Funny that you mentioned this---
Just last night,I went to the neighborhood Italian Restaurant to get a chef's salad.Due to my kitchen being a wreck now due to the sewer pipe leaking and destroying my Kenmore gas range,I eat dinner there more frequent than not. So,I got the usual at the bar and the place was packed for a Friday night.I placed my order as I began sipping my Hawaiin iced tea when a couple none of us regulars recognized came in and had no choice but a seat at the bar.We got to converse a bit and Dave and his girlfriend,Dea were upstate New Yorkers visiting here from Yonkers,New York.They're custom building a home here.As I received my salad,Dave asked (seeing the pile up of ham,home cooked chicken bits and turkey breast right off the bone covering the lettuce,onions,peppers,tomatoes,cucumber,and grated parmasian and cheddar cheeses.He asked what salad I ordered and I told him I always get the same because it's quite delicious and all fresh ingredients. They ordered a pizza and chef salad with drinks and,as I went to wash my hands,I told Liz,my waitress to put their meal on my tab.
We talked about different things regarding Honoka'a's heritage and the quietness of the area as aposed to places like New York City,Chicago,LA,and Atlanta.Dave brought up the new house their having built and said they had some issues on which appliances they were going to choose for their new kitchen asking about energy efficiency,performance and reliability.I invited them to go home with me and we could discuss more about it.
They aproved and came down.As we got here,my boss and coligues were all sitting at a round table in front of his new travel trailer smoking 420 and drinking beers.Carrying on as normal for an "Aloha Friday" after we closed and bragging about Pete's new travel trailer he got for under $1000!!!
Pete began talking to Dave and ,between Pete and I,we steered Dave straight on solar power being used in place of regular house current and the pros and cons of both.By the time we were finished,Dave was completely convinced and will be ordering his products from us.All together,the proposal comes to almost $50,000 but the savings as well as the money they'll be getting from the local power company for the electricity they don't use will bring it back and then some.
All of that just for showing the true aloha spirit to folks who are going to be moving here.We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and invited them to stay in one of our rentals free when they come back this Spring to place their orders.They responded with a "Yes" and we shook hands,hugged and they went back to their bed and breakfast hotel to get ready to meet us and go with us this afternoon to Waipio Valley (YPO)and surf the big waves today!They went there yesterday but only to the lookout,not the actual valley. Pete and I were already planning on going there to get some "Magic Mushrooms" we pick once a month to enjoy and share.So,we'll be leaving around noon to go and relax in the sunshine and I think I'm going to hike uphill to the falls and take a nice long shower under the 440 ft drop from the cliff.There's about 100 yards of lava that made a cave behind the falls where there are some neet tubes made by the flow of the liquid rock that you can explore but need a flashlight to see where you're going.Aloha!
