Grand Circle Island Tour (Part 3)

May 14, 2012

So we stopped and ate lunch and I was flabbergasted at the size of the lunch service. This is the Lomi Lomi chicken plate. It comes with a HALF a chicken that has been marinated overnight, then rubbed with seasonings, cooked over an open wood fire, then served. It was DELICIOUS!!! This is served with a HUGE scoop of rice, then macaroni salad or tossed salad (I went with tossed salad). I had the house dressing which was a variety of a ginger dressing. Oh, and pineapple wedges of course! Super yummy.

Next we saw the Mormon Temple. It is ENORMOUS. We didn't stop but did pause to take pictures from inside the motorcoach. The temple has a huge esplanade type thing leading to it.

Next was Sandy Beach. There was a guy there dresses as a historical Hawai'an warrior (a high level leader due to the helmet). He was doing this to raise money for the local school. So I took a picture then had my picture taken with him. Then more pics of the beach.

I added this as my nod to the fact that there is more scenery to look at than geography on the beaches.

The final stop was past the Pineapple fields and to the Dole gift shops. I took a few pictures just to show some of the differences from what we find at home. Pineapple strudel, pineapple coconut turnovers, and pineapple macadamia nut upside down cake!

I didn't get those sweets but I DID get some fresh macadamia nuts and Kona coffee from Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Outlet. This is a little family run place that has grown and is AWESOME. They are so nice. They give samples of everything. I got the Cinnamon glazed nuts and the Maui onion and garlic nuts. DELICIOUS. I also picked up 2 bags of the Kona Macadamia nut coffee. This is 100% pure Kona coffee, which is roasted in macadamia nut oil when it is roasted. It doesn't taste like macadamias really, just really mellow and delicious. They had samples of it also, which was uber delicious. They said they ship for free, with just a $7.00 handling fee (MUCH cheaper than shipping, I checked). So buy some and try it. Seriously. I have rarely had anything so good.

The motorcoach dropped me back in Waikiki and I walked home. Over 5 miles again today. I got home, showered, and sat down to blog. I hope you all are enjoying sharing this experience even a fraction of my enjoyment over doing it. My poor feet have many blisters, but every one is worth it! As a side note I found out on the tour that the Hawaiian alphabet only had 12 letters. There are 5 vowels: a, e, i, o, and u. And 7 consonants: h, k, l, m, n, p, and w.

So that was it for today. Now for bed. I have to get up super early to do an extra special adventure tomorrow. I am so excited, I can hardly wait!!!!!

Aloha nui loa, (Much love, fondest regards)
~Melissa