Today we started off with Tony and me cooking breakfast, giving Joanne a break in the kitchen. We then headed to the local Doctor... my mosquito bites ... not so good... had to get something to stop me from scratching until I am a bloody mess (OK, TMI).... the local Doctor, takes walk-ins. I asked how much it would cost to get an appt w/him (he was answering the phones because his receptionist was out sick today) about my bites and to get some relief. He looked at me, thought a moment and said... $20.00. I said works for me ! He had 2 patients ahead of me so we took a seat to wait.
Wait was only about 10 minutes and we were called in. He took one look at my legs and arms and said... "Holy Shit... They ate you alive, didn't they !" He checked my blood pressure (110/70) and he said he'd give me Prednisone and Claritin and some Cortisone cream and came back with 4 pills to take immediately.
To settle up he said... no worries... I'll bill your insurance. Knowing that I haven't met my out of pocket deductible yet, I said I'd prefer to settle up with cash. So he said... "OK, how about $20.00 ?". I gave him a $50.00 and said thank you very much !
Glad to say, the Prednisone finally kicked in tonight... 9hrs later but it has kicked in :-)
Joanne & Earl then took us to Purdy’s Macadamia Nut Farm where we learned all about the nuts (brought to the islands from Queensland, Australia. We were able to see the different stages of the nut, their drying process and how to open the nuts (no wonder they’re so darned expensive - Labor intensive !). Purchased some nuts, some Macadamia Nut Sea Salt (this is really good) and some Macadamia Nut infused oils for cooking to take back to the mainland with us.
We then headed to the Kalaupapa Lookout that overlooks Father Damien's Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Refuge. It is quite a beautiful view and quite amazing that back in the day, people with this disease were banished to this remote island and tucked away on the far side of the island to be forgotten by family and friends because of their misfortune. Today there are only about 4-5 patients still living in the refuge - they are cured but, because this is the only home they have known, they chose to remain even after being cured.
We also visited a rather unique rock in this State Park that is quite the conversation piece... we'll let you be the judge :)
We had lunch at Kualapu'u Cookhouse and then headed to the Hale o Lono Harbor area to snorkel. We were the only ones around for what seemed like miles. Tony & Earl did snorkeling while Joanne and I simply bobbed in the ocean enjoying the sun and the scenery - water was a perfect temperature :-)
We then headed to the local market to pick up fresh Ahi and veggies and home to whip up dinner. Joanne is a wizard in the kitchen so we stayed out of her way and she made a magnificent dinner of Ahi (with home-made tartar sauce), grilled veggies, steamed rice and Hawaiian Sweet Bread.
Life is good :-)