Wasting away in Kailua-Kona

The Gym at Kona

12/3/2011

Outrigger

After a couple of days of riding on airplanes and walking around town I was in need of a more serious form of exercise.  So I walked up and joined the gym at Kona.  It is a really nice place with a lot of equipment.  And a young clientele.  I must have raised the average age in there by 20 years just by walking in.  And the average body fat content went up 10 percent when I entered.

Kailua-Kona is the home of the iron man competition and the people in this gym looked like they were fit enough to go and do a triathlon right then.  I did not talk to any one in there as they all looked like they could kick my butt.  And I am talking about the women.  So I nudged some weights around, felt the burn, and then waddled out in search of food and booze.  I want to keep my energy up in case a triathlon breaks out.

I scored some shrimp to make some gumbo with. Then I visited the local farmers market to go over all of the weird and wonderful stuff they have there.  They sell the most wonderful papayas at 9 for $2.  Then I bought this other thing that looks like some sort of Dr Seuss fruit but I am going to eat it any way. And they have avocados that are the size of small cantaloupes.  Unfortunately I don’t like them but I may have to buy one anyway.  With all of my goodies in my back pack I went home and settled in to watch NCAA football.

Sunday

12/4/2011

After a couple of cups of coffee it was off to the gym with me.  After I got done working out I went down to the pier and watch some people swim the ironman course out in the bay.  I wondered at the wisdom of being an ironman and going swimming in salt water but there is a lot about that event that I just don’t get.

On the way home I stopped by the original Mokuaikaua church (circa 1820) in the islands and they were having services and singing their hearts out.  I don’t know what religion they are but I have never heard Catholics sing like that.

Mokuaikaua Church and Hulihee Palace

I stopped by the farmers market.  The Catholic tent church is in the same location and they were holding services so I am sure I picked up some extra grace just by being that close. They weren’t singing.  I bought more fruit and some nuts for a care package I am putting together to send back home.

Back at the condo I ate my strange piece of fruit for second breakfast.  Once I cut it open the insides was moist and flaky like a good piece of fish.  But this thing was so sweet it gave me a buzz.  Looks like fish-tastes like sugar.  Good.  Then I had a couple of their little bananas and they are the best.  They are tiny, with a thick skin but they are delicious too.  I could get fat just eating fruit, never mind the Longboard beer and Maui Gold Rum.

Strange but Tasty

In the afternoon I went out looking for a sports bar to sit in while I watched NFL football.  That was not very hard.  I did not even have to leave the block.  Most of the bars are on the second story facing the ocean and are open air.  Pretty much everything is open air here and as there is little reason for windows.  The buildings don’t usually have heat or air conditioning and it rarely rains here.  On the first story under the bars are shops, side walk restaurants, and time share sales offices.

I went to LuLu’s first since I had good memories of LuLu’s in Alabama when I was searching for Margarittaville.  The LuLu’s in Kona has its walls and ceiling papered with dollar bills and a lot of other stuff which makes for interesting reading while drinking a beer.  It was a bit noisy for my taste so I moved about 50 feet over to Humpy’s

Humpy’s is more to my tasted in that while it does not have dollar bills on the walls it does have 29 beers on tap.  They exhibit a certain sense of priority that is more to my liking.

So I settled in to watch the Saints beat the Lions and chatted with Sheldon, a wheat farmer from Canada, and drank some beer.  By the end of the game I had learned a lot about wheat farming  the Canadian view of the NFL.  They tend to pull for any team that has a CFL player on the roster, which is fair enough. I tend to pull for the Saints and then the team with the least number of parolees on the roster.

Back at the condo I sat up on the roof and listened to the music coming from the bars on the beach.  Another pleasant day.

Jenny Craig santa

Jenny Craig Santa