More trip stuff

OK, Part 2.    Here is a little more about the particulars of the trip.

Eating was an experience during my stay. We didn't eat out often because of financial constraints, but we ate well!!  One dining out experience was while we were on the run one day, and Dell pulled into a casual restaurant. We had fish sandwiches made on Portuguese bread. They were wonderful! Portuguese bread is similar to a bread we can buy here on the Mainland called "King's Hawai'ian Bread." When the Portuguese came to Hawai'i in the 1800s, particularly in the last half of that century to work the sugar cane fields, they brought with them their wonderful breads that were adopted by the locals. Those breads are a little less sweet and are firmer like a homemade bread, rather than the cake-like qualities of the one we buy here. It is delicious.  It was a fabulous complement to the fish in the sandwich, and we used some of that type from a loaf at the house to make French toast. Yum!

Another time was a stop at Café Pesto at Kawaihae Harbor. The food was a.m.a.z.i.n.g! And it wasn't expensive. We had an appetizer of calamari. These were the biggest chunks of calamari I've ever seen! I seriously forgot what we'd ordered when they came to the table, as they looked like cheese sticks! They were as big as my thumb and twice as long! I immediately thought, "Oh no, it's gonna be tough and rubbery," but absolutely not.

 "Coconut Crusted Calamari
 Set on a slaw of arugula, won bok and pickled ginger, accented with
 a honey mustard-mango dipping sauce"

OMG! It was scrumptious! In addtion to that, we had a small pizza that was excellent, too, but that calamari was unbelievable!

The third dining experience was a lunch in Waimea. We'd been out shopping and sight-seeing and realized it was nearly 2:00 and we were hungry. We didn't want to wait to get home, so we stopped in a pizza place. Everything there was handmade at the time of the order, so it took a while to be served, but it was yummy. We split a calzone with Italian sausage, artichokes and olives and a pizza of artichokes, olives, spinach and other veggies. Soooo good!

When we were out, I always enjoyed the various teas that were available. I was relieved that they don't sweeten their teas, because I don't care for sweetening in a cold tea at all and only occasionally in a hot tea. Sorry, you folks from the South, but that's me! I'm afraid I'll never be a sweet tea person! In the Islands, however, they often add fresh squeezed juice from various fruits, mango, passionfruit, etc., and they are fabulous! The juices give a bit of sweetness, but it's not  sugary, and the fruit flavor is very good. I really liked them. It was interesting to notice that the fresh juices make the tea cloudy and often you found small bits of pulp in the drink. Mmmmm!

We both cooked part of the time at the house. Dell usually fixed breakfast, mostly because he gets hungry earlier than I do. Here at home, I get up and have a couple cups of coffee or tea and after an hour or more, I'll fix something to eat. Breakfast fare was pretty common, probably things you make, too. We bought some veggie patties at Costco, and he fixed those for breakfast several mornings with an egg and toast. He often made that dish that everyone does but it is called a dozen different names. A piece of toast with a hole cut out in the center, an egg cooked in that hole and the cut out piece on top like a hat. Some days we had oatmeal or cream of rice, etc. And always a cup of ginger tea with honey! Delicious! Later in the day we frequently had a glass of ginger tea over ice. It's good either way, and we kept a pan on the stove with fresh ginger tea every day.

Dell's eating habits are similar to mine. When he is hungry, he just begins throwing things together and then either gobble it up or choke down the result! It's almost always the former! We bought a huge jar of kalamata olives and one of marinated artichokes, and we used those in dishes every day. A slice of Italian bread, toasted with olive oil and garlic in a skillet, then topped with shredded chicken, olives, artichokes, chopped tomatoes, green onions and some feta cheese .... OMG! What a great lunch! My mouth is watering right now!! A pasta with shrimp, olives, artichokes, garlic, onions with a hard bread to dip in olive oil .... drool! Shrimp and pasta with Thai spices and the kitchen sink thrown in .... yummmmmm! We ate well, casually, and I enjoyed it every single bit. Or should that be every single bite? Whatever, it was good!

Sometimes while we were cooking or washing dishes after a meal, Dell would surprise me as we met in the middle of the kitchen, and he would put his arms around me, begin singing or humming and dance me around a few minutes before resuming our work!  What fun! I loved the spontaneity of it all. One afternoon we were on the deck and he took my hand and said, "Come on." He lead me, barefooted, through grass, wet after an earlier rain, and we just walked and looked at various plants, flower and fruits for a few minutes. I'm not used to a man being so uninhibited and willing to do something just off the cuff. What a wonderful delight that was! It reminded me of what my daddy used to do at times when we would be driving down the road and Dell would suddenly swerve to the shoulder to show me something or to get out and take a shout walk to see something. Daddy used to do that, always willing to stop for every historical marker or to see the biggest ball of string in the world. I loved that and I loved the reliving of that with Dell.

Dell's life is very simple. I've mentioned that he owns only two blankets. That's all he needs. Well, most of the time. He has three plates and a couple shallow pie plates that could serve as plates if he needed them. Four cups. A small sauce pan, a larger one and a skillet (I suggested to him that one more sauce pan and a small skillet would have helped a couple times, so he is going to look into those). Three or four glasses. Two wine glasses (although we bought four more at the thrift shop as he realized when we had another friend over for wine that he needed more). If he doesn't need it, he doesn't have it! I enjoyed the uncomplicated living, well, except for the few times that another pan or glass would have been helpful. But outside those times, the lack of foofarah was a welcome change.

On the plane on the way home I sat next to a delightful lady between Honolulu and Los Angeles. It was the long leg of the trip, a five hour flight, so being next to someone who doesn't repulse you is a bonus! She seemed very nice, an older woman with an accent, although at first she said little and I wasn't sure what accent it was. In the first hour she dug around in her purse off and on, elbowing me lightly a couple times, and I was beginning to think, "Oh no, she's gonna rattle and rumble in her purse the whole way!" Then she found what she wanted and put her purse down and began reading The Watchtower and highlighting a study guide. This time I thought "OMG, she's better not start talking to me about  Jehovah's Witness stuff or I'll lose it!" She didn't. Later we talked a while and I learned she had been to Hawai'i to visit her son and his family, that she lives in LA, and that she was originally from Italy, or actually Sicily. A sweet lady.

Finally for tonight, remember the package? You know, the package of my toiltries and a few little gifts for Dell that I mailed a week before I left? The package for which we were checking the post office daily? Yeah, that package. Well.  It arrived. Wednesday. Yeah, I know. Dell opened it and took out the gifts, and he is mailing back my stuff. Woopde-doo. Keep in mind .... "parcel post" to Hawai'i goes by ship, not by plane. Jes' sayin'.

Later, gaters!