Kahuku, Hawaii

After Sunset, LVL, Kii, and I piled in the back of the truck to get a better view of the surroundings. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand to pick up lychee, mango, papaya, and banana, most of which we wolfed down almost immediately. LVL had a funny exchange with a Polish tourist who took pictures of her and gave her the shaka sign, presumably because he thought she was a well-tanned local. I love the little old lady behind the counter, who gave me two free bananas and was so so so surprised/happy that I gave her two extra dollars for them.

A few minutes later we stopped again at the convenience store right by the old Kahuku Sugar Mill to get water/snacks. I treated myself to spam musubi, samoan style banana bread, and red li hing mui.* The childhood stuff still tastes great. To me at least. LVL tried a li hing mui, but didn’t realize that you were not supposed to bite down hard on it. So she did, much to the enjoyment/entertainment of Kii and me. Even without the minor consumption faux pas,** she wasn’t really down with the flavor or the fact that red LHM turns everything it touches bright red.

Just after the sugar mill stop, we drove through the BYU-Hawaii campus, the Mormon temple area, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. Can’t really speak for the show at the PCC or the quality of the education given to BYUH students, but the aesthetic of the area is pretty great. Doesn’t hurt that it the whole complex is across the street from the beach.

* A dried plum, seasoned with salt and sugar, among other things. Probably pretty disgusting to everyone other than those people born and raised in Hawaii. Even to some of those people, li hing mui is a very acquired taste [Ed. note: And even those who have supposedly acquired the taste don't always down them like, say, a bag of peanut M&M's. I realized later that Josh had about three of these li'l nuggets and then put the bag aside.]

** [Ed. note: Consumption faux pas? Really? With no indication that the thing I was about to eat had a seed in the middle, you told me to "just pop it in." When I popped it, then bit and nearly cracked a tooth, you said, "Well, you're not supposed to bite down on it." As if this was common knowledge. I think that faux pas was on the distributor, not the consumer.]

*** [Ed. note: This part he's getting right. Definitely not worth the chance of dental damage. I'm definitely up for trying other varieties of crack seed in the future, but that one was not for me.]