Kona. Think Kona and you think coffee. So, today we drove south past the Kona airport to Ka’iminagni Drive 
and turned left. Like lots of places on this island when you turn away from the ocean, you go up. In no time, we were up 1500 feet above sea level. We were looking for Hula Coffee Company and they were closed. We drove a bit further, took an ‘s’ turn and came to Blue Sky Kona Coffee. We watched a video, not the best part but, then we got a sort of tour. The company is over a hundred years, farms five hundred acres and is still in the same family. 
Coffee beans start out pretty flowers, part of the gardenia family with a faint aromatic perfume. Then as the flower 
begin to fade, the beans start to grow. The bushes bloom from January to June and the beams are picked when they turn red. There are three beans, all from the same tree, the peaberry-small, less bitter [great with dark chocolate], the Ohana-a medium size bean and the Estate-the largest bean. Fact: the darker the roast the less the caffeine. Coffee was brought to Hawaii by missionaries, not a huge surprise if you know your history. Coffee labeled Kona must be grown within the Kona region, an area twenty miles by two miles and between 1200 and 1600 feet above sea level. 
And just to make this more interesting, here is raw chocolate! Yes, cacao beans, when they are pumpkin orange, that’s when they should be picked. Sad, all this chocolate going to waste. Boo! After the coffee farm we drove back down to highway 11 to find the Captain Cook 
monument. No such luck, we drove twice through Captain Cook Hawaii. On the way down Kamehameha Road to sea level, at a lookout we spotted this hedge of 
flowers, and a view and the Kahalu’i Beach Park and the Catholic Church, Saint Peter’s By The Sea, a little small, but right there on the beach next to the surfers. We found a Humpy’s AleHouse by the Sea in Kailua and had lunch, outside, fish and chips, and a perfect view of the ocean. And we got home in time to take a nap!
Well, yes, this may well be paradise.