Surf, Sea, and Sam's

After a couple of cups of coffee spent watching small clean waves go unridden, I paddled out to Tongs. (I'm the small yellow speck over Sue's right shoulder). As the tide continued to drop the waves eventually found a water depth they liked and I got quite a few nice little rights - even though Tongs is generally a left-hand wave.

The one problem with delaying so long before paddling out was that it completely threw off our meal schedule. Sue generally doesn't eat breakfast and is ready for lunch around noon or one o'clock. It was now 10:30 and I was starving. I wolfed down some pineapple from the fridge, which held me off until we could have an early lunch. Sue had a little bite of pineapple which eventually made her quite sick. No more pineapple for Sue!!

This probably won't mean anything to anyone but Chris and Clay, but the old Diamond Head Market has reopened at the corner of Montsarrat and Campbell, they've now got a small, upscale, market with an espresso bar as well as a plate lunch stand. I had a mixed plate. Also of little interest to anyone: the Bueno Nalo that had opened on Montsarrat is gone, I don't know if the original in Waimanalo is still going or not.

We got home, and as mentioned Sue was feeling the effects of the pineapple. She took a nap and I read the newspaper. When she awoke she was feeling better and we took the boogie boards out to Tongs. The tide was very high and the waves were just kind of crumbling. This was Sue's first time outside on the boogie board and she did really well, catching 4-5 waves. She needs to learn to open her eyes while she's riding though; she's missing a great view!

Since it was a Friday night, and we haven't been out to a really fancy restaurant in a very long time (although we cook our share of fancy meals), we went over to Sam Choy's Diamond Head Restaurant.

We started with the Gnocchi Trio as an appetizer, it was part of their Garlic Festival celebration. Then, to our surprise, came a baked potato soup followed by an Island Geen salad with a creamy soy/sesame dressing. By this time Sue was already getting full. Finally the entree arrived, Garlic Encrusted Porcini Mahimahi (Sue had hers without the mushrooms) with Kapakahi Mashed Potatoes and a vegetable medly of squash, yams, and red peppers. Ono!

This, to me, is the perfect blend of gourmet food and local sensibilities. No manini portions. No extra charges for soup or salad. We were completely stuffed at the end of the meal and were forced to skip dessert; although the menu had a few things that looked quite tempting. We also elected to skip the bus ride home and walked/waddled back down Kapahulu to the beach and then down to the condo, under star-filled skies.