the prettiest bay in Kona from the lanai. Has 7 acres of coffee with a pulper and a drying area. It also has a established coffee label and business. Almost too much to believe isn't it. The house is small but so much better than many of the others we looked at. (I wanted small). It's 2 bdrm, 2 bath what more do I need!! They tell us that it takes long to close (like 3-5 months) but the sellers are great and they offered to let us come and work with them to see how the farm and business runs while we are waiting. Seven acres of coffee will sure keep Ron out of my hair :>)

So who wants to buy a 2003 Saturn Vue, like new condition, new brakes and new tires just installed before we left. Been parked in my daughters garage in Michigan. That will be only one of many, many things that will need to be sold. That part sounds daunting but will be totally worth it. If we can figure out what to bring and what not to bring, that is the question!! So much to figure out. But it will all come together.

So coffee picking time is from Aug- Nov, don't be shy, sign up for the 2008 season now!!!