Nutty Day

Previously: Points South (Part 2)

After such a long day driving to South Point and back, we decided to take this day to stay “local” in our travels (i.e., within a 20-mile radius of the hut). We went back to Luke’s Place for lunch and talked about the things left to do on the island. I had picked up a brochure for the Hamakua Macadamia Nut factory, which was not too far away. We both love macadamia nuts, so the plan was set.

Of course John Cleese had no idea where to go. I was now becoming used to this and would find the point on the map or useful cross streets and just have him direct us to the point closest to our destination instead, continually trying to update the GPS map with each new stop.

The building itself is nothing more than a factory — although I’m not sure why I was surprised. We were going on a factory tour, after all, right? We entered through the sizeable gift shop and only a few minutes after we arrived, a tour started.

Our tour guide took us down the hall, pointed at some pictures of macadamia trees, and explained the growth and harvesting cycle, as we looked through 8-foot tall windows at the factory floor. She then pointed at some of the machines through the window and explained what they did. Nobody was working, though; I guess there weren’t any macadamia nuts to roast right at that point or they all were on break or something. A lot of the machines also seemed to be loaded for making flavored popcorn, which seemed a little odd, but I guess they’ve got to make something when there aren’t any macadamias to roast, right?

So that was the tour: go down the hall, turn the corner, have the tourists crack some nuts, and send them back into the gift shop. I did get to crack some macadamias (which was fun, even though I knew it was totally silly) and then partook of the free coffee and nut samples.

Hey, at least they were straightforward. And the women who worked in the “nut house,” as they liked to call it, were fun to talk to; they were the real reason why our fellow tourists bought so much after the tour. We bought some macadamia nuts, too: 4 pounds of macadamias, which should last us until our next trip back to Hawaii (if you factor in the fact that my mom always send macadamias to us for Christmas.

After the tour, we went back to our hut for more reading and relaxation. I cooked spaghetti in our kitchenette again, and by the time the evening was over, I was almost finished with the books I had gotten from Kona Bay Books the day before.

I told you I was a voracious reader.

Next: Tourist Trap