Once on this Big Island
Why this title?
A few months ago, we had an opportunity to watch Once On This Island on Broadway, an enchanting musical revival that had taken Broadway by storm.
I was able to bring the entire family, and we got to watch our very own, Lea Salonga, take the stage and enchant us with her vocal prowess. The entire cast was superb, the set – extremely imaginative, and the music and the message were ever so timely. We got to meet Lea after the show.
So what does Hawaii have to do with Once on this Island?
Well, we’ve only been to the Big Island once back in 2004. So this visit was all about new experience for all of us. Here’s how we spent our first full day.
It’s Monday, our first morning on the Big Island. I got up at 5am local time. That was considered sleeping in. I woke up Evan. It’s our father and son tradition whenever we visit Hawaii, a morning visit to get fresh, hot malasadas. The nearest one to our resort was located just a couple of minutes away at KTA Super Stores. I didn’t even realize there was a shopping center near our timeshare.
Evan and I got there just past 6 am and we picked up a dozen of piping hot malasadas. We quickly returned to the resort and shared our malasadas with the family.
I took Evan and Caitlin to the pool at 7am, and they were able to play for about an hour. I had quite a few business to take care of that morning that required me to be on the phone and on my computer. By the time we got back to our room, we all got ready for the day.
La’Aloa Beach aka Magic Sands Beach
First order of business was to head down to the beach. There were couple of nearby beaches, La’aloa or Magic Sands Beach was only about 5 minutes away. The kids got to swim. I was still trying to take care of a few things on the phone, so I just watched them while they played in the water. I also got to eat my Hawaiian Tako Poke that I purchased from KTA Super Stores. That was enough to carry me through my busy morning.
Broke da Mouth Grindz
We checked our list of places to try and Broke Da Mouth. It’s an expression for something so good, so delicious. We had built an appetite from our busy morning. The restaurant was tucked in a strip mall in industrial district. It was packed. Locals and tourists alike were at this restaurant. This is what we ordered:
I was surprised that the Oxtail Soup did not come with cilantro or grated ginger. It was something I got so used to eating. While it was good, those two were missing for me and I would’ve totally rated it as something that would’ve Broke Da Mouth.
Scandinavian Shave Ice
Hmmm….honestly, it wasn’t really that enticing for me to check this place out. I mean, c’mon, why would anyone want Scandinavian Shave ice while in Hawaii? But, at the same time, I was intrigued. When we got there, nothing strange, it was just another shave ice company. The perfect accessory was the ocean and all the colorful stores surrounding this store. The ice was shaved finely, and the family enjoyed our first shave ice on the Big Island.
Pool time
It got hotter that afternoon and we decided to head back to the resort and jump in the pool. Finally, I joined Evan and Caitlin. It was a perfect Hawaiian afternoon.
Umeke’s Fishbar and Grill
Later on that evening, we decided to give Umeke’s a try. We were still so full from our lunch and shave ice, so we went to Umeke’s and tried their Happy Hour samples – their Hottie Poke, Avocado Poke, and Ahi Katsu. But you know which one stole the show? Evan and Ethan’s Teri Beef….the most tender, juicy beef we had. This one actually broke da mouth!
How we ended our day
After leaving Umeke’s we found ourselves heading back home and stopped for our sunset family pictures. Today was a good day. Mahalo.
