March 3, 2006 4:57 pm - Queen Mary 2 Kona Hawaii Port Call
WOW! The Queen Mary 2 showed up this morning around 6:30 am and all I can say is its AWSOME!
In the photo you'll notice it dwarfs the coast guard cutter in size.
I've been reading up on the "Queen" since I heard she was coming to port in Kona. Did you know she has a 2600 passenger capacity? Or that she's 21 stories tall? Her whistle is audible from 10 miles away? Source: Cunard line.
I hope they don't blow the whistle till there at least 5 miles away. Anyways, Eila took pictures this morning at the crack of dawn and it was slightly overcast and didn't get much better the rest of the day. So the picture is as good as it gets for the lighting available.
WAIT! STOP! HOLD THE PRESS!
As I was finishing the above paragraphs the QM2 decided to hele on out of Kona. So I busted out my camera and POW!
I got a shot of that monster passing "The World" cruise ship on her way out to sea. WOW! Unbelievable. Well not quite, I did take a picture!
In the words of Crocodile Dundee: "That's not a cruise ship, THIS IS A CRUISESHIP!"
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March 8, 2006 5:57 pm - Laundry 2 Commercial Linen Service
I didn't plan on writing a post this evening. I'm busy building more info for the rest of the site.
But while I was sitting here recuperating from a hard days work fixing cars, a van pulls up and the delivery lady for the Laundry 2 uniform service that I use comes in the shop and say's they found this in my pants pocket today and she proceeds to set on my counter a scrunched up 100.00 bill.
Gulp. I got to tell you, I wouldn't have had a clue as to where I lost the money. I offered to give the girl that found it a reward, but she wouldn't have it.
I'm just blown away... today is Wednesday, next Tuesday is my regular delivery day and the people there came right over to return my money.
I'm thinking I may start "forgetting 5 bucks in my pants" here and there till I get to the amount I
was going to give her. Maybe with a little note of appreciation. Laundry 2 their da bomb! I'm so lucky I live in Kona.
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March 11, 2006 9:56 pm - Twilight at Kalahuipua'a
The monthly "talk story" at the Mauna Lani has been going on for eight years.
Funny, you can't "hear until you can hear" and you can't "see until you can see".
Like I've said before, I've lived here almost 10 years. It wasn't till last month I ever
heard about "Twilight at Kalauipua'a. During the last week three different people I know said
they were going to the event this weekend. All the while I'm wondering where have I been?
In case your wondering what this is all about, here is small summary a friend emailed me:
Guests for each month's storytelling include kupuna and sometimes local
entertainers from the island and on occasion, from outer islands. The
purpose of this event is to perpetuate the traditional folk art of
storytelling. This would also include music and dance. The preservation of
these stories and the information shared is extremely valuable and so the
entire event is videotaped for documentation purposes with the consent of
the guest speakers.
As you can see, a lot of people came for the evening. I'm guessing about 200.
It started around 5:45 and went 'til about 8:30. There was lots of good music and hula performed. I'd like to be able to tell you who was who but we were so far in the back I could only hear the music, none of the talking before hand. I learned a few things though, bring a jacket because when the sun goes down, the temperature goes with it. Bring a flash light. There're no lights out there so walking back to your car is hard with out a flash light. Get there early or be prepared to sit in the back like we did and not be able to hear everything.
Even though we didn't have the best seats, a good time was had by all I think as evidenced here.
Twilight at Kalahuipua'a happens every month on the Saturday evening closest to the full moon. Next month I'll be better prepared now that I know what to bring. Plus I'll get there early next time.
So if you want to see some real old time Hawaii, come see for yourself next month at the Mauna Lani Hotel in front of the Eva Woods Parker Cottage.
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March 12, 2006 8:12 pm - UPDATE!
You can now subscribe to the Konafriends.com blog Wadda Scoop!
It's easy just enter your email address in the box above and you will get an email
notification when new entries are made on Konafriends.com
As I add new pages you'll get notified. It's really pretty neat the way it works.
It's free and you can cancel anytime and your email address will NOT be sold,
traded or given away.
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March 18, 2006 9:11 am - A typical Saturday in Kona
This morning I looked out the window and found this in the front yard.
This is the second day of sunny skies. Earlier in the week it was all grey and light showers. Today is pretty much a perfect
Kona day. Sunny and warm. You can look here for the current temperature Kailua Kona Weather Forcast.
Also going on today is the grand opening celebration for the Kona International Marketplace. If you've been reading my blog in the past you may recall I wrote a story
about my friend Curt and his store over there.
Curt told me they're having live music, a live radio remote, and lots of good food. I'm there just as soon as I post this...
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March 18, 2006 4:27 pm - Loco Moco
Hawaii has some recipes unique to the islands and one of them is the "Loco Moco."
Eila's brother, Richard and his wife Glenna have been visiting Kona the last week. Richard loves to eat Loco Moco's when
he's in Kona.
As a matter of fact he's become quite the connoisseur of Loco Moco's if there is such a thing.
He's had them at Don's Chinese Kitchen, L&L Drive In, Kona Mix Plate and finally at the Big Island Grill.
In case you're wondering just what is a Loco Moco, it's two scoops rice, topped by
a hamburger patty with two fried eggs on the very top smothered in gravy, and then one scoop potatoe mac salad.
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March 20, 2006 8:11 pm - Update to Air Services Hawaii page
I've been trying to get out to the airport for a while and get some pictures of
Air Services Hawaii. Finally! Check out Pictures of Air Services Hawaii
I've also added a best local food page here
Check it out for the low down on the best places to eat in Kona.
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March 24, 2006 9:53 am - Lighting Storm
The national weather service issued a thunderstorm warning at about 9:25 am this morning.
Like I didn't know. The thunder has been BOOMING the last hour.
The lightning started at Midnight last night and is flashing right now about every minute or so.
Looking out at the ocean it looked like a reverse bill fish tournament. What I mean by that is
fishing boats racing back to the harbor.
I was standing out on my lanai watching the storm approach, there was still some blue sky at about 9:15 and by 9:25 it was gone.
The clouds were moving so fast that it looked like they were going 50 mph. As I was remarking how fast the storm was approaching to my helper, the national weather service announced on the radio the storm was approaching Keauhou at 50mph. WOW!
Now it's raining hard and doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon.
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March 25, 2006 11:57 am - The rain stopped
Yesterdays thunderstorm blew through here in no time at all, by late evening the sky's had cleared.
Check out the complete outline of the island of Maui in the above photo. This photo was taken
last night on the way to the Hilton Waikoloa.
That's how clear the sky was after the storm. I've never seen the whole outline of Maui before.
Usually after it rains you can only see the top of Haleakala crater on Maui.
The reason we were going out to the Hilton was Cathy's birthday.
Cathy's husband Tim runs Air Services
It was a birthday slash going away party. Cathy's dad Tom is moving to Olympia Wa.
We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant at the Hilton. I can't remember the name of it off hand. Donatoni's or something like that.
Anyways, a good time was had by all.
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