Pa'ia

This past weekend we went to Pa'ia. We heard it was like Haleiwa, but we did not get that impression. It was a very short stay in this micro town. They have an awesome grocery store that kicks Down To Earths butt on organic and natural products, and as a bonus they have organic meats too. Unfortunately it is not worth the drive to shop there all the time. 

A lot of the restaurants use local products such as milk, cheese, grains, and veggies. One place that was so good was this gelato shop. We tried two flavors lilikoi & pistachio. I do not like that sweet of fruit, but the pistachio was the best gelato I have ever had in America. 

On the way back, I had her try this Mexican hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Fernando's. Delicious! I had the chili rellenos and she had the ceviche tostadas. We recommend them.

To puppy or not to puppy

This weekend we went on a dog hunt. Unlike Oahu there are no puppies at the pet stores. We drove around to check at a few pet stores. There is one but often they just have "pig dogs" and pit bulls. We have a 25 lb. or less for this apartment. We went to the Humane Society after the pet shops. We did see two dogs we were interested in but they were already in adoption process. 

We then found a breeder of miniature schnauzers and visited them. These dogs were amazing. They were healthy, strong and nearly house trained. The parents we on site and these guys were quite well behaved. Naomi was ready to run home for the checkbook right there. I said we needed to think about it more. We went home and really tore ourselves up on the issue. I like the breed, but I want a short hair dog right now because we want a dog to take to the beach and hiking. So we had to pass. Now we have a better picture of what we have in mind. The odds are that we will have to go to Oahu to get our dog. 

On another note, we had Guri Guri ice cream. (Big thumbs up) Then, we headed up into the Iao Valley. That is some drive to start out in the desert like conditions into this rain forest style valley. We did not stop to do the hike because it was packed. We will go back later to take our time. This pic was taken at a turn off before the park at the top. 

Surprise... Surprise... Surprise

We got a little shock this morning after our morning shower. Naomi went to wash her face in the sink and discovered this fine fellow in the sink. We had heard there were centipedes in the area but did not expect to see one in our own house so soon. Now I normal traipse around the house in my bare feet at all hours of the night. I will reconsider this idea now. It was fun trying to kill it wearing while only wearing a towel. Naomi was on guard duty to make sure it did not leave the sink while I went to get various items to kill it. It started off with a half can of ant killer. (barely stunned it), then there were my dress shoes, but because the soles are foam rubber, it could not crush its skull(?)/shell completely. It was still madly twitching. Finally there was the scissors. I cut that evil buggers head off, with count them: 2 cuts. Geez! The head went down the drain and the body was shoveled to the commode and flushed. (just in case it is vampire like, I separated head from body to prevent reanimation.) 

Checking out Lahaina

This weekend we went to Lahaina. It was an interesting and slightly nauseating ride on the snaking road. Naomi got a little car sick. It was cool in the shade, but watch out if you step out into the sunlight. Poof! Believe it or not this moment was right before the streets filled with people. 
From Front St., you have a very nice view of Lanai. Feels like I could almost swim there. 
We had lunch here at BJ's Chicago Pizza. We saw it on a map advertised as Maui's only Chicago Style pizza. We ordered a medium and it was nearly two inches thick. We were so hungry that we forgot to take a picture. We had their specialty, but added anchovies. Delicious! We stayed about two hours just strolling along the board walk. We will comeback at a less busy time of the year. I want to ride the Atlantis Submarine. Dorky, but I can guarantee that no tiger shark will take a bite out of me while in that hunk of tin.