{"id":10268,"date":"2021-09-20T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=10268"},"modified":"2021-09-20T08:27:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T15:27:50","slug":"on-the-road-again-finally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=10268","title":{"rendered":"On the Road Again . . . Finally!"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n

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Kona Country Club<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt is not a good time to travel to the islands.\u00a0 We know that the visitors who choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday that they expect when they visit Hawaii.\u201d <\/em>Hawaii governor, David Ige\u00a0\u00a0 Aug 24, \u201821<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given that there are a lot of places that I\u2019m not welcome, Governor Ige\u2019s admonishment meant little to me, and as I parsed his statement more closely, it was clear he was saying that we shouldn\u2019t <\/em>come, not that we couldn\u2019t<\/em> come.\u00a0 We had already cancelled one trip to Hawaii last year, not again \u2013 Aloha Big Island!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting There is Half the Fun<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m here to tell you that, in today\u2019s world of travel, getting there is not<\/em><\/strong> \u2018half the fun\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s not even a small percentage of the fun.\u00a0 We wore masks from the minute we stepped into the airport in Long Beach<\/strong>, until we reach the Big Island in Hawaii. <\/strong>We kept it on while we waited for our luggage, kept it on as we waited for the bus to take us to the car rental location, wore it on the bus, wore it while we waited in line for the rental car agent and the car.\u00a0 Finally, in the car . . . mask off – whew!!\u00a0 I felt like I was holding my breath that whole time!\u00a0 But . .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The gang (minus Linda Sparrow who took the photo) at the Malasada truck<\/p><\/div>\n

It was all worth it as we (the \u2018we\u2019 on this trip was Chuck & Linda Sager<\/strong>, Ed & Stacie Hunter<\/strong>, John & Judy VanBoxmeer<\/strong> and Linda & me<\/strong>) finally inhaled that heavenly tropical air, saw the palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze, and actually had the feeling that . . . we had escaped.\u00a0 There was one drawback, and that was that everyone in Hawaii had to wear a mask, inside and out \u2013 it\u2019s was one of the only things that Governor Ige<\/strong> could still control.\u00a0 But . . .<\/p>\n

No masks on the golf course!! \u00a0Our first round was at the beautiful Mauna Lani Golf Course<\/strong>, with several holes right on the water \u2013 one of the most spectacular being #15<\/strong> on the South Course, where it is said that more photos are taken there than any other golf hole in Hawaii.\u00a0 Not sure who\u2019s counting, but in spite of us taking our photo there, you’ll find that it didn’t make the cut for this blog.<\/p>\n

In Search of Malasadas<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chuck, who is like a local in Hawaii, had introduced us to Malasadas (which roughly translates to \u2018Portuguese Fried Dough\u2019 \u2013 basically, they\u2019re fancy doughnuts, but better!) when we were last here and so the next morning the men got up and headed down the road for where the Malasada truck & trailer usually park.\u00a0 No truck.\u00a0 We drove a little further with the thought that perhaps the \u2018Malasada lady\u2019 parked somewhere else today.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure we were looking for her or whether we were just killing time as we visited the resorts of Mauna Kea<\/strong> and Hapuna<\/strong>, then returned to \u2018the Malasada spot\u2019, but no Malasada truck, no Malasada trailer, no Malasada lady!\u00a0 It was a holiday (Labor Day), so maybe she wasn\u2019t laboring this day.\u00a0 Nonplussed, we drove to the local market and found packaged Malasadas \u2013 not bad, but definitely not the same.<\/p>\n

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Island green at Makani<\/p><\/div>\n

Dear Diary<\/u><\/p>\n

What I had <\/em>written here about our week on the Big Island, sounded too much like a very detailed, boring diary as I reread it.\u00a0 So, I\u2019ll save you the agony of reading it.\u00a0 There was lots of golf, eating and drinking \u2013 not necessarily in that order<\/strong><\/p>\n

For golf . . .<\/p>\n