Sylvia's Scenario

We took our first snorkeling cruise on the Fair Wind forty-three years ago on our honeymoon.  It was my first visit to Hawaii, even though Bruce had visited a dozen times already and he couldn't wait to bring me along.  His parents had a condo here on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii so he always had a free place to stay when he came.  He already knew about the Fair Wind snorkeling cruise that takes you to one of the best snorkeling locations on Hawaii's Big Island since 1971.  They take you to a Marine Life Conservation District, the only underwater state park on the Big Island.  There are no roads that lead to it so the only way you can go snorkeling there is to go by boat or by hiking.  Last year, we actually took the hike to get to the bay, called Kealakekua Bay.  It is a 1.8 mile one-way hike with a 2,000 ft elevation, so it was a  bit of a work out coming back up but we could handle it.  Needless to say, there are not a lot of people on this trail since it is a

After coming to Hawaii for 43 years, we finally had our first Hawaiian malasada.  To tell you the truth, I'm glad we haven't been privy to the whole malasada situation.  They are a little dangerous.  Malasadas are Hawaiian pastries resembling donuts except no hole and they often include filling inside of custard, coconut, or fruit like pineapple, guava or other tropical fruits.  And they go down really easy!   They are a lot like the paczki they sell at  Bakery Nouveau  for Fat Tuesday at home.  Every year, I try to resist but it's hard.  They only sell them about a week before Ash Wednesday, then you have to wait another year.  Pacski are polish-style, pillowy soft, yeast doughnuts filled with jam, custard or lemon curd.  They are worth waiting a year for, believe me.  Here in Hawaii, you can buy malasadas anytime if you can find a bakery that sells them.  We've seen roadside stands that sell them but when we took a trip to the southern most point of the island, we dec