It was great seeing Gary again! He came over from the Hilo side to spend a little time with us.

Gary began making Garlic bread with a super sour dough.

I bought raviolis from Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, then froze and packed them before leaving for Hawaii. This has been a family favorite for years.

Chef Gary checks on the garlic bread in the oven.

We all gave a toast to Kekoa who was supposed to be with us on this trip.

For breakfast we had papayas from Gary’s garden. Fabulous!

A walk by the shore.

We drove to Kailua Kona for a day! This is the Hulihe’e Palace.

Kailua seafront.

Kailua still has vestiges of past historical elements.

Gary suggested we make a reservation at Pueo’s Osteria up the hill in Waikoloa Village.

The chef used to work at the Four Seasons Hotel. His restaurant is popular with celebrities and sports figures.

We really enjoyed the evening! Marla wears a native lei made by Gary’s ex-wife in honor of Kekoa.

Gary loved the meal as well.

We enjoyed Manta Restaurant at the Mauna Kea Reort.

We had a great view of the bay.

We always have a lot to chat about. Marla and I will return to the Big Island again next year!

A kiss after a Mai Tai…or two!

A simply lovely evening!

We connected with my nieces Marlena and Elan who flew in from New York City.

I showed everyone a slideshow of their brother (and son) Kekoa at our condo. We visited again the next day before our flight home.

Our flight back to Denver was at 7:30 PM so we spent time in Kailua. We dropped by a store we love that imports beautiful and exotic furniture and accessories from indonesia and Thailand. We were really in our element.

I really wanted breakfast but most places in town were already closed. Chubby’s Diner was still open and they had macnut pancakes and portugese sausage. The place is funky and totally local as heck as it is inside a…bowling alley!

Not fancy but everything tasted fine.

A game of “Space Invaders” before driving to the airport.