Breakfast, Take 2

Our quest to find the best breakfast place in town continues :)

Last Saturday, we decided to try the Biscuits Cafe near Costco in Aloha, as we hadn't gone there in a while, and the line to be seated was literally out the door...Next!

After driving around, with stomachs growling, and grousing about the apparent lack of decent breakfast places, we remembered Rose's Restaurant and Bakery, at the Streets of Tanasbourne, serves breakfast on the weekends. We're there! And who didn't go to Rose's after church on Sundays for brunch, with their huge Cinnamon Roll French toast?? We practically grew up there :)

With this in mind, we walked in, and yea! No line to be seated! Furthermore, most of the tables were empty, so maybe they would be quick with the food if they weren't super-busy??

We were seated at a nice big booth by the window, and coffee, and a big glass of milk for Kyra soon followed. Once we decided what we wanted, as there were many, many choices, we ordered, and then the wait began. And we waited. And we waited--Not as long as the Miller Family Pig & Pancake fiasco, but long enough!

Finally our food came, with no apology for the delay from our server :( I mean, the place was empty....maybe they had to raise the chickens to lay the eggs?

My breakfast was quite large, though, with 3 generous-sized pancakes, which were very good--almost sweet-tasting. David didn't care for his hash, however. Actually what he said was, "It's good, it's just not $8.95 good. Now their Reuben sandwiches are definitely worth that." And amazingly enough, I looked over and saw someone EATING one of said-Reubens at 10 in the morning!!! Oh well, to each his own.

All in all, I would have to say Rose's is a good place to go if you're in the mood for a leisurely breakfast, and are hungry. But I wouldn't give it the "best breakfast in town" award. So, the search is still on. Maybe tomorrow morning......

Blessings, K~

Ricky, you ain't no Jack!

WARNING, Spoiler alert below on last night's episode of 24!!!!!

I just have to say, 24 gets better every week. Of course, it helps that we record it so we don't have to wait through the commercials to get back to the action :)

We originally started doing that due to Heroes being on at the same time, but now I think I prefer an "edited" 24 for just the reason listed above!

So here are my thoughts about the current season:

The Pros:

1. Nobody does bad guys like 24. You just gotta love/hate Tom Lennox, his loser assistant Reid, and especially the Vice President--what a moron!
2. I think I actually saw Chloe smile! I started out really not liking her at the beginning of Season 3, but now I find myself rooting for her.
3. Non-stop action. In fact, I think I read somewhere recently that a guy actually called 911 because he was on the verge of passing out, and they determined he'd had adrenaline overload after watching an episode of 24~~Not exactly a good thing, but you can't say they don't engage you...

Cons:

1. Ricky Schroeder as Lieutenant Doyle! He has to go! For one thing, he just can't pull off a tough guy role. I know the writers thought they could build on his NYPD Blue role, but I just don't buy it. And when he tried to interrogate Nina, ala Jack, it just didn't work. I guess I will always see him as little Ricky Stratton from Silver Spoons.
   
   
2. The fact that it's on at the same time as Heroes, means we finish watching Heroes, and then stay up another 45 minutes to watch 24. Oh well, how important is sleep anyway?
3. Waiting a whole week for the next episode! Does anyone have any connections? I guess I could take a whole season off, and then watch it non-stop on DVD....Nah!
4. Audrey vs. Marilyn. I really want to see Jack & Marilyn together, because I believe Josh is Jack's son. However, I liked Audrey, and I don't think she's really dead. Can we say Season 7--Jack goes to China???
5. Attacking the president---I seem to recall a similar storyline done last year with his brother, David?

Well, that's enough for now. Life calls.

Blessings, K~

Aloha!

Oh, Hawaii, how I love you!

Here are just a few reasons why, from our family's recent trip to this beautiful island!
(Warning, long, long post from a week-long trip without a lap-top!)

We stayed at a great time-share resort called the Kona Hawaiian Resort on the big Island of Hawai'i, in Kailua-Kona, which is on the west side of the island (the dry side!). It was just minutes from the downtown waterfront area and all the shops, so several mornings we walked into town, and had breakfast at Island Lava Java, this wonderful coffee shop with a can't-be-beat view of the ocean and killer coffee & cinnamon rolls.

Other than filling ourselves with wonderful Kona coffee, most of our days were pretty laid-back. This was a very different vacation for me, however. I normally have an agenda of things I'd like to see, restaurants I'd like to go to, etc.

Because we'd been to this same place 2 years ago, my "agenda" for this trip was pretty simple: lay by the pool, swim & snorkel in the ocean, maybe see the volcano at night, and eat at my favorite restaurants, the Kona Inn, and Don the Beachcomber, located literally at the ocean's edge. What I didn't factor in was traveling with a very active toddler :) As any parent of a young one knows, their schedule immediately becomes yours, otherwise no one is happy!

We were able to fit in, between Kyra naps, a tour of one of the many coffee farms on the island called Greenwell Farms, where we found out how coffee goes from the tree to your cup. You probably won't recognize the name Greenwell Farms. That's because they don't actually produce roasted coffee for the mainland. This is because once coffee is roasted, you only have a limited window for it to retain its freshness. Instead, they get the beans to the cherry stage (baby coffee beans), and these are what they sell to your local Starbucks or Peet's, where they roast it for your drinking pleasure. Below are pictures of a coffee plant in bloom, and in cherry-form. By the way, the coffee plant is a member of the gardenia family, so when they blossom, their fragrance is heavenly!



And now, I'm going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Kyra, the curly-haired, with her new-found friend, the coaster basket

Stretching our legs, and wearing our hat...

First time in a swimming pool. I'm not too sure about this. Good thing my Daddy has me.

The view from our lanai. Not exactly on the beach, but still a great place to sit and relax.

The Dolphin Encounter at the Hilton Hotel in Waikoloa

Walking around the grounds of the Hilton Hotel in Waikoloa

Look at that curly hair! We gave up on ponytails after the first day...

You can bet David was wishing he had his fishing rod!
Koi ponds at the Hilton Waikoloa

So cool wearing Mommy's sunglasses!

Nap time on the lanai...

Mommy & Me on the Lanai

Our travel companions, Kristin's parents.

I'm ready for my photo shoot...

Sunset at the Kona Inn restaurant

Kyra & Daddy at the Place of Refuge, one of the Top 10 Snorkel places in the World!

A Place of Refuge (Pu'uhonua o Honaunau) native--the Hawaiian Green Sea turtle

Kyra's first dip in the ocean...not a big hit.

We just needed a calmer surf...Kyra & Mommy sitting in the warm ocean.

Kyra at the Beachcomber restaurant with the surf in the background

Say Cheese!

Another spectacular Hawai'i sunset on our last night

The morning of our last day, from our lanai

Well, the real world is calling me with loads of laundry and other normal daily tasks that need to be done.

Blessings, K~