When woke up at 5:45 I decided it was time to get up. So I put the bike together, had it all ready to go before breakfast. Then I took a shower and managed to get all of the grease off of my hands. I don't know about you, but I can't seem to keep away from the chain when I'm reassembling the bike. Maybe I should start carrying some surgical gloves for bike assembly. I don't mind so much at home because I have good handcleaner stuff, but somehow that never comes with me on trips!
I had a nice leisurely breakfast - fruit, breads, pastries, juice, and coffee supplied by the hotel on the lanai by the pool. Good for today's level of activity, maybe a bit short for tomorrow's - so I picked up some cottage cheese when I was out today for a little protein supplement for tomorrow's breakfast. (Lucky for me that there is a refrigerator in the room.) I sat and chatted with some of the other guests for a while - the woman from Oregon who I was talking with last night, and Lance and Cheryl from California. Lance really reminds me of my friend Harvey. Hey Harvey, do you have a twin that I don't know about? And Shirley told me that the resident managers here work on a rotating basis - on a 4-month cycle. She & Jim are here until August, then the next manager rotates in. There are 3 sets of managers that cover the year. That's an interesting approach. Seems like it would keep folks fresh - a way not to get burned out dealing with - and sharing time with - guests on a constant basis.
As I was headed out on my bike, Lance said wait, you can't go yet! When I asked him why, he said that he and Cheryl were about to feed the eels - so of course I had to go watch. They were throwing cut-up chicken parts (yuck!) into the water over the seawall, and the eels were just swarming up to grab the food. Feeding eels, not your ordinary pastime - but fascinating creatures.
I took off on the bike for what was supposed to be a short warmup ride, but I somehow managed to turn that into a 28 mile ride. I was taking it easy, stopping to take pictures and just enjoy being here. I'm constantly amazed at the vibrant colors of the flowers - especially in contrast to the black rock. I biked south along Alii drive, then took route 11 back through Kona and out to the Natural Energy Lab, just south of the airport. I loved the sign I saw on the beach there: "Low flying aircraft, No kites allowed". I parked the bike and walked through some sand and over old lava rocks to some tide pools. No wonder my cleats wear out! Of course I didn't have any other shoes with me, so it was walk in my cycling shoes, or don't walk at all!
Back to the hotel after stopping at a grocery store to pick up some Gatorade, peanuts, fruit, and cottage cheese for tomorrow, and some lunch for today. I'm in my second room here - when I made the reservation the only way I could get in here was to agree to switch rooms after the first night. This place only has 15 rooms, and if you've stayed here before and you have a room preference they try to give it to you. Not a problem - I left everything packed in the trailer and the managers moved it to my new room. The waves are still crashing into the seawall outside of my room, so I'm happy.
I thought I was just going for a warmup ride, no sweating allowed. Yeah, right! The temperature is in the mid-80s, in the 90s in the sun. It's definitely warm, but I think it feels good. That is, other than the fact that I forgot to put that waxy lip sunscreen on my eyebrows to stop my regular sunscreen from dripping into my eyes. Ouch! I won't forget that tomorrow. There are gray clouds hanging over the mountains, but it's pretty bright here by the ocean. My shorts have salt lines on them, and I went through a couple of bottles of Gatorade. The biking clothes definitely need to be washed. I'm already in my normal touring clean clothes mode. Wear them, and wash them!
We saw some really pretty birds this morning with bright red caps. Lance said he thought they might be Java finches, but he wasn't sure. Maybe I'll find a bird book in my wanderings. (Update on 5/19 - there's a bird book at my B&B, but no sign of a Java Finch. The only bird with a bright red head was a red-crested cardinal which apparently only hangs out on Oahu. I think what I saw may have been a house finch - the description said the male's head ranges from yellow to rosy red. I may never know for sure... Another update on 5/20 - just found another bird book in my wanderings today, and it looks like that pretty bird is a yellow-billed cardinal. It's a small bird, doesn't look like a classic cardinal - but it does have a red head and black and white on it. After seeing the picture in the book, I'm sure that's what I saw!)
I sat still long enough for lunch, then grabbed a quick shower, slathered more sunscreen all over, and took off on foot to wander through Kona. It's a touristy little town center, worth a quick stroll - but I'm not in shopping mode so it didn't take me too long! Now I'm relaxing before heading out to find some dinner. Definitely a good first day.
Later... I just had an outrageous red curry at Thai Rin for dinner. Tofu, lettuce, green beans, and bamboo shoots in a positively evil red curry sauce (evil because it was loaded with coconut milk)! If you're in Kona and you likeThai food, I highly recommend eating at Thai Rin.
I got back to the Kona Tiki just in time for the nightly ceremonial blowing of the conch shell and lighting of the tiki torches. Fun.
Then I asked Jim about a chain hanging down from the building. He told me it's a Chinese gutter. The chain hangs from the gutter - which in this case is 3 stories up - and in a downpour the water cascades down the chain. Jim said you can't even see the chain with the water cascading down it. And the chain somehow lessens the impact of the water on the ground, so you don't end up with a big hole below the gutter. You learn something new every day... just don't always know what to do with that new knowledge.
