Saturday, November 18, 2006

My prediction for next week's Themetime: PIE!

We discovered a new restaurant we like! Kenichi. The Asian girl at BID recommended it when we demanded she be our personal concierge last week. My blackened cod [whitened blackfish] thing is really good. And the uni.

[Edit, 9:12: There should be a song about Loli Longs to the tune of Edelweiss.]

Posted at 6:24:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

I felt really emotional (choked up) visiting Loli Longs, and thinking about him knowing I came to see him.

Posted at 5:20:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Dean was practically acting like me at the Imari (eg., moaning and whimpering) while stealing scoops from the passion-orange side of my p.o. li hing mui shave ice. He was tons jealous and regretted getting a smoothie. I was generous and let him have some. And I took photos (of the shave ice, not Dean) because it was so beautiful. Fun and weird Fishyholic! We went along the breakwall and it was super shallow out there! Almost the entire snorkel was one big eel-style slither. Also, we saw a really nice snowflake eel and I touched his tail twice. It felt nice.

[Note: They have li hing mui and passion orange at the Ali'i Gardens shave ice stand, too. For future reference.]

I also found a cool rare sea cuke--I think it was the same kind I found on our last day last year.

Posted at 3:29:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Restaurant Face Off:

Round 1 - Imari - as our true selves:

Unfiltered sake - creamy smooth and superb
Lilokoi Iced Tea - lemon orange mint & liquid sugar = very good
Waitress - good one from last year; proactive iced tea replacement
Amenities - manager us showed to table - spread napkins for us - hot towels (before AND after!)
Decor - Japanese, refined, with lots of wood & sliding tatimi doors open to the outside
Fellow Diners - Japanese couple & quiet non-annoying couple without kids. Not very crowded at all and very quiet today.
Number of times L moaned while eating her sushi = countless!
D's avocado & sisho leaf roll = not as good as plum, but still good
Note: Dean evilly switched one of L's SP&S segments for one of his A&S segments while she had her eyes closed in pleasure. EVIL!!!

Dean keeps talking about the premium eggplant parmesean he's going to get at Donatoni's and I keep telling him he'll be getting a vegetable medley with linguine, tomato sauce and big chunks of eggplant. He says the only linguine will be as a bed to his eggplant parmesean. I'm full already!

Round 2 - Donatoni - as Tony & Liliana Russo:

Iced Tea - bottled Republic of Tea blackberry sage tea with packets of sugar = fine
Waitress - a little bit ditzy / very speedy service
Amenities - none
Decor/Atmosphere - Italian villa with a big vase of silk flowers in center of room and fake grapevines 'growing' all over chandelier - nice Hawaiian music played by strolling guitarist
Fellow Diners - Italian family, Japanese couple, and group of four old loud drunk Italian golfers (actually, one reminds me of Uncle John)
Dean's fettuccini with garlic cream sauce, artichokes & leeks = good (not quite the eggplant parmesean he was lookin' for but still very good)
Laura's lobster, raw fennel, apple and canelinni beans salad = not very well integrated ingredients (just sitting in piles on plate, not mingling flavors, supposed citrus dressing indetectable), but the lobster is good

Judgement:

Drinks - Imari
Waitress - Imari
Ameneties - Imari
Decor - Imari
Fellow Diners - Imari
Food - Donatoni (D) / Imari x 1,000 (L)
Overall Winner - Dean says he'll concede

Posted at 6:00:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

We stopped at Mauna Kea Coffee Company and added an impromptu slacking session to our slacking calendar. Read West Hawaii Today on the porch outside. My Mauna Kea Kona was good! I was scared because I didn't like it that much last year. Dean's chai was great.

Posted at 12:44:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

We're making dinner reservations for two different restaurants at the Hilton, one after another!! Dean's using an alias for his since we both had to talk to the same reservations office (he's doing a fake Italian accent, too!!--I am cracking up). Imari at 6:00, Donatoni's at 7:30.

Posted at 11:04:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

The new issue of Hawaii Island Times comes out today!! I am all better from my nose situation, as of yesterday. Bizarre. It was massively sneezy/sniffy for a few days (Monday evening -> Wednesday morning) and now it's cured. I slept in this morning (until almost 9) and it was really fun. Today's a slacky and sloungy day. Last night we signed up for a Sunday night night dive with the Slow & Stop company. They just happened to have one scheduled exactly when we wanted them to, and non-manta night dives aren't very popular, so we were lucky!

Posted at 10:26:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

[Dive Site #2, 11-16 -- Eel Cove:]

• Big thick swarm of raccoon butterflyfish [feasting on eggs. Took off my glove and] touched some.
  
• Jeff's trying to catch them in his hands!
  
• Rockmover (aka Dragon Wrasse)
  
• Leaf Scorpion Fish [really really weird! Looked like a dead leaf (kind of white/tan-ish). Jeff showed us and I didn't even know what he was showing me at first. Then he started poking it with his pointer and couldn't hold his dive light at the same time, so I picked up his dive light and was aiming it so the bizarro fish was illuminated and he could show Dean and the other guy. I was a good Jeff assistant!]
  
• Red-spotted linckia. [Dean found it for me! I swam over with it in my hand and showed Jeff.]
  
• Divided flatworm. [Really pretty, Monarch butterfly colored. A big one, too! I watched it moving along, sort of fluttering its edges.]
  
• Another nudi--same type as last dive [Varicose Phyllidia], but I found it.
  
• Big eel in coral (but no one else saw). [Everyone else was ahead of me, and I had to catch up. I told Dean about the eel I left behind by gesturing backward, doing the eel symbol, and doing a "big" gesture. He understood perfectly. Communicating underwater with no words is so cool!]
  
• Great crown encounter! [Dean's camera ran out on this dive, so he didn't get any pictures, alas! It was super-great because I had an audience. Was lifting ends of arms a little with fingers, carefully -- Jeff offered his knife -- emphatic NO! Used piece of coral instead, and turned it over so everyone could see beautiful underside (it was a very beautiful one on top, too--very red).]
  
• Jeff shaking head in disbelief when I touched it with my bare hand (had Dean pull off glove)
  
• Jeff ended up touching the feet a little with his bare hand after I did it lots and it was hanging off me, etc.
  
• I touched the thorns, too (others can't understand how) (... You just have to do it right, and be gentle)
  
• The other guy on the dive had never seen a crown before and thought it was really amazing (was talking about it on the boat afterwards) (asked Jeff if it was an animal!) (he tried to show Jeff one later during the dive but Jeff didn't see him, so I acknowledged it)
  
• Found a nice green eel with Dean (very nice pointy face) and Jeff teased it with his pointer, tickling the tail and trying to get it to swim out.
  
• Jeff should have a thing like "Touch the Sea" but instead it's "Harrass the Sea"

Posted at 11:25:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

[Notes from site #1, Pyramid Pinnacles:]

• Cushion star
  
• Green linckia star
  
• Lots of currents
  
• Vortex
  
• Caverns [I felt sorry for the claustrophobic guy, with Jeff leading us into all this stuff!]
  
• Really cute little octopus, hiding -- Jeff poked with pointer
  
• Brittle stars in coral -- striped yello
  
• [Jeff wrote a note on his magna-doodle apologizing for the lack of echinoderms, and I wrote back a big list of all the ones I'd seen! He did an impressed look and clapping thing like when you do a skill well.]
  
• Nudibranch! Big! Black, white, yellow. [Blue? I think it was a Varicose Phyllidia. I did a shaka to Jeff to say how cool it was.]
  
• Jeff teased a little whitemouth moray that I showed him, offering it his finger and then his pointer. Later he did another one.
  
• Cute big puffer! Hiding in cave.
  
• [Other guy always going up early, low on air, and missing the best parts; us left alone with Jeff]
  
• Octopus (2) Saw right after Dean said he was getting low on air and was going to ascend. Signaled Dean and he stayed. Dean went to look at 2nd (up higher, along wall) and I followed the one I'd seen first, which was hiding under a rock with Jeff looking at it. I pulled off my glove and touched its tentacle. It felt AMAZING. Touched and felt my hand, fingers, over and over--every time it did, I could feel each sucker suction-ing on me! WOW. Very cool. Each suction cup was about an inch wide. I did it some and stopped, and Jeff motioned to me to continue, to keep doing it more! So I did. It let me do it over and over! After I stopped it raised up some, with the tentacles more reached out, and I stroked them in stretched out mode a few times before it swam up and out, to join its mate. Both octopuses swam together in spectacular octopus mode, and displayed color and texture changes for us. They got all bumpy looking with with spots and reddish background. While I was touching it, it was nice and smooth and greyish. Its touch felt SO good. I am completely CRAVING feeling it again! It really was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever felt. Very gentle, sensitive, sensory. Completely pleasurable and awesome. The suction cups really do feel suctiony--I looked at my hand a few times expecting to see little love-bite looking bruised purple rings left behind, but there weren't any. GOD, it felt so neat! If that was the ONLY thing we saw today, the dive would have been a great experience. I was totally glad it happened with Jeff--it made the Jeff dive really special and memorable.
  
• I had 400 psi left -- Jeff said he was amazed (Dean was almost completely out of air) (Jeff had 600)

Posted at 9:11:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Wow! Weird! All the beaches on the whole island are closed because of the earthquake in Japan! That's why there was no one on them. We were going to go to Mauna and the gate lady told us. She said there could be dangerous surges and currents. Good thing we had our flight today!

[Edit, 4:47: Yeah--the nice salt & pepper A Bay sand! A's not closed.]

Posted at 4:30:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Jeff Jones Experience! Tomorrow morning, 7:45. (Eek.) The tattooed guy at Bottom Time 100% didn't believe I'd fit into a kids' BCD. Jr. fits way better than XS, though. Jeff was all excited to see us. He said he guaranteed me at least one crown-of-thorns on our dive tommorrow. We'll see.

Posted at 2:42:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

"Da Shave Ice Place" is the same as the stand at the International Market (but they have more flavs, I think). Got #6--li hing w/ice cream on bottom. But I asked for powder instead of seeds. The ice isn't as fluffy as yesterday--they don't keep their blade as sharp.

Posted at 1:45:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Dean finally got to go to Killer. Now he keeps saying, "Admit it--Killer is great!" My fish taco was good.

Posted at 12:46:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Just landed. That was cool! Took 1 zillion pics--we'll see how they turned out. [Edit: They were great!] [Edit, 1/22: There are way too many to post here/now, though...!]

Posted at 11:46:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

Wait a couple min after the Japan Airlines 747 takes off, for wake turbulence. Half the dudes on the radio have huge Japanese accents! (Including the flight instructor dude who's coming with us.) N9512Fox.

Guy says 5-7 miles is normal viz (tradewinds + volcanic ash) but today is much better--normally you can't fly VFR over Waimea because of the cloud layer.

No one on Mauna Kea or Hapuna! Why?? Bizarre. And Kua isn't all paved! We can still go there. We'll have to check it out. [Closed on Wednesdays.]

Posted at 10:30:00 AM by Laura W. Petix.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I didn't think I was hungry, but it's so good, I'm gulping it all down. Both things. The shrimp here is so shrimpy tasting. I'm even goodly drinking bowls of straight soup broth. I'm so glad we came here.

Dean said I did a good job with my soup!

Posted at 5:14:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Dean keeps telling me I need to put Rooster on my Royal Thai Cafe Pahd Thai to cure my nose. No way. I'll get all cured by the Best Soup Ever, though.

Posted at 4:54:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

[Dive slate notes from 4 Mile Marker:]

• White tang
  
• This reminds me of that Grand night dive spot
  
• Pretty Lei Triggers--looked like they had long eye lashes
  
• Insanely great viz [felt like swimming around in an aquarium]
  
• Crown friend--he held my (bare) hand
  [I did a Touch the Sea with a crown-of-thorns... Dean was off doing something else and I just hovered beside the crown, allowing it to slowly slowly reach out its tube feet and feel my fingers, crawling onto my hand, getting to know me. I stayed there for a long time (drugged state helped) and didn't even notice when Dean came back and found me. When I sensed he was there behind me, I didn't turn around, I was so absorbed in interacting with the crown. He took a bunch of photos of us, and then I asked him to pull off my glove so I could touch it bare-handed. I was very gentle and it didn't prick me.]
  
• That's a thing in my book--I think it's eggs
  [It was a Spanish Dancer nudibranch egg coil!! I'd often admired the striking photo in my book, but never thought I'd see one in person.]
  
• Slipper Lobsters in cave
  
• Air up there? [air pocket in cave]
  
• Dean said the cave was shaka
  
• Fairly tame fish [and insanely cute polka-dot eel!]
  
• Nose felt better underwater
  
• Dean says it's his second fav. site! (After Puako)

Posted at 1:30:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Kona International Market's shave ice stand is great! We're glad we took a chance and tried it. They have li hing mui and haupia and all kinds of fancy combos, and the shave ice is extra-fluffy. Plus it's right near BID. I tricked myself into a hydration!

Posted at 12:04:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Monday, November 13, 2006

I cooked some raw guys and ate them! Other than shad parts, I don't think I've ever cooked raw creatures for supper before. I bought them at KTA Saturday night because they looked like big versions of those shimp pals who were cleaning me in the tidepool (I think they were Feeble Shrimp, btw). Some sort of prawn guys with super-long antennae, lots of legs and beady black eyes. They were gray, but when I cooked them they turned pink! They were good, although it was kind of snaily eating my meal when I had to stop and dissect each guy first. I cooked them in with those sea cuke guts-looking udon noodles I always eat in Hawaii. (They have lots of them at the grocery stores.) I am proud! I sort of wanted to call up my mom and crow, but 1) she would've thought I was a goof (although she already knows that, of course) and 2) it was already really late back home.

I am very sneezy tonight. Dean says it's because of vog.

Posted at 10:00:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Snorkeled for about 1.75 hours at Iki! Iki is my favourite place ever. I freedove approximately twenty-zillion times. Pretty much nonstop. We went in at the stake I placed on my combing walk to mark the spot [between the two sets of palm trees] where I found a starfish (still another new type!! washed (and dried) up!). It's cute and orange and had lots of small lava rocks stuck on it, but I pried them off without breaking it. [I'm pretty sure it's a Sheriff-Badge Star.]

We dove all around exploring looking for starfish--it was cool because that area was often distorted-looking on the surface, but when you dipped down (not far--four or five feet) everything became clear, so you couldn't see much from the top, but then you'd find out. It was really fun. The whole entire snorkel session was--not just the cloudy section--and the whole thing seemed warm, too, I guess because it was all fairly shallow.

Anyway, I was checking under rocks and in all the little cracks and things, looking for starfish, and I noticed something that looked alive inside one of the cracks. I called Dean over to look at it too, because I couldn't tell what it was, but I thought it might be an eel. We both dove down a few times to look at it up close, trying to figure out what it was. It was sort of gray colored and there looked like a bulgy eye. I suggested it might be an octopus. A minute later, we found out it was an octopus, when it suddenly swam out of its hole, legs all trailing behind it and gathered together, squidlike, and swam away. It looked really, really cool swimming. Beautiful and graceful. We followed it a little ways, and apparently it didn't like that, because it inked! Cool x a zillion! The ink was black and floated in the water in a decoy-octopus shape, allowing the octy to escape because 1) we thought it was really cool and were looking at it, and 2) we figured the octopus must be upset and we didn't want to bug it any more than we already had, if so! The ink cloud slowly dissipated/fragmented into the water. I touched it with my bare hand and it didn't stain my fingers.

More notes, quickly (in order of when we saw them). (These were further along progressively leftward toward the lava area, not in the cloudy section anymore.)

- Snowflake eel - whole body, stretched out, snaking along the bottom (very snaky, how it moved) - pretty! stayed out and didn't run away to hide

- Some really giant brittles (almost a foot wide!)

- A weird wormy thing (I kept commenting how weird it was) that I found under a rock with some brittles and carried cupped in my hands over to show Dean. We were each exploring all around on our own, swimming around and then meeting up, so he was off at a distance. I didn't know what it was, but I was sure it wasn't a sea cucumber because it lacked echinoderrm characteristics. It was very smooth and had no legs/feet, and had a yellow "head" section. Like a cuke, it could dramatically change length (2" to 7"?) by squnching up or stretching out. The main body section was grayish but was semi-transparent and you could see stuff moving around inside. It could move all around and crawl, fairly impressively. While Dean was photographing it crawling around on a flat white area of the bottom, a fish swam by and bit off its "head," then spit it out! The guy was still crawling around, so I don't know if he was killed or not. Sorry, guy!!! [Edit: My only theory after looking in my creature book is that it was an Acorn Worm.]

- An eel lived near the spot where Dean was photographing the weird guy (we didn't know) and got angry about all the diving down near his lair! He started lunging out from his hole, so we retreated and left him in peace.

- We saw a very laid-back turtle, and swam alongside him for a little while. He was totally cool with it and didn't mind in the least.

- 20 zillion brittles everywhere - under rocks, balled up in coral - families, huge piles, big to tiny

- Zero starfish. But 100% fun!! Snorkeling can be so fun. That's why I like it better than scuba. It's just funner. I didn't want to come in! Love love love LOVE Iki.

Posted at 5:00:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Merriman's Market Cafe is pleasant. We should've come here before now! Order the Tahitian Limeade. (Freshly squoze lime w/a hint of coconut.) It's mojito-esqe. Dean keeps trying to steal mine. Waimea tomatoes are highly delicious.

Verdict: Our mozz/tomato salad was really good, but both entrees were a little lacking. Not worthy of the Merriman name. Northing was bad, but it wasn't that special either. (The service was really good, though.)

Posted at 7:03:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

[Dive slate notes after snorkel at Beezer's Buddha Point:]

• Head-chomping sized eel! [I think it was a Yellowmargin Moray]
  
• Lots of fish that we don't usually see
  
• Really cool underwater topography--fun to explore
  
• Swam all the way down to Golf Ball Cove
  
• Dean found a golf club that someone had hurled into the ocean when he had a cow. It was a putter. I wasn't surprised.
  

Posted at 3:30:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.

I climbed all around on the rough a`a lava (and the nice smooth tidepools) near Beezer's Buddha Point wearing just my neoprene dive socks. Found an eel (a medium sized one) in an eel cave, anemones, a couple of cukes, and lots of urchins. I think I figured out the easy(est) path down to the B.B.P. for our snorkel later. Read my note last year about how to get there, and it seems like the same spot.

Posted at 2:20:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.