The long march again (Saturday in Kona)

I could just take a taxi.  But NO, stubborn as I am I intend to WALK from my hotel to downtown Kona. I'm not a slow walker (au contraire) but it's still a 45 min walk, all just to pick up a rental bicycle.  But somehow the use of an internal combustion engine just to get to use a bicycle engine makes no sense to me. (Hear that, all you people strapping your bike to the back of your SUV just to ride the bike around Stanley Park or wherever?)


But the bike store doesn't open until 9:30 am, so I have time to go shopping (by car ;-( at Keauhou shopping centre  (my usual 30 min bike destination for shopping).

Right after shopping at KTA (half the expense of shopping at Safeway; a very decent bottle of Chardonnay for $3.99 ;-) I discover a farmer's market. Even with the good prices at KTA, I should have gone to the farmer's market first!  In contrast to the atrocity in East Vancouver, this one is not overrun by Yuppies or soap vendors (apologies to the soap vendor I know who is not like the other soap vendors ;-) and I end up buying a FRESH loaf of Challah ($7) and a pin cushion flower ($1).

After eating some octopus poke (Yummy, I love food with tentacles and suction cups!) for 2nd breakfast, I start walking to get a bicycle.










My walk starts at one of the best restaurants in Kona:

Nice flowers along the way

 More a tree than flowers

Neither flower nor tree, but tuna tails nailed to a tree. Their number has neither decreased nor increased during the last two years so I assume it is one of those KAPU things.

The old truck is still there but nature is starting to reclaim it ;-)

There flies Jefferey, my co-pilot and instructor of last December.

Yes, there are some nice oceanfront condominiums here!

And yes, they're rebuilding a church.

I get to the bike store and am actually astonished that it took me exactly 45 minutes.  I haven't slowed down from last year! I rent a brand-new Specialized Sirrus (The bike store names their bikes and mine is called Grumpy, a good match me thinks ;-)  


Grandma is awake when I get back, so I heat up the coffee for her that I had made for my breakfast at 7 am.  She falls back asleep on the veranda with her coffee cup still half full.

I have a nap myself and later take the bike shopping (why take a car and ruin paradise?).  I have to get more of those $3.99 bottles of Chardonnay before they're all gone!

A Specialized Sirrus. Pretty; the riding characteristics are OK but nothing to write home about.  I am the 1st to ride it though. A brand-new bike ;-)

And then the time already is approaching 6 pm and it's time for the trip down to the water's edge for sunset ;-(

I find out that they can JUMP (this one is about to JUMP over the water)

Good night, world!