Monday, December 29, 2008

I'm ba-aaacckkk!!

I wish I could come up with some awesome title for this post, but I am typing this late after traveling and getting stuff done all day, so sorry. Well, I am back...barely. My trip was great, but let me tell you...flying has become a ginormous pain in the ass. I almost didn't make it to Hawaii and on the way back, I almost didn't make it back to LA. Luckily, I made it both ways and my luggage only got delayed once. Remember the days when flying used to be easy and even somewhat glamorous? Yeah, me neither. Now it is just a big shit show of people waiting in long lines and going crazy having to get between terminals. That all said, I had a really good vacation even though I missed my kitchen and all of you!! Having no internet connection besides my BlackBerry made me feel really disconnected with the world. I am happy to be back and here are some pictures of my Hawaiian adventure.

So, I spent the last four days in Kona, Hawaii. The big island is really nice, but unfortunately I couldn't escape the rain that has been plaguing LA...although, this time it was warm rain. The first full day (Christmas Eve), I got doused by a rainstorm while visiting the volcano park, but we did manage to see this beautiful double rainbow before the heavens opened up on us.



Christmas day was nice and relaxing spent at a couple of beaches before the rain came.

The next day we were up early for a trip to Kealaekua Bay (which has my sis' name in it!) to kayak and snorkel. Without going into details, there was an episode of me getting out of the kayak where I resembled a beached whale. I definitely worked up an appetite that day which was great because we went to a luau that night. Here is a pic of my plate piled sky high with food. I promise there were veggies and fruit on this plate underneath all the meat. Bonus was the fire dancer being kinda hot!!



The last full day we drove the entire circumference of the island. Here's a pic of me at the (supposed) southern most point on earth and we also did another trip to the volcano, but the air quality was so bad, we didn't get to go too far in. Let me tell you, the smell was enough to keep thousands away.



We finished with an earlier dinner at Merriman's which focuses on locally grown, organic, and sustainable ingredients...just my kind of place! It was a great dinner (lamb pita and fries), before heading out to our delayed flight and nearly missing my connection to LA.


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I literally headed from the airport straight to the farmers market so I am looking forward to bringing you some great food in anticipation of the New Year's celebration. I hope you have the whole week off, but if not, I hope it is a short one and that you get to enjoy a New Year's Eve with wonderful people you love.

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15 comments:

Erica said...

Just gorgeous! I love Hawaii! Such a special and unique place! Glad you had fun!

The Blonde Duck said...

Looks like you had a great time!

Darius T. Williams said...

Wow - someone had a great time!

Loved the pics - sorry about the rain - lol.

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.com

Unknown said...

aw, too bad about the rain, but enjoyable nonetheless!!

vanillasugarblog said...

I miss the sun, seeing that one pic of you in the sun makes me crave it.
How was the coffee in Hawaii? I used to go to Hawaii all the time as a kid, but never as an adult. And everyone raves how good the coffee (if local is used) is so good.
Glad to have you back kiddo

Reeni said...

What beautiful pictures! You look so happy! I'm glad your back to cook us up some delicious dishes. I had to laugh that you went straight to the farm market!

The Food Librarian said...

Looks like you had a great time!! I love the Big Island.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Great pictures and yummy food!

Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Rosa

Diana said...

That's a bummer about the rain, but you did miss out on some COLD weather this past week! I even broke out my winter coat and scarf on a couple of those days!

Looks like you had an amazing time regardless of all the weather and flying woes. I'm glad you made it back safely! (And can't wait to see what you cook up in the new year!)

Heather said...

well welcome back! it looks like it was a blast! and that luau food looks pretty yummy :)

Tyler said...

I went to Hawaii a couple summers ago and your pictures bring back great memories! There is a lot of really great fresh food in Kona! Did you get a chance to try Kona coffee, too?

Esi said...

I've missed you guys!! Thanks for all the well wishes. The rain was kind of a bummer, but we didn't let it get in the way of having a good time.

Dawn - would you believe I only tried the coffee once? It was really good. My sister bought a bunch of it so I hope to have some the next time I am up north.

Reeni - I was so determined to go the farmers market, it was kind of hilarious, but at least I got a chance to flirt with one of the cute guys at the salad stand :)

Diana - I have heard about the insane LA weather. Luckily I came back just in time for the warmth. I can't believe how gorgeous it was today!

Heather - the luau food was so so good!! I really didn't leave enough room for dessert, but it's ok because everything was so delicious.

Kelly said...

Wow!! A double rainbow...I've never seen that!! God I miss Hawaii...looks like you enjoyed it. I miss you and am glad your back in your kitchen and cooking up goodies for me to read about...

Susan @ SGCC said...

Welcome back, Esi. How fun to spend Christmas in Hawaii! Hope you picked up some good recipes. ;)

test it comm said...

Nice photos. It looks like you had a good time.