Hey, how'bout that serenity, then, huh?

Today was tough. :-<
Had to say goodbye to Holualoa and the warmth and the frogs and the chooks and the occasional rain drumming on the roof. :(

At the end, it wasn't all that serene, even Holualoa. There's heaps of evidence Kailua-Kona is growing: you can hear distant pile-drivers and grading machinery fairly early in the morning even in peaceful Holualoa. There are wide roads where before there was only lava-fields. Not just roads: cement instead of bitumen (blacktop).
And then, there's the hedge-trimmer guy working all morning at UCC across the paddock.

Hey, nothing's perfect. Ever. But this is as close as.

Kailua-Kona has hosted the Ironman Triathlon for quite a few years now... we just happened to be there during the lead up to the event (next Saturday). Went out to dinner night before last to Huggo's -- the link will endeavour to convince you the food is fine cuisine, but it's just okay; mind you, it's about choices: we didn't make the choices the athletes would have, did we? -- and the whole town was in celebration mode. They'd just had a parade, and so the place was hopping with athletes and spectators... and us. Huggo's was super-busy, so we had nachos and quesadillas and fish-n-chips on essentially barstools:

Hawai`ian Rainbow Smile

Being good with a virgin pina colada

I'm sure the athletes chose the salad, as we should have done. :|

Last night, we went to our first fou-fou restaurant of our holidays: the Holuakoa Gardens Restaurant. They specialise in organic, locally grown (local farmers) veges and meat. The food, whilst a bit dear, was superb. And it was just a few miles down the road in Holualoa Village: bargain!

What a change from the night before, wasn't it!!

But yeah, the Big Island has some incredible memories for us all... crafting out on the veranda:

But mostly, it's been about the sunsets: