So today was no different. The grand plan this time: head up island to the same place as two weeks ago, but this time drop the guys and the kids off at the beach for fishing and play while Liz and I went to see the azaleas (hopefully this time in bloom...)
Well, that was the plan, but as they say about the best laid plans...
So we headed up island, but accidentally got off the highway one exit too early so we had an extra little bit on the two lane road instead of speeding along the highway. But that turned out to be a good thing since the raindrops started and we were hungry. Conveniently, I spied a restaurant that I had recently read a review about so we parked the Beater and piled in to... OHOP! Yes, sounds a lot like IHOP, and with good reason. It was the Okinawa House of Pancakes!
Now, to most this would not be thrilling, but when you've lived without a decent artery-clogging, lead-belly, grease-dripping American breakfast for two years this was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! We knew we were in for a treat when we were escorted through the kitchen entrance (so we didn't have to walk all the way around the building to the front) by a man who, as London described him, looks like he could kill aligators. Yes, the dude was American, but certainly not active duty! The all-over tatoos, long white hair, jean overalls, and foot-long goatee kind of gave that away. But I had faith that his restaurant could provide the real deal. And it did. Biscuits and gravy, sausage (which tasted more like mini-meatloafs but very yummy), pancakes, waffles, eggs. I'm drooling just thinking about it again.
So with our bellies full and the rain stopped, we piled back into the Beater and headed for the beach. Found that, deposited men and boys (girls opted to see the "zaleas" as Lydia called them) and drove off to see some gorgeous blooms. But the blooms were not cooperating and after driving 1 1/2 hours for the second time in two weeks to see them, they still were not out in full force. But the Japanese were (very crowded) and the rain started again. So we opted for plan B - find a remote coffee farm that Stevie and kids and I had visited about 18 months ago.
It's a good job there aren't that many roads on the north end of this island so once we got on the only road running down the east coast I knew it was only a matter of time until we found the farm. And we did.
The interesting thing about this little place is, well, everything. It sits in the middle of nowhere, yet there were lots of people there. The best I can figure a family lives in the main building and then has little "shacks" where you can drink your coffee. As I described it to Liz, it's an eclectic collection of buildings decorated in an eclectic style complete with coffee beans on the floor and chickens running around! My description was not exagerated!
But they make an absolutely delicious cup of coffee from freshly grown and roasted beans and an equally delish coffee pudding (and some pretty good toast for the girls). That's about the extent of their menu. Everything is served so elegantly including an orchid with the pudding and the coffee being served in a china cup and saucer. Gotta love Japan - it's all about the presentation, forget that you're eating with the chickens!
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| Coffee pudding |
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| Emmy liked the chocolate cookies they gave out! |
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| Chillin with my elegant cup of coffee. |
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| Roasting the fresh beans. |
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| Emmy really liked the chickens! |
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| Feeding the rooster cookies. |
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| This was our shack - love her attitude! |
Flying high off our coffee buzzes, we returned to the male parts of our family to find they caught exactly one thumb-sized fish in the 2 1/2 hours that we left them. But they seemed pleased with that so I'm happy for them.
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| London trying for a fish. |
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