You say lychee, I say lychee

Tis the season to eat lychee. I actually shot a couple of pictures myself of lychee purchased at the market yesterday, but for some reason, my technology failed. So I stole these from wikipedia. Driving through Hilo, you can see the trees everywhere, laden with fruit. What does it taste like? Hmmmmm... That's kind of like asking what peaches taste like or apples. They taste like peaches and apples. Lychee tastes like lychee. It's sweet and juicy with it's own unique flavor. They taste a little like a rambutan, if that helps. When I was growing up, we heard of something called a lychee nut, with the word pronounced leechee. I think the nut part comes from the appearance of the seed, which you can see looks like a nut, but to my knowledge nobody eats that part. Here, it's pronounced lie-chee.
I spent a few hours at the library yesterday. I actually love the Hilo library. At it's center is a landscaped courtyard. The walls on the courtyard side... well, there are no walls. You're actually sitting outside with a roof over. Pretty cool. I wonder what all that humidity does to the books.
I also went to the Farmers' Market, where I ate some fresh Thai summer rolls, a piece of salmon musubi and a lemonade for lunch. After the library, I went to KTA to pick up a few items. I swear, it's amazing to me how packed the grocery stores always seem to be. Maybe if I shop at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning...
Well, gotta go pour wine and schmooze with tourists.
A hui hou. Aloha.

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Born and bred

The creature stared at me, wide-eyed through the florescent glare, Saran Wrap stretched tight across its broad back. Alone in the seafood cooler, he was the only one of his kind, there among the farmed, color-added Atlantic salmon and mud-flavored tilapia, perched on a blue foam tray, legs tucked 'round him like a comfy kitten. He didn't blink. He was dead, red, cooked and chilled, ready to eat. Such a find is rare in the City Market fish department in Gunnison, Colorado. What if nobody takes him home? I thought. This beautiful animal will have died needlessly, ripped from his home, family and friends (Dory, Nemo, Crush and Gill?) only to be tossed in the trash when his expiration date came and went. I lifted him for closer inspection, checked that date, felt the heft of him, scanned his surface for cracks and blemishes. The creature was perfect. I lowered him back into the cooler, nodded farewell, turned to walk away, took one step, and stopped. Shoppers strolled past, stud

On Tennis and Writing and Being Too Nice

I've recently been recruited to play tennis for a local 4.0 ladies tennis league team, referred to as either "Team Debbie" for the nice woman who manages us, or "Have Fun," which is our pre-match chant. We're still looking for a proper name. But we do have fun, despite getting creamed most outings. Last Saturday, we played in the Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium in Hilo. Good thing, too, since outside it was pouring, complete with thunder and lightning. It's a substantial structure, covered, yet open all around, most famous for hosting the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in April. It was about 85 degrees outside and 100 percent humidity, air so thick it took three sucks of my albuterol inhaler just to breath. Several of us arrived early to warm up, but after twenty minutes' steady rallying with my teammate, Keiko, the human backboard, I was drenched. I played doubles with a nice, extremely fit and excellent ground-stroker named Cynthia from Pahoa.

Fruity booty

It was a long drive from Glenwood to the northern tip of the island -- three hours -- so for sustenance, we stopped at Baker Tom's for malasadas on the way. My pal Kathy and I were headed to Kapa'au for a hike, one we'd read about in the local newspaper. The couple who run Baker Tom's (not sure if the husband is actually Tom or not) are delightful, with enduring stamina. They're as old as radio, yet they're always on duty, ready to serve behind the counter, as they have for many years, frying, baking, brewing and smiling, there in Papaikou , gateway to the Hamakua Coast. The malasadas are enormous, cheap and delicious, the coffee OK, the tourists all happy to have discovered this place, buzzing with sugar and caffeine. They make a killer pumpkin cheesecake at Baker Tom's, too. It's always a pleasant stop. Ahapua'a . It's a Hawaiian land division, usually a strip or wedge, stretching from mountain to sea. Hawaiians lived in villages wit

Mountains and Islands

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