Late Breakfast, Lousy Internet Connection, Afternoon Tea, Tranquility, Roasting, Beer, Lava Lava Shrimp, More TV

I have slept well, and quite late. I stop by the Moana Lani Spa on the second floor to book a massage appointment for the next day. It is almost ten when I leave the hotel to find breakfast. A few blocks up the street I find Cheeseburger In Paradise, a close relative of the Cheeseburger Beachwalk over next to the other hotel. The food's the same, the waitress is friendly and smiles a lot, the kitsch on the walls is slightly different, and I enjoy the poached eggs and Portuguese sausage.

Walking back to the hotel to slave away on yesterday's post I pass yet another wedding party.

Oh Gosh!! Please make it stop already!! They are all the same. Every bride is breathtakingly beautiful and poised in flawless white dresses, and every groom looks nervous and frightened in a gray morning suit. They are like the movie Groundhog Day, the basics never change. What happened to matching Hawaiian shirts, while barefoot on the beach at sunset in front of the official of your choice? Sorry, my age is showing.

Back in my room I call for reservations for Afternoon Tea on The Veranda, and I struggle with a problematic internet connection. I'm being kind here and using diplomatic language. It keeps kicking me out in the middle of composing e-mail and I lose everything. Finally I compose outside of my e-mail and cut and paste usually just in time to get kicked out again. I'll spare you the creative use of verbal skills using language my elders would not approve of.

I take an hour or so to write up the blog post, and generally just wasting time. My reservations are for 2:15 and at the appointed time present myself to the desk, and am quickly escorted to a table by the rail of The Veranda.

I have never had a formal tea before, and looking at the other guests and how they are dressed I take a moment to congratulate myself on changing into long pants. This is not a shorts kind of place.

The tables linens are crisp and the silverware is real silver. At least I think it is I don't have a lot of experience with such things.

In fact the only reason I decided to do this, is because I have never done it, though I have always wanted to. One more bucket list thing scratched off.

Eugene, my waiter, brings me a tray of seven dry teas to view and smell. Of them all I choose the Veranda Blend. It has an aroma of vanilla and it seems to fit with the feel of the air and, sea, and sun.

The Veranda is located by the hotel's beach bar. The sea breeze flows gently through the area and I am getting more relaxed.

Eugene brings the brewed tea and pours the first cup. I am very taken with it. It is soft, gentle, and flavourful in way that is non cloying and suggests the hope of a long, quiet afternoon.

As I savour the tea and scenery, Eugene arrives with the first course. A mushroom soup that is flavourful and robust. I take my time, trying very hard to mind my best table manners. I'm actually trying hard to find my best table manners as they were taught to me. Please understand, it's been a while since I needed them. Most of my dining is casual, and living alone can lead to a degradation in the more genteel requirements of our society.

The soup is followed by a three tier service of sandwiches, raisin scone, and tarts and cakes. The sandwiches are small, delicate and flavourful. The egg salad and smoked salmon was my favourite. White bread, crusts cut off, nicely flavoured egg salad on top of a delicately slice of smoked salmon. The roast beef with watercress and a light horseradish was a very close second. I would have taken a picture but I was totally engrossed in the moment.

The raisin scone was still warm. The choice of butter or Devonshire cream was easy. The Devonshire cream of course. The pastries and cakes were all fabulous. I don't eat a lot of cake and pastry but these were worth the exception. Throughout the whole parade of deliciousness, the tea kept pouring. The flavours were all complimentary to the tea, but none were so close to heaven as the lemon grass sorbet that finished the dining. It was sheer smoothness with a light airy movement that melted on your tongue without any effort at all.

I sat in the chair, shaded from the sun, watching the sea and the people playing in it, the distant sounds of the surf and other diners, and I felt a moment of supreme personal tranquillity. For that moment, in this place, everything in my world was good and well, and at peace.

I paid the bill and retired to my room to sit on the lanai, watch the water, roast in the sun, read and enjoy what had just happened.

Around 5:30 I roused myself to action. I wasn't really hungry for dinner, the marvellous food experience of the afternoon was still far to fresh to contemplate anything heavy. Feeling a bit at odds with what to do I walked over to my favourite out of town bar and considered my options over a couple of Landsharks. Around 6:30 I order something different, Lava Lava Shrimp. Large shrimp dipped in crispy batter, deep fried then tossed in aioli sauce and served over Romaine lettuce. It's quite good but also heavier than I thought.

I have one last Landshark, nearly spilling the darn thing. I was squeezing the lime wedge when I lost my grip and the wedge torpedoes the beer causing a small mess on the bar top. I clean it up and Dana is curious at the small pile of napkins when she comes by again. I explain, she laughs, I feel silly, and uncoordinated, again.

Retiring to my room for the final time today, I watch the season premieres of NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles, and nod off easy.