Sunset view from our lanai
Isn't that Wilson's wife at the Harbor House?
If you don't get it, here is a hint:
Tim Allen's Tool Time Show
After our arrival, we awoke on Sunday to this
huge cruise ship sitting in the harbor -
Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas.
Turns out this was the largest cruise ship to
ever visit Kona - almost 5000 passengers!
It has a hydraulic observation platform
that rises and falls throughout the day.
(snicker, snicker)
And it departs into the sunset
at the end of the day.
And what is a trip to Kona
without an fantastic floral arrangement
from Island Orchard Florist.
Contrary to popular belief,
it's a sailboat at the end of the rainbow!
When we visit Kona, we normally see two or
three cruise ships make port here during our visit.
This time we saw four different ships
make port five times during our visit -
a new record for our cruise ship sightings!
This is the Celebrity Eclipse
which came to Kona on Monday on it's
trip between Vancouver and Honolulu.
When we visit Kona each year, we always look
for a unique activity to experience.
This year, we found three:
The Vanillerie, a small vanilla farm
on the hill above the airport.
Ola Brew Co, a brewing company
in Kona. Their mission is to encourage
growth in Hawaii's agricultural economy by
purchasing local ingredients and
incorporating them into their beers and ciders.
The third is the Kona Coffee
Living History Farm.
The Vanillerie is a vanilla farm
that was started up 14 years ago.
The owner, is developing a process for
growing organic vanilla on Kona.
The tour reveals that it is a slow
and exacting science.
The picture above shows the manual
pollination process which must be completed
in a couple of days each year to produce the bean.
This is his latest modification to grow the beans.
He no longer uses pots
and the support foundation is shorter.
This way he does not need the stilts.
The pictures above and below show
the vanilla vines and beans.
This the flower that must be manually pollinated
each year to produce the bean.
Each flower produces one bean.
The image above shows the process to
pollinate the flower using a toothpick!
Next we visited the Ola Brewery.
This is the area where the entire brewing process
to make beers and hard ciders is done.
And the cannery.
Even the cans are locally produced in Hawaii
by the Ball Corporation.
The cans are unique in that they
have three ridges at the top.
If it's Wednesday, it must be
The Pride of America!
No visit is complete without a visit
to the Coffee Shack and it's
magnificent views of Kealakekua Bay,
where the famous explorer
Captain James Cook first arrived in Hawaii.
And here is Kathleen picking coffee
beans at the Kona Coffee
Living History Farm.
On Friday, the Carnival Legend came into port.
It was going from Vancouver to Los Angeles.
And then on to Tampa for renovation.
And no trip is complete without
a visit to the
Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company
Today when we were there,
they were hand making brittle.
They first pour in on a marble table from
a large mixing vat
like the one seen in the background
They flatten it out and flip it over.
And then break it into pieces.
One of the rare times you can see
the observatories at Mauna Kea.
And on Saturday, the Celebrity Eclipse
returned to Kona on a trip from
Honolulu back to Vancouver.
Kona was ramping up by Saturday for the
Ironman Competition to be held
the following Saturday, October 12th.
And that's all folks!
Aloha!