Stocking up is "dumb"?

Some of us can't afford to eat three meals a day (plus cocktails), after having shelled out for air and lodging and rental car.
Plus, I absolutely hate finding restaurants, waiting for seats,Q menus, ordering, eating, waiting for the bill, paying, the who!e waste of time and money.

Just a matter of personal preferences, sylvia. I consider it to be a huge waste of time to stand in a kitchen and cook when I'm in Hawaii, or to go to a grocery store unless absolutely necessary.

We don't eat out three meals a day. We usually have a breakfast buffet included in our lodging, or we buy breakfast/snack items if we have a kitchen.

Have never ever cooked a dinner while on vacation. I don't even like to cook at home. Ha

To each their own. No need to get personal about it.

I'm not the one who used the word "dumb" or assumes everyone has access to a buffet. There's nothing better than bringing home fresh ono or Maui and grilling it with fresh pineapple! Or slicing my own mango or papaya for breakfast, or taking a cooler of sandwiches/ veggies to the beach, or wherever.
Hardly standing in a kitchen, and much less time spent than in restaurants.
I don't at all care what you do.

Mahi

not Maui.
Or ahi:)

Oh, for pete's sake. Now I 'assume everyone has access to a buffet'. I did not even imply such a thing.

To each their own is what I said. I prefer fresh ono or mahi at a restaurant. My personal choice.

I think the purpose of a travel forum is to share our own experiences and preferences.

Certainly. My exception was to being told it's dumb to buy groceries.
(My fresh grilled ono, btw, is better than most restaurants and a fraction of the price. And I use the $ saved very well.)

Who's Pete? And why do people join this thread which is asking for provisioning advice to knock me down? If you don't believe in provisioning or cooking, then what's the point of being contrarian to someone who does enjoy cooking and watching the sunset with a million dollar home with a million dollar view instead of corralled into a restaurant with mixed results?

So I am dumb, and do not support the local economy because - why?

Try a pog with champagne for a nice sunset sip, Inakuai! Kohala ranch has wonderful ocean views.

with banana bread baking in the oven!!! Who cares if I leave a half pound of sugar and flour and my secret ingredients behind in the pantry?

Early morning pog mimosas with fresh baked bread sounds ok by me. No wasted vacation time there! ( i'll use fresh pineapple and roasted mac nuts)

And I'll drop some slices to the gate keeper/ guard! A local experience! LOL

Given your location, you might want to visit the sacrificial heiau near the Kamehameha birthplace. Very spooky, eerie even, but scenic (the iffy road from Upulo airstrip).
Adding that mimosa to my must-do list!

Ooops, didn't realize the F word is in there. Mea culpa.

POG is a juice.
P=pineapple
O= orange
G= guava

It is delish!!

I would stock up at Costco if you are planning to do a lot of /cooking eating at the condo. We were on the Big Island and had a nice kitchen but we ended up cooking and eating very little. Sometimes it ends up being a waste of money and food.

As far as coffee there are a ton of places to visit. We took a short tour of GreenWell Farms. It is one of the oldest coffee plantations still in business. The coffee is excellent and you can buy it at the farm. Check Costco - they may sell it there as well!



http://www.greenwellfarms.com/

Sylvia - is that a human sacrifice heiau? I did a quick search and see it was a war Heiau. If the road permits we will check it out. I notice your respect for the aina. When we only once visited Iao Needle on Maui I was very uncomfortable with the non reading tourists that went on and on about how beautiful it was. All I could feel was the bloodshed.

Thanks nana. I doubt we will do any coffee tours but will look for it. It's nice to have recommendations rather then roll the dice!

Thanks, Deb, I've never heard of POG. I remember buying those juices in cans, separately.

Gallon (plastic) jugs of POG are a good price at Costco, but are often on sale at Safeway, etc.

Yes, the Mo'okini heiau was a sacrificial site (one of the oldest in Hawaii, possibly built on a temple site dating back 1500 yrs), and is part of the Kohala Historical Sites State Monument. Although it looks like you could take Old Coast Guard Road then a gravel road right to it, they've blocked the gravel road, so bumping over the Upulo point road (take the route in front of the house there) is the way (barring rain). You will get chills.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohala...State_Monument

<I've never heard of POG>

Then clearly you need to vacation more often in Hawaii, Tabernash2 :-) They even have it on the bar cart on the plane ride going over!!

aloha, suze

"Actually a few years ago, on Kauai, I helped an elder Auntie to her car and load her car. She gave me her lei as a sign of aloha."

Pretty impressive. It's not every day you get a lei in a Costco parking lot.

We drove about 1/4 mile down the road from the Opolu airstrip before turning back, deciding to walk to the heiau and Kamehameha's birthplace instead. It had been a couple days since it rained, but there were still deep, big puddles, so we didn't want to chance it in a rental car. Worth the walk, but carry water.

Of course there are tourists at farmers markets, Sylvia. But the vendors are mostly locals and usually happy to talk. Other locals too. We met one in the farmers market in Hawi last trip, who after talking with her for a few minutes offered to make a lei for us to use in a memorial ceremony we'd planned. Refused to take any money, and we're still in touch with her. Locals at Costco are typically in Costco mode, not really wanting to be there, and in a rush to finish their shopping and get out.

OK, neo, I sniggered.

Who else but a local would be a vendor, Face? Not sure what your point is.
(I think there's a romantic idea of Hawaii that simply hasn't existed since the 1920s. Whatever. The concept of Aloha for tourists seems to be a rapidly fading ideal.)