Hawai’i Pt. 2 // Kailua-Kona

Although we made sure to fill our short time doing and seeing something different each day we were in Hawai’i, we diligently kept ending up at the Kailua Village Farmer’s Market like our lives depended on it. It wasn’t just the tropical fruit that eagerly hurried our little tastebuds over, but also the amazing trinkets and treasures that were found around every corner of that humble and humid tarp covered market community. It was a personal favorite of mine, mostly because of the $2 pineapple I’d get to enjoy while wandering about and treasure hunting, but also because I’m a product of my garage-sale-lovin’ Mama and it’s just about physically impossible for me to say “no” to a good bargain.

One night, after our daily farmer’s market excursion, we wandered about Kailua Village and happened upon a Hula competition taking place at Hulihe'e Palace, a historic vacation home of Hawaiian royalty. We stayed long enough to see one lovely hula, however most of the competition involved a whole lot of talking and joke telling and not so much dancing. Reminiscent of one of our family reunions (it’s an islander thing), our ocean loving bones were aching to get up and explore more of the historic village, so we ditched out early and had ourselves an adventure. Shelby fished for pearls (the kind you have to pay $15 for), we filled our bellies with delectable New Zealand cuisine (Kia Ora!), hit up just about every ABC Market on every block (because you really CAN get Anything But Clothing there!) and finished our night off with fresh Kona coffee and toasted coconut macadamia nut ice cream, and let me tell you, there really isn’t anything better than Kona coffee and toasted coconut ice cream together on the beaches of Hawai’i. I’ll bet my money on that.