Good Eats and Signs

When we honeymooned in 1991 there was no internet.  No smart phones.  No Google, Yelp or TripAdvisor.  We planned things the old fashion way with maps and a Frommer's Guide.  While I was doing the majority of the wedding planning, Les was doing the honeymoon planning.  One of his best finds was Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo.

We have been back to Brick Oven Pizza on each trip we've made to Kauai.  It's not too far from Waimea Canyon so we stopped there on our way home.  The pizza was just as ONO (delicious) as we remembered.  Their whole wheat dough is the best we've ever had - you can really taste the difference.

One blurry picture before we dug in!

These two pictures are so us!  The first one is Les doing his usual - blowing the straw wrapper at me.  The second one is me with the straw wrapper on my shoulder.

I didn't take a lot of food pictures, but this papaya bowl was amazing!

And coffee, so much coffee!

We saw this sign in a store window one day.  Les said, "Go in there!" and this was the result.

It was election time in Hawaii.  Who wouldn't want to vote for Aunty Shirley??

Waimea Canyon

Often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Waimea Canyon is just stunning.

Mr. Lookout in 1991:

Mr. Lookout 2018:

One of the world's rainiest places:

Trying to recreate a honeymoon shot...

The angle wasn't quite the same, and we've changed a bit in the past 27 years, but I'm still in love with this guy!

Princeville Botanical Gardens - Walking and Chocolate Tasting Tour

This was our fourth trip to Kauai - we honeymooned there in 1991, went back for our 10th anniversary and again for our 18th.  We've hiked and kayaked and spent time at the beach.  This time we did none of those!  I'm still limping around on my sprained ankle (more than 2 months now!) so it was tough to be as active as we usually are.

About a week before we went to Kauai, Oceanfront Realty sent us a link to an app called Hospitality.  It had directions to our condo, the WiFi password, and lock box code.  It also had restaurant and activity suggestions.  One day while I was looking at the app, "Chocolate Tour" popped up.  Did somebody say chocolate?!?

There were a number of  locations that offered chocolate tours.  They all seemed to have similar descriptions at a similar cost.  The Princeville Botanical Garden was conveniently located about five miles from the Cliffs.  We arrived just as one tour group was heading out.  Our tour leader was Harold, and he was very interesting!

These orchids were transplanted on trees. Orchids don't like too much water so they don't do well on the ground in Kauai, but planted on tree trunks they flourish!  I thought this was so cool.

 I'll let the pictures do some talking...

So much beauty and color!

We sampled mango, papaya, fresh honey, and lychee.  Have you ever tried lychee?  It is very strange looking but tastes amazing!  I didn't get pictures of any of the fruit we ate - I kept my phone in my pocket so I wouldn't get juice on it.

I want all these for our yard!

Our chocolate tasting took place halfway through our three hour tour.  Both groups met together and had a very interesting lesson about the growth of the cacao plant.  While we sampled a variety of chocolates our guide explained the process of harvesting the pod all the way to creating a chocolate bar. 

The health benefits of cacao and dark chocolate are many.  Raw cacao has more than 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries.  Now before you go stock up on Hershey bars you need to know that milk chocolate does not have the same effect.  When dairy is added to cacao, the benefits are neutralized.  The greatest benefit comes from the cacao nibs (you can buy them raw.)  Dark chocolate is healthy-ish because it doesn't have any milk added.

We continued our tour after our tasty break. 

If you ever make it to Kauai, add this to your must see list!