A very easy start today, as our first plan for the day was to take the Kona Brewing Company's tour at 10.30am.
We moseyed slowly along the sea front, dipping into the odd gift store and browsing the tourist tat - trinkets, t-shirts and the like.
We got to the other end of town and climbed up the hill to the beer-coloured building Pam had pointed out to us - the Kona Brewing Company. They have two free tours per day 10.30am and 3.30pm. It's not a long tour.
The process starts with the barley silos which contain about a month's worth of grain. The grain is weighed and dropped into a tank to mix.
We saw the big mixing tanks where they add the water, hops and the like before moving the product into the fermentation tanks.
Next was the storage unit, which was fabulous as it was chilled into the 40s Fahrenheit. It was lovely in there compared with the hot, humid outside.
Our guide was telling us the Kona Brewing Company have 4-star green credentials, using solar power where possible, brewing and distributing locally on the mainland rather than shipping there from Hawaii. We passed the dried wurt that would normally be waste, held in tanks to be fed to the animals of the local farmers.
We then headed for the good part - the beer tasting! We were taken to the restaurant and tasted four of the Kona Brewing Company's beers. We tried four, 5oz of each, in cool Ted-size glasses!
We started with a Wailua Wheat which is brewed with wheat and passion fruit. The flavour is citrusy and fruity and quite light. Next, we tried the Lava Man Red Ale. This has a chocolate-malt taste and is red in colour. This one was good chilled, but I wouldn't want to drink it warm (I'm not a real ale bear). Our third beer was the Castway India Pale Ale. This had a stronger taste that I wasn't keen on but Paul liked it. Our fourth taste was the Pipeline Porter which was a dark and stronger beer which contains the 100% Kona coffee in the brewing process. It was different.
Maybe we should have eaten breakfast first? Hic! One of the guys on the tour had done it before and totally recommended the pizza and salad combo for lunch in the brewery restaurant, so we agreed to come back the next day to try it. Later this afternoon we had a dinner cruise. On our way out of the Brewery, we stopped off to pick up a couple of those neat little glasses (we couldn't get pint glasses in the suitcases!)
Then we set off for our next stop - Walmart! Oh, come on - you think I'd pass up a chance to go to Walmart - much cheaper gift shopping than your average gift shop!
Mid-afternoon, we headed back - downhill this time - to our hotel to drop off our purchases, ready to go out on our cruise.
We joined our fellow travellers in the lobby to walk to the pier. We were taking a Bodyglove Historic Dinner Cruise. It took about twenty minutes to walk down to the dock where our boat was already waiting.
We were soon aboard. All the downstairs seats were taken so we grabbed a table upstairs in the middle as it was under cover, at least, in case it rained - the sky was pretty grey.
Unfortunately we were probably aboard - in dock - for twenty minutes, waiting for a passenger, before we finally pulled away from the dock. By this time, Assistant Di (who's never been that good with boats) was already wishing she hadn't signed up for a dinner cruise! What was she thinking? This was a pretty small boat and it was bouncing up and down a lot. It didn't get better for her!
But, that's enough about her! I was having fun - hanging out on the deck with my included mai tai, chilling in the sun and trying to focus on the historian guy telling us about the history of the place as we rode out to sea, passing our hotel along the coast.
Trouble was the chatty guy just talked and talked...and talked. He was fairly monotonous and so full of information, dates and places, that it got to the point where I just tuned him out, so that lost them a Ted - it was supposed to be a historical cruise after all.
Instead, I focussed on some pineapple. We did get some Spinner dolphins coming alongside and I even saw one take a small leap out of the water, which was awesome. Unfortunately, they were too quick for me to get a picture (he was there a few seconds ago!)
The boat was still bouncing up and down quite a bit, I had to take Di downstairs. They claimed it was less choppy down there!
After about seventy-five minutes the boat slowed at the Captain Cook Memorial, close to where James Cook - who discovered the Hawaiian islands in 1778 and was killed just over a year later in 1779. It took almost a hundred years for his fellow countrymen to erect the monument in 1874.
The boat stayed parked up here while the passengers were offered the buffet dinner. We had teryaki beef, pork and kebabs, together with salad and rice. Not sure what was wrapped in the leaves but it was a bit tricky! Overall, the food was pretty good, considering we were in a confined space. They had made Di a special veggie meal but she didn't seem interested - fortunately, they said she could take it with her when we docked!
We followed dinner with some red velvet cake before heading back out into open sea for the return journey.
It was a smoother ride back as we were going with the current, rather than against it. There was no narration on the return trip (not that I could've listened to it), but there was the sunset to watch and they had a singer, with accompaniment, on board which was nice to listen to and relax. (Not that Di was very relaxed!)
Much to Di's relief we arrived back on dry land. Phew. I have to say I enjoyed the boat ride, as did Assistants Dave and Paul. We had some good food, but the narration was problematic and the sea a little rough, so I had to dock a Ted. They were very nice to Di, which was good, and we left the boat with Di's dinner and cake in a box! Despite the grey skies, it didn't rain at all on the cruise, or for the walk back to the hotel. On land, Di was soon feeling much better.
Back at the hotel room, Di checked out her box-dinner - lettuce, tomatoes and carrots, with a fabulous olive oil-vinegar dressing, macadamia nuts, some scary looking hairy green-bean/pea-like things and some white jelly-like slime cubes in a cup (her words!) Overall, though, it was a nice salad and all for her! Though she didn't eat the hairy or slimy stuff. (Can't say as I blame her, I wouldn't touch it either.)
We followed that with a little cake and some lazing in front of the telly before heading to bed.
