We took an early flight home. Things went smoothly at Kona Airport. It is small and they don’t have a lot of traffic leaving at 6:25 AM. We needed to route through Honolulu (I won’t bore you with the reasons why) but the plane we were taking brought passengers to Kona. Surprisingly they had what looked like a full flight arriving in Kona at about 5:45 AM. Most of the passengers looked like workers rather than travelers. A tip for you if you fly through Kona (and possibly other Hawaiian airports) be cautious at the agricultural inspection. The inspection was a breeze but they tagged our luggage with tape that has been virtually impossible to remove without leaving a sticky residual on our luggage handles. We just bought this luggage and it is very annoying that we now have handles that will remind us of Hawaii whenever we travel. Possibly if you get a reasonable agent they can apply it to your luggage tags instead.
As usual I will end this blog series with some photos I found of interest.
Hertz asking you not to soak their keys. I guess it is tough on the battery.Interesting privacy tag. You can watch TED talks on the room television.Warning not to jump off the 442 foot Akaka Falls. I saw this just as I was about to change into my bathing suit. Looks like Kona Joe is a bit behind the times (dated July 24, 2008) when it comes to minimum wage. This was their posted sign keeping in line with labor law requirements.I had a staring contest with these guys.
It is good to be back home as always. Patrice is off to her choir meeting and I am going to get ready for going to work tomorrow. Work? Ugh, I need a vacation.
Followers of this blog know that I have often had doubts about Patrice’s suggestions for activities on our vacations but in the end I have a fantastic time. Today was another example. Patrice signed us up for an around the Big Island tour. We needed to get to the lobby at 7 AM for an 11 hour excursion via Kailani Tours [(808) 938-4057]. Lucky for us most of the group were staying at our hotel so we only had to make one other stop before we were on our way.
We had a great time with stops at Kona Joe’s Coffee Farm; Punalu’u Black Sand Beach; Hawaii Volcanoes National Park; Rainbow Falls; and Akaka Falls. The sights were great and our tour guide was spectacular. If you decide to take this tour try to get Mike as your guide. Other guides might be just as good, but it is hard to imagine anyone being better,
Naalehu; not part of the tour but Mike stopped to give us a great view of the ocean.Patrice and I at NaalehuAt Punalu’u Black Sand Beach.Our tour group. Can you even see us?Rainbow FallsThe rainbow at Rainbow Falls.Patrice and I holding hands at Akaka Falls. Aren’t we cute? Don’t you just want to pinch us?Beautiful but unknown plant seen at Akaka Falls. Can anyone out there tell me what this is?
We got back to the hotel at about 6:15 pm just in time for DINNER! Speaking of dinner, last night after dinner we decided to go see the Tom Hanks movie about Mr. Rogers, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”. It was excellent but much to my surprise (and Patrice’s) I didn’t cry. Am I getting hardened in my old age?
We head for home tomorrow. Patrice is not looking forward to that because as she put it, “Robert you are so much fun on vacation”. I guess that settles it, we will need to go on more vacations.
The conference finished today after a half day event. I don’t want to pat myself on the back too much (who am I kidding, yes I do) but I started off with another 3 mile run before starting the academic symposium. The final lectures were very poorly attended. Supposedly 90 people signed up for the conference but there couldn’t have been more than 20 in the audience today and at least 6 of those people were faculty members. They had one individual attend today who I am sure was not registered. I took a picture of the bandit attendee, see below.
At least he could have been looking at the speaker instead of at the “chick” behind him (stop groaning, it wasn’t that lame of a joke).
After the class we headed out to explore the island. Just a little north of the hotel we stopped for lunch at Bamboo Restaurant and Gallery (55-3415 Akoni Pule Hwy, Hawi, HI 96719). Sorry no pictures but we both enjoyed the catch of the day (Ono). Patrice had it as part of a stir fry and mine was on top of a Caesar Salad. Both were excellent and we would recommend you dine there if in the area. After that we headed to see the statue of King Kamehameha. This is not the one that you see on ads and during the opening credits of “Hawaii Five O” but it was created by the same sculptor (Thomas Ridgeway Gould). This one, I was told, is located near the birthplace of the king.
The king welcoming Robert and Patrice to his birthplace.
We also found some interesting visitors to the King’s statue. See below.
A gecko paying homage to the King.
We then headed to a viewpoint, recommended by the hotel concierge, called Pololu Valley Lookout. On arrival we were amazed how many cars were parked along the street. When we approached the path we were greeted by a plethora of signs warning of the danger of the pathway: “Warning, Falling Rocks”; “Warning, Hazardous Cliff”; “Warning, Flash Flood”; “Warning, Dangerous Shorebreak”; “Warning, Strong Current”. All they had to say was “You might not want to do this”. If the signs weren’t discouraging enough we took a gander at the trail and saw this.
Do you agree that this is no place for a 70 year old wearing sandals?
So of course we headed down the trail. It was hot and neither of us were encouraged by those going in the opposite direction so we stopped a little over halfway down and got this picture
Pololu Valley LookoutThen we got this picture with the help of a fellow traveler.
We then headed inland from Pololu Valley and climbed to about 3,500 feet. The scenery was lovely but the opportunities to stop were limited. We were on a rather busy two lane highway with a narrow shoulder. Sorry, but I wasn’t prepared to risk my life for my followers.
We saw something very curious from the highway, a herd of black cows, each one having its own group of pals which were white birds. I can’t tell you much more but look for yourself.
Are those ducks hanging out with the cow? There were plenty others as well.
I’d love to share more but it’s time for my favorite travel activity………… DINNER.
Day 2 of the conference was much better. One of the lectures was on “Psychological States and Heart Failure Health”. Apparently if you write in a journal daily it lowers your cardiac risk. So my blog is helping me live longer! Having gratitude is also supposedly helpful, so thank you to everyone that reads the blog and makes comments. I need to focus on the good things in life so I can maintain good cardiac health. This is not always easy for me, but let’s give it a try right now by reviewing my day.
Okay, I got up early and ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill. Thats a good start, no? It was raining, hmmmmm. Oops, that is a negative thought. I need to find a positive spin. I have it: rain in Hawaii is a great opportunity to see a rainbow. But the sun wasn’t up yet, so no rainbow. Robert STOP THOSE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS! Heh, I think I can do this I just need to try harder. The conference was running late again (Oh no! Negative thoughts!) but they cut out a session that seemed like it would have been very boring so we are back on schedule (Whew, good save!). Patrice came to visit me during the break (feeling good). I received text messages from Lindsay and Erica during the meeting. Don’t stop me, I am on a roll and feeling my heart just swelling with joy. Heart swelling doesn’t sound good. How about this instead; my heart is warmed with love. Morning session over. Time to meet Patrice for LUNCH.
Quick lunch at the Island Gourmet Market followed by a leisurely exploration of the area with my wife. Feeling great, this heart health thing is a snap. Time to return to the conference. I learned lots of great pearls to take home to my patients. My heart is getting healthier with every key stroke. And look what Patrice found while I was at the conference.
Not just one rainbow but two.
After the conference Patrice asked how the conference went today and how was I doing. See our conversation below.
Oh yes, Cardiology, I knew it was a conference about some medical topic. The conference has had is ups and downs. I have learned some valuable lessons that I plan to bring home to my patients. Unfortunately some of the lectures have been less than inspiring. The conference staff has asked attendees to shut off their cell phones or place them on silent out of respect to the speakers. Today two people in the audience had their cells phones go off during a couple of the talks. Those two individuals were the program co-directors. Oops!
Followers of this blog are well aware that my entries always supply lots of pictures and verbiage about food (today will not be an exception). Many ask me how I manage to stay relatively thin. First of all I exercise on a regular basis. For example this morning I was running on the hotel treadmill at 5 AM. Also, we don’t eat like this when we are at home. In fact my home meals are totally dictated by Patrice. If she is not home I don’t eat. On our trips she is also responsible for feeding the beast. When the morning lectures were coming to a close I alerted her by text, “Morning almost over, please prepare for lunch”.
When I arrived at the room Patrice told me that the nearby Lava Lava Beach Club (69-1081 Ku’uali’i Pl, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738) was walking distance and highly recommended. We took a circuitous route but finally found it in a lovely setting (seems like you can’t find anything here that isn’t beautiful), We had a wonderful meal (sorry, no pictures. I was too hungry to think of taking pictures) but there were lots of bugs that we had to fight for our food. As soon as any plate was cleared we asked the staff to remove it so as to limit the bug’s feeding frenzy. It was like the flies we encountered in Australia’s Outback. No that is an overstatement. Nothing compares to the Outback in Australia (and explains why it is the rare Aussie who has visited that area of the country).
Tonight we had a lovely dinner at Pueo’s Osteria (68-1845 Waikoloa Rd, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738) with Patrice’s friend, Robbie and her husband, Jim who moved here recently from Southern California. Robbie says she loves it here but misses Handel’s ice cream from Torrance. I told her we would have brought her some if we had known. Sorry, no pictures of our dinners. But how about a look at a couple of desserts?
Jim and Robbie shared the cannoli.Patrice’s Chocolate Hazelnut Torte.
Enough for now, I need to get to bed. My 5 AM treadmill appointment will be here soon.
We escaped Los Angeles on what started out as a very rainy morning. I don’t know what happened later in the day because we were aboard an American Airlines flight to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. I will be attending a medical conference in order to keep up to date with the latest medical information. I know what you are thinking, “Robert is going on a vacation at taxpayer’s expense”. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am very interested in the topics to be discussed this week and that is why I decided to attend. This conference is about…… wait I need to check. I know it is some sort of medical topic, so let’s leave it at that. I will find out tomorrow.
I would like to tell you that the flight to Kona was delightful but unfortunately it wasn’t. We had a lot of turbulence. I kept on grabbing Patrice’s hand because I was so scared. Sorry, I am a big flying baby and that is the painful truth. The only thing worse than the turbulence were the two movies I watched. I saw two films I had never heard of (that should have been a clue). One was called “Bottom of the 9th”. I won’t even bother to discuss it. The other had Alec Baldwin, Selma Hayek and a bunch of other very good actors. It was a comedy titled “Broke Parents” and it was AWFUL.
Upon arrival to Kona it was clear we were not at LAX. The airport is tiny and signage very poor. Luckily staff were great. I found a security guard who was very helpful in directing us to baggage claim and the rental car shuttles. Security guard friendly and helpful? Yes, we were not at LAX. The weather was a major change from LA. It wasn’t raining or cold but it was very humid and hot.
It was a 25 minute drive from the airport to our hotel. We are staying at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa (69-275 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa Beach, HI 96738). The staff members are very friendly and accommodating but the wait to check in was awful. A sweet young lady offered us an Aloha greeting and placed a puka shell necklace around each of our necks. It was a kind gesture but I would have appreciated her using her time to check people into the hotel instead.
After resting up we headed out for dinner. We ate at Napua at Mauna Lani Beach club (68-1292 S Kaniku Dr, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738). The restaurant was recommended by one of Patrice’s friends who recently relocated from Redondo Beach to the Big Island of Hawaii. We had a wonderful time at the restaurant. Service was excellent . The surroundings were beautiful (lush vegetation with a calm ocean bay just footsteps from our table) and the food was superb.
Restaurant employee lighting lanterns close to our table.We shared the calamari appetizer.
Patrice here. “We shared the calamari appetizer”? Robert and I each had one piece then I looked up as Robert was finished the last serving. That is his idea of sharing.
Patrice’s BBQ ribs.
Patrice had BBQ ribs as you can see above. I love this woman but doesn’t she realize this is Hawaii, not Memphis in May? If you don’t know about Memphis in May I feel bad for you but please click the category named Memphis on the right side of this blog and you will get your full of the MIM celebration.
Caesar Salad with Shrimp.
I had the Caesar Salad with Shrimp shown above. It was spectacular. Patrice loves shrimp and I knew I had to offer her one. Luckily she declined. Enough about food. I need to get ready for tomorrow’s conference. I have to find out where and when the conference will be. I probably should also look to see what it is about.
Today we felt obligated to workout again since clearly we have not slowed our eating at all. So with this tremendous urge to exercise upon us we rested until it passed. Then we set out for lunch at the Brookyn Diner (155 W 43rd St, New York, NY 10036). The diner is know for its excellent (but overpriced) food. Then we took a short walk to look at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree which was delivered yesterday and is getting readied for the tree lighting ceremony on December 4th.
We were told that the tree came from Florida which was a surprise to me. Another source said it came from Orange County. That too seemed hard to believe. I later learned that both statements were correct. The tree started its journey 58 miles north of New York city in a place called Florida, Orange County, New York,
The 77 foot tall Rockefeller Center Christmas tree being installed at its final resting place.
A little further down the road we saw this sign that to me said, “Californians Go Home”.
“Californians go home !” sign. This is nothing, temperature will dip to 28 degrees.
We then headed to see the show Hadestown, winner of 8 Tony Awards. The show was excellent. Music, story, staging, and choreography were all a treat. At the end of Act I there was show-stopper song entitled “Why We Build the Wall” which was sung by the character Hades. In case you are not up on your Greek mythology, Hades was King of the Underground.
The lyrics went like this:
Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free. That’s why we build the wall. How does the wall keep us free? The wall keeps out the enemy. Who do we call the enemy? The enemy is poverty.
I wonder if the lyricist was thinking of any other wall builder when she wrote the song that was sung by the King of Hell?
After a rest at the hotel we were on our way back to Broadway. We saw a delightful musical comedy called “Tootsie”. It is based on the movie of the same name. It was funny and enjoyable. The only sad part of the show was that its conclusion marked the end of our trip. I am not sure if I will have time to post tomorrow or if I will have anything worth talking about (Did I hear someone ask, “Does he ever have anything worth talking about?”). I hope to talk to you soon.
This morning we thought about working out but didn’t. Instead we went for breakfast at an excellent restaurant inside the hotel, The Lamb’s Club. Somehow they also knew about Patrice’s birthday and gave us a little treat.
How sweet.
Our hotel is fantastic (The Chatwal, 130 West 44th Street). This is our first time staying here. It is a Marriott property but only has 72 rooms. A number of the staff have called me by my name. That means either they are incredibly nice and attentive to details or know me because I have been such a pain they couldn’t forget my name if they tried. Or maybe they are blog followers? There are all sorts of nice things about the service,
In the evening this service tray was on our bed when we returned to the room,I left these cables on the desk and at night they wrapped them for us into this neat coil.
After breakfast, Patrice convinced me to work out against my better judgement. I ran (that is a euphemism for what was more like a jog) for 3 miles. As I left the gym the attendant asked if I needed anything. I am not sure if she meant some sort of toiletries or a paramedic. I gratefully said no and returned to the room for a nap.
Dinner was at Sardi’s (234 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036) a traditional Broadway restaurant. The meal was good but not nearly as special as The Modern or Gramercy Tavern. The best part was the location, just 2 blocks from our hotel and across the street from the Shubert Theater where we saw Ed Harris in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The play was very well performed and the message remains true. But of course it is a very depressing story. I enjoyed it a lot more when I read it in high school than I did tonight. Plus it was a bit cold outside. It was 33 degrees when we were walking back to the hotel. The wind made it feel even colder reminding us of Iceland. We are Californians and we don’t do well in the cold. See below.
Does this look like a person ready to deal with the cold?
Today is Patrice’s birthday. What a wonderful idea to enjoy your birthday in the “Big Apple”. Well, not quite. Today we spent the entire day in an office with a bunch of researchers much smarter than me (I know that isn’t saying much) discussing proposals for funding of inflammatory bowel disease research. Patrice and I act as Stakeholders for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. As such we review applications for funding by the Foundation and voice our opinions about which studies should be approved. At the meeting we sit amongst a bunch of researchers who discuss very technical proposals and we try to understand what is being said. The experience for me is like watching Spanish television. I understand a word or two but the meaning often escapes me. Needless to say, this is not how you would probably plan to spend your birthday. But it is incredibly rewarding to feel like we are helping the cause that means so much to us.
After the meeting I wanted to go to the hotel gym and work out. But I didn’t.
Instead we did a bit of chilling in the room until heading out for a birthday dinner celebration at Gramercy Tavern (42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003). This place was recommended to us by one of the managers at The Modern where we dined two nights earlier. Apparently one of their former employees is the general manager at Gramercy Tavern. Both restaurants have the same owner.
Patrice has said that The Modern is her favorite restaurant. Well Gramercy Tavern is right up there too. This restaurant has had a Michelin star rating for the past 11 years (The Modern has two Michelin stars). The food was incredible as was the service. It was not just food but rather an experience.
They started us off with Roasted Cauliflower with whipped Ricotta Cheese to “Wake up your palette”Next we had “Whole Wheat Angel Rolls with Goat Cheese Butter”
Those first two items were just add ons. Next we had the first thing we actually ordered and that was:
Ruby Red Shrimp
I can’t begin to tell you how luscious this was. The shrimp were perfectly prepared. The sauce is making my mouth water as I write this sentence. The only thing that kept me from licking the plate clean were these magic words from Patrice, “If you do that, I swear, I will walk out of the restaurant and not look back for one second”. Yes, that stopped me but I would be lying if I didn’t say II did mull over my options.
Then they brought out our main course selections:
Patrice ordered: “Winter Skate with Butterball Potatoes and Almond Butter Sauce”
I never heard of Skate (fish that is) so I looked it up. It looks very much like a stingray. Not very appetizing looking but her dish was spectacular. I ordered:
Striped Bass with Cauliflower Puree Sauce
This dish tasted even better than it looked. The sauce was a bit spicy but I loved it.
The staff knew it was Patrice’s birthday so they personalized her dessert.
Apple Upside Down Cake with a personalized messageI ordered “Chocolate Hazelnut Custard”
As a present they brought us:
Chocolate Pudding Cake
And just in case we didn’t have enough sugar they brought us a couple of candies.
Peach and Amaretto on the left; Pear and Clove on the right,.
We paid the bill and had to get out before we developed diabetes. But they were not done,
Chocolate Banana Amaretto Cake as a to go gift for breakfast in the morning.
This morning our guilt from last night’s never-ending meal at The Modern, was a tremendous burden so we got up early (about 11 AM) and went to the gym for a work out. After that we headed out for some food of course. Patrice found a place called “Friedman’s Kitchen and Bar” (233 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019) which was on the way from our hotel to the Museum of Modern Art (our destination for today). I was in the mood for a good New York deli, so I was all in favor.
The place looked good and the staff was friendly but I have to admit I was a bit confused by the menu which featured Grilled Fish Tacos, Chicken Tostada Bowl, and Chicken Banh Mi. I asked our hostess if the restaurant was named after the owner (“No, his name is Mr. Phillips”). She explained that the restaurant was named after Milton Friedman, the famous economist. Now I was really confused, I inquired if Milton Friedman was a gourmet among his other more notable talents. She said she didn’t know about that but she said he was known for the phrase, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. Now it all made sense and my hopes for a Senior Discount was quickly forgotten. We got to meet the owner, Mr. Phillips, who, like his staff was a very friendly young man. The food was good and like I said the staff was great.
Our server, Matthew, Patrice, and Hostess, Jess.
After lunch we headed to MOMA. The museum recently reopened after being closed for 4 months as part of a $450 million renovation. The place looks fantastic. The design is very contemporary (hmmm, who would have guessed that?) and the layout is very user friendly. The exhibits are on 6 floors (there is a gift shop and theaters on a lower floor below the street level entrance) that are all very easy to access and laid out in a circular design letting you see all the exhibits without missing anything.
We got to see Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory”, and Warhol’s “Campbell Soup Cans”. You can also see all three of those masterpieces in our home. Of course the ones in our home are a little less valuable than the originals at MOMA. The one exception in the Campbell Soup Can in our house which is a needlepoint made by my sister, Annette, and given to me as a gift.
Starry Night by Van GoghDali’s “Persistence of Memory”Campbell’s Soup Can by Andy Warhol (I like mine better).
There were some things in MOMA that left me a little befuddled regarding their art value.
Is a man’s hairy armpit art?What about a leg sticking out of the wall?I think these two clocks were entitled, “A Waste of Time”.
We were just about to leave MOMA when Patrice and I got into a big fight. I found two things on exhibit that she made me throw out recently. Just think what we could do with the money we could have had from selling these two treasures (see below).
I knew my note pad had value.“Pine Cone” An obvious treasure but not recognized by my wife.
I am sure you have had enough of my whining and complaining for one day. After all, it’s time for DINNER.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 