Memorial Day in Kona

Today was our last full day here in Kona.  The morning started out pretty chill.  We weren't sure if L's favorite/convenient coffee shop, The Green Flash, was open since it was Memorial Day.  So we decided to lounge around, do a bit of laundry, and clean up the small kitchen.  

For our last lunch here, we decided to go to a spot that C had picked out, the Fish Hopper Steak and Seafood.  C wanted to do dinner but was too concerned it would have been too busy.  It is in the perfect location. right across the street is where the cruise ships drop off for island excursions and nestled in a bunch of local shops.  We prepped for it to be really busy since it is a holiday. We found parking after a few minutes, the downside to going to the small shops is that there isn't a lot of parking around the stores.  We parked about 5 minutes away, which wasn't too bad. 

Once we got to the restaurant, we were seated right away... and even had a coveted window seat.  There were a couple of groups that didn't get the window spot, guess you had to be lucky or make a reservation.  Here's a photo of the view we had.  It is a little hard to see, but you can see our condo from here! 

It is official, C has hit the corny stage.  The waitress went through the drink selection, they had the typical ice teas, alcohol, and Pepsi products.  C said he'd take a Coke. The waitress didn't seem to think it was funny, at least by looking at her facial expressions.  C had been wanting to step out of his comfort zone and do something bold... ordering something with fish in it.  L ordered one of the lunch specials, the macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi with shrimp and mashed potatoes, while C ordered another lunch special, the crispy ono - but fish are friends, not food - sandwich with fries.  Neither of us left with a to- go bag. C ate the entire fish sandwich!  So, maybe fish are friends AND food?!

After lunch, we decided to go into the little shops to see if we could find some cute shirts, or something nice to bring home.  We stopped into quite a few different clothing shops but walked out empty-handed.  C thought that the shirts had pretty interesting prints, but the material just wasn't right.  L was wearing one of her 'ask me about mental health/dog shirts', which drew the attention of a lady working  in a beauty shop.  Seemed like L was getting a new BFF.  They touched on puppies, sobriety, and finally after getting us hooked, she brought us inside for a few free samples.  The sales lady was pushing some age-reduction facial creams.  L was the first vict... err the first to get the cream.  C buckled under pressure, like there was any to begin with... and also got the facial cream applied to him. 

 After several tries to get out of the store and several price reductions, "we look like we might be from Austraila"/"their dollar is lower than the US dollar" we got out of there without buying anything.  We continued down the rest of the shops. Some of the shops had pretty funny gimmicks like the one below.  We also passed by the Hulihee Palace. 

We made it back to the car with a little over an hour to spare on the timed parking.  Their parking system is cool as can be.  You have to provide them with your license plate and phone number, when it gets close to the end, the system will text you that it will expire in 15 minutes.  You have the option then to extend the parking and pay online.  

On the way back to the condo, L wanted to go see if a local Farmer's market was still open.  It was closed, but we did see a little roadside vendor selling fruits.  We stopped in and L bought some apple bananas.  They are smaller than regular bananas, but L seems to recall that's what bananas tasted like when we were youngen's.  C found time to slide off and take some photos of the area. 

Goodnight Kona.  Mahalo for another fun day.