SPAM, Shopping, and Samosas

 Pella in Paradise

Day 2: Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Shopping Day

We woke up hungry because of time difference from California, and we had some shopping to do, so we decided to get breakfast at Zippy's.  V and I almost went into the wrong door, which would have been sad because that's an entirely different restaurant.  Once we went into the correct door, I checked out the menu and I was very happy that I could get a "mini bowl" of SPAM, egg, and rice.  That's the typical Hawaiian breakfast for me!  They also had malasadas, which are kind of like filled doughnuts.  

While we were there, I saw that somebody had left their wallet on the seat in one of the nearby booths.  I told the cashier, and he said that it probably belonged to the guy that was sitting there, and he would likely be back soon.  It made me nervous to just leave it there because I'm from a land where that would be stolen very quickly, so I gave it to the cashier for safe keeping.  The guy did call shortly afterward to ask if he had left his wallet there, and returned for it.  As we left, we saw roosters in the parking lot.  This would not be the last time.  There were roosters pretty much everywhere we went.

Breakfast!

Breakfast Dessert! Malasadas

The correct door

Even the trees in the parking lot
are pretty.

Bro and V like to find flea markets when they travel, so we went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium.  The flea market is actually in the circle outside the stadium, and it was a bit warm that day.  Pleasant, but warm.  Bro went ahead of us as V and I checked out most of the booths.  I found Little Mermaid stuff!  One was a Tsum Tsum figurine, and the other was a puzzle box.  Artist Sandy Yee was actually there, so I took a photo with her and the box she made.  She was very nice and even gave me a nice discount on a wooden ornament of a cross with plumerias on it.

With Sandy Yee & Ariel box

I also liked the different wooden carvings, especially of the turtles.  I didn't buy any because they were big and I wouldn't be able to decide on one anyway.  But here is an artist at work.

In addition to some clothing, I bought a dragonfruit for only $2.00.  Yes, this is a big deal, at $2.00/pound, because I've seen them go for $8.00/pound in California.  There was also a fruit that I had seen before, but V had not.  We learned that it was rambutan, and not lychee, which was V's guess.  I didn't know when we would eat that, or I might have bought some.  V bought candy and dried lychees with the li huan powder that was on her dessert from the night before.  It was really good, and now we want to find it everywhere.  V found laserdiscs of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", too.  

As I was waiting for V at one point, I saw a food stand, and saw something very familiar to me.

Cascaron / Carioca

I asked the vendor, and they confirmed what it was.  My grandmother used to make these fried mochi flour and coconut balls, caramelized with sugar.  Hers were a bit more dense and not so round, though.  If they had been freshly made, I would have bought some, but they had been made several hours before and I knew I'd probably be disappointed.  They also didn't have the drink that I was looking for because their machine wasn't working.  But I did enjoy talking to them and reminiscing about Mama.  They said that their grandmother made these, and I teared up a little bit.  These were my favorite treat that she would make in the afternoons for merienda (snack).  

V and I found a vendor selling stickers with tribal markings.  I marveled at the one with the Lakers logo.  The vendor offered to show me logos of other teams.  "There's no other team," I said defiantly to her.  V smiled knowingly.  The lady laughed at me.

Me with my haul

I like the pretty canopy trees that were around the circle.  I took a lot of photos of the canopy trees on this trip, but on this day, I wanted to take them from underneath, too.

V and I also took some pics at this cool metal sculpture near the entrance to the Bowl.  

V inside

I have no idea what these mean

View from inside

Hanging out inside a sculpture

We weren't done shopping yet!  They also like to go antiquing in different places.  The first place we went to is called "Ali'i Antiques".  The store is so small that they only allow two visitors inside at a time.  So I stood outside for a little while as they shopped.  I was told that I could come in, and it was so tiny in there that I was scared to turn around and knock over stuff.  bro got a cool E.T. figurine made of brass, as well as Lady and the Tramp figurines.

The next place we went to, Kailua Pickers, was in a strip mall with parking lot issues.  They had parking meters, but they didn't work very well, and they were old fashioned quarter machines.  So Bro stayed in the car most of the time to avoid getting a ticket.  Meanwhile, V found a bunch of drinking glasses that she collects.

After all of that treasure hunting, we were famished and ate lunch at Maui Brewing Company.  I had an MBC Mai Tai with Pineapple Whip on top.  A mai tai with Dole Whip!  I also had some fish and chips.

FYI that is not my chest

Fish n Chips n Mai Tai with Dole Whip

V wanted to go to the nearby Salvation Army, and that didn't interest me, so I went to the very non-antique Ulta store while I waited for them.  Bro thought that it was a mattress store.  So I had to teach him that it was a beauty store.  I hope he remembers that when his daughter grows up and wants to go there to be girly.

On our way home, we were able to get a glimpse of the "Stairway to Heaven" (or Ha'iku Stairs) that V had been talking about all day long.  In the video below, you can only see it at 0:42 or so, and it is difficult to see if you don't know what you're looking for.  It is a wooden and metal stairway that has been eroding and is not accessible to the public.  It was built by the US Navy to reach the top secret radio communications station on the island of Oahu.  

 

Exhausted after all of the shopping, we all took naps when we returned to the house.  We didn't even want to go out for dinner, so we baked the samosas that Mona had told us were in the freezer, and ate that with the Turtle Chips.  I'm glad they liked the turtle chips!

Thanks for the samosas, Mo!

Here are the cool stickers that we got at the swap meet, some of which were made of bamboo!

Afterward, we watched "I Love You, Man", a movie that I've seen many times, because V and Bro had not seen it yet even though they really like Paul Rudd.  Totes Ma Goats.

Next Up:  Sightseeing Day