Spring Break

There comes a time in every midwesterner's idyllic trip to avoid the cold of January through March when it happens - Spring break. Those college kids have told mom and dad that they have been slaving away for months now and deserve the opportunity to find a place to have some fun in the sun. It is time for somewhere with sand and water and others their own age wanting to escape as well.

I noticed them down on the rocks just the other day. This is where the surfers come to launch themselves out into the ocean. No one had a board. No one had a tan. Young and paste white visitors have invaded. 

I have to admit that they have been well behaved so far. No wild parties. No beer cans were thrown about on my front lawn. I guess it really isn't my lawn, but I still like it green and clean of trash. This seems to be a very subdued bunch. It could be they just arrived and are trying to shake off the effects of the long flight. A quick look at the water and then maybe a nap. Not likely.

I do kind of miss college students though. Too many grey hairs here until recently. A mix of folks always works best. If I can't do crazy things myself, I can still watch and remember. While I may think "get off my grass", I can still direct you to the beach. Use sunscreen, but only that kind that doesn't damage the coral. 

Welcome to paradise.

Where are you from?

A friend I used to work with saw a sunset picture I recently posted to Facebook and knowing we had been in Hawaii for some time asked if we had moved here. I guess it struck me as a little strange as people take winter trips from the midwest all of the time and I am guessing few are asked if they moved to Arizona or Florida. I did not think much more about the question.

The morning Cindy and I walked to Green Flash Coffee for our usual latte and the barista asked me if we lived here. Now, this was getting weird. I don't even wear Hawaiian shirts or flip flops. I said someone else had just asked me the same thing and why did she wonder. She said she knew I came in a lot and she knew I always ordered a latte. I said that no I did not live on the island but I had been here a couple of months and yes I did come in a lot. She said she charged Cindy and me the "locals" rate. I said thanks. I told Cindy I wanted to tell this story and get a picture with her, but Cindy thought she might get in trouble. 

There is a thing on the islands of charging visitors and locals different rates. The guide on a tour we took last year explained this and suggested we tell proprietors we were some Hawaiian name I could not pronounce. I thought it was a joke at the time because it would pretty obvious if I tried to make the claim that I would be unable to speak the word.

I made the effort to search for the word today and it is Kama'aina. It does not mean the same as a person of Hawaiian descent, but rather refers to a resident. Searching for this word I also learned that charging residents and nonresidents different amounts is regarded as controversial by many who argue it is a way to rip off the tourist. The typical logic seems to be that people from Iowa are not charged higher fees when they visit Minnesota, so why should it be different when they visit Hawaii. I can see a certain logic here, but I have always thought Iowans should probably be charged more elsewhere. Why does Iowa have more influence on our national election of the president anyway? Life isn't always fair.

The best counter-argument I saw noted that seniors were often given a price break at various businesses so you can obviously create a policy that favors a certain group of people and get away with it. I also read that one reason Hawaii started doing this was to attract back sons and daughters who attended college on the mainland.

One more thought - I bet Costco doesn't give the Kama'aina a break and it looks like most of them go there anyway. 

Sunset

I can take a sunset picture most every night. So, I am becoming far more selective when I think I have captured something unique. This one is unique - a panorama. No skill folks. Just being in the right place at the right time.

[Double click the photo to get the full impact]

Prancing Pixies

Margaret wanted to see Hula dancers so we located a youth dance troupe providing a demonstration at a mall venue. Grandparents and parents with daughters and sometimes sons know the yearly dance routine. I remember it as each group having three dances - ballet, jazz, and tap. There were always some solo dances by some of the senior dancers. I remember there being a different costume for each performance and the entire event lasting far longer than I would have preferred. The length was a matter of efficiency - one event in a very nice theater so it took some time. Many of the youngest dancers were stage-struck and just stared at the audience. Everyone received flower bouquets.

The Hawaii event was all hula all of the time. The songs were provided by a woman I assume was the leader of this troupe and all in traditional Hawaiian accompanied by a ukelele or an Ipu (a gourd drum). I must say the dancers were very skilled and their group performances were perfectly coordinated. The singer/narrator offered some cultural information as the event unfolded.

There seem to be lots of people arriving this weekend. It must be the beginning of Spring break.

Take a shot

We have been here long enough and had enough visitors that we have exhausted a large proportion of the attractions within a reasonable driving distance. We have begun repeating ourselves. We visited Greenwell Farms again today. It was a great tour (free) and I learned some new things.

This is our tour guide. He was a 26-year English teacher and also was responsible for programs to provide troubled youth with opportunities to work on coffee farms. I think you can tell that he has experience in education from his way of sharing his knowledge.

Some new things I learned.

The Kona coffee is labeled for the region in which it is grown. I had wondered about this because I know that there are two basic kinds of coffee - arabica and robusta - and that nearly all the coffee we drink is arabica. I was not sure if there were different kinds of arabica as there are different kinds of apples and tomatoes. Kona coffee is grown within the Kona coffee zone which is different from the Kona region (I think of this as a county). I never did determine if you were allowed to call coffee grown outside the official coffee zone as Kona coffee. I don't think so.

I thought I understood what peaberry coffee was (the coffee cherry has one rather than two beans) and answered the guides question like one of those obnoxious kids who not only raises his hands but repeats "I know, I know". It is more than just one bean in a cherry. The shape of the bean is rounded by the shape of the cherry and this can influence how roasting influences the bean. The peaberry beans were originally discarded as deformed, but it was discovered that they have a unique and pleasing taste so peaberry beans are now sold at a higher price.

The outside part of the coffee cherry is removed and was discarded and typically composted. Someone learned that this pulp had desirable properties (antioxidants and such) and the extract from this pulp is now sold as part of a health drink.

The coffee in Kona grows on very small farms and is hand-picked. There are advantages in hand picking. I remember the guides on the huge coffee farm we visited in Kauai said they produced one pound of coffee from each plant. The Kauai plants were also larger. On Kona, they get 1.5 pounds per plant. If you pick the beans by machine, you get all of the beans in one pass and they are in various stages of maturity. You must discard the fruit that is not ripe. Evidently, the immature cherries float. However, some of the beans in intermediate stages of maturity are still processed and this influences the flavor. Kona beans are more consistent because they are picked when they are ripe and the picking continues over an extended period of time getting most of the beans from any given plant.

The hand picking and the small growing area means there is little Kona coffee available. The quantity in combination with the taste makes Kona coffee more expensive than the coffee most folks regularly drink.

Our guide did not over promote Kona coffee. He says people should drink what tastes good to them. Comparing coffee to beer, he suggested that we used to drink generic beer, but greater interest in differences among beers and even globalization which increases our awareness (of coffee) has created interest and people begin to find there are differences and they prefer some over others.

Oh ya - the take a shot comment. He asked whether any of the group were sensitive to caffeine and found they could not sleep if they drank coffee in the afternoon. He suggested such coffee drinkers try drinking a shot of espresso in place of a cup of coffee later in the day. He explained that it is not the lower caffeine of darker coffees that was the basis for this technique, but the lower amount of liquid and the quick ingestion. The caffeine from a shot hits your system faster, but also lingers for a shorter amount of time. Sounds good to me.