A Farewell Gift

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​​A FAREWELL GIFT

...Continued from previous post:
     On Friday morning, our last day in Honolulu, the lobby of the Hale Koa was a lively place, filled with the local artisan vendors who come to the Hale Koa every Friday morning to sell their hand-crafted wares..

     I bought some gifts to bring back: a couple of candles,

...a piece of jewlery,

...a table runner that the vendor finished hemming while I waited, 

...and two beautiful bread baskets carved by the seller's father.

     We spent the rest of our last day mostly hanging around the hotel grounds,

...except that we did venture off-post in the afternoon to walk to a nearby McDonald's. 
   The McDonald's in Hawaii used to sell a item called a Haupia Pie, a pastry akin to the hot apple pie McDonald's used to sell, but with a sort of sweet coconut cream filling instead the standard apple filling.

      I always loved those Haupia Pies, and every time I've been to Hawaii I've made it a point to eat one or two - or more - of them. And so I wanted to check if they were still an available item.
       Sadly, Hawaii McDonald's - or at least the McD's near our hotel - no longer carried the Haupia Pie. However, they were offering a new flavor, a guava & crème pie.

     We tried one.

     It was okay. But it couldn't hold a dim candle to the Haupia Pie.
     That evening while we were in our hotel room packing for our departure the following day, I suggested we turn on the television. 
       To our delight, the Hilo hula competitions of the Merrie Monarch Festival, a yearly springtime celebration of Hawaiian culture, were being televised.  The dancers were beautiful to watch.

      It felt like a fare-well gift from this lovely island.