Aloha, everyone! Hopefully you aren’t too fatigued about our Hawaii experience after last night’s recap post. This Thursday Rundown will be Hawaii-themed too but before we begin I just want to congratulate my parents who celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on Tuesday. My admiration for their beautiful marriage never ceases. Their secret? I wrote about it last year. Okay, now with tonight’s five topics…

Hawaiian Shave Ice – Can ice doused in artificial flavoring really be that special? I was skeptical, but then I actually went to Hawaii. Sidney and I ordered shave ice at a little shop in downtown Kapaa on our last day of vacation. I chose bubble gum and watermelon flavors. When we grabbed our dishes from the employee, my first thought was wow, this feels light. My first bite was amazing! Smooth, satisfying, and flavorful, I couldn’t believe how good it was. The texture of the ice was unlike anything I had ever tried in the continental United States. Our shave ice experience was such a treat and I will always remember the unique texture and taste.

We loved the shave ice from Hee Fat.

Loco Moco – Before I stepped foot in Hawaii, I had never heard of loco moco. But I eventually became very well-acquainted with the dish as every menu I viewed in Kauai had it listed. What is it, you ask? Loco moco starts with a bed of rice and is topped with a hamburger patty, a couple sunny-side-up eggs, and gravy. I ordered it at a sports bar near our resort one night. I thought it was pretty good as you can’t really go wrong with those ingredients but it isn’t something I would go out of my way to order again.

This is the famous Hawaiian dish called loco moco. I ordered it on Friday night of our trip.

Feral Fowl – I once visited the Florida Keys and it seemed like large lizards were everywhere. Well, for every giant reptile I saw in the Keys, I saw five chickens in Kauai. The island is completely overrun with them. You can look up on your own why that is the case, but there is no escaping Kauai chickens—both the sight of them and the sound of them. It didn’t matter what part of the island I was on, there was always fowl close by. For a tourist it was kind of charming but I imagine lifelong residents might find them a bit annoying.

For the millions of roosters and chickens I saw, I wish I would have taken a better photo than this one. But seriously, these animals are all over the place in Kauai.

A Napkin Too Cute to Use – Kailey and Corbin couldn’t bring their dogs to their wedding so they did the next best thing…they put them on a napkin. Meet the “Dogs of Honor,” Augustus and Norman. Not only did the pooches earn a spot on the napkins, they each had a signature cocktail named after them at the reception.

These cocktail napkins were available during the reception.

Hawaii Misc. Food and Drink – You can’t stop talking about food, huh Brent? Sorry everyone! But just a few notes. There are fruit stands on every corner in Hawaii. We bought fresh pineapple at one and it was amazing. The best word I used to describe the fresh taste was tropical. Macaroons are really big in Hawaii so I had to see what all the fuss was about and ordered a strawberry one…it was pretty good. Finally, most of the Pepsi you purchase in Hawaii is actually made on the island. With that said, it still tasted like, well, Pepsi.

Pineapple tasted tropical, macaroon tasted sweet, and Pepsi tasted like Pepsi.

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I am sure I will have more Hawaii-inspired nuggets to share in future blog posts. Until then, I am signing off with a vision of a Hawaiian shaved ice in my hand. Don’t Blink.