The Coffee Shack in Honaunau on the Way to Two-Step Beach

Lanai view from The Coffee Shack in Honaunau reveals 26 miles of coastline.

You’ve got to stop at The Coffee Shack in Honaunau on your way to snorkeling at Two-Step Beach, said our tenants, as they were digging through their box of snorkeling fins. I wasn’t paying much attention to their suggestion as I was more concerned about what kind of idiot packs only one snorkeling fin? Well, you’re reading her blog, that’s who.

My first clue would have been there was only one fin in the clear plastic bag that I took down from my closet shelf but I was so busy packing in November that I didn’t notice the fin was missing its mate. Things could have been worse, I suppose, I could have left behind in Sacramento my snorkel and mask, which I did not.

Adam Weintraub studies the menu at The Coffee Shack.

Our tenants were absolutely correct about The Coffee Shack. This was a fabulous place to stop on our way through Captain Cook. It’s a mile south of the Captain Cook Post Office. The restaurant serves great breakfast and lunch items, including personal pizzas, plus its pastries and baked goods are to die for.

We started with an iced Kona coffee with a sugar-free vanilla flavoring, but they carry a wide assortment of flavors such as macadamia nut, caramel and almond. I ordered a cup of salty clam chowder made with celery, of all things. I am always surprised to see celery show up in odd places like the Leaning Tower of Pizza in Minneapolis puts celery on its pizza. It seems like such a Minnesota novelty to me because I grew up chopping celery into almost everything.

Lilikoi cheesecake at The Coffee Shack is out of this world.

Most of the sandwiches at The Coffee Shack are as big as your head. Enormous. Served with a side of chips. I selected a sensible Greek salad, adorned with tiny bits of pickled red pepper and capers, and had just finished shoveling the last of it into my mouth when my husband said with a sneaky grin, “How about dessert?”

Well, one look at the menu and I had to order the Lilikoi cheesecake (pronounced lee-lee-CO ‘e), which is a passion fruit and the yummiest of all sweetness. I’ll eat a frog if there isn’t a ton of brown sugar in that crumb crust, too.

Two-Step Beach in Honaunau is perfect for snorkeling.

With extremely full tummies from The Coffee Shack, we rolled onto Two-Step Beach and scored a parking spot right in front. What you see here, the dark stuff, is lava. Mostly pahoehoe. There are two primary types of lava: pahoehoe, which looks like ropes and blankets, and a’a, which hurts when you step on the jagged edges; hence, the ah-ah name.

I love snorkeling so much that I could do it every day. When I’m observing the fish, I try to memorize the distinctive colors, stripes, shapes so I can identify them later. There were many  butterfly fish and coral fish, plus the largest parrot fish I’ve ever seen. That fish was almost 3-feet. Those are the female fish that can turn into males when needed.

Then, just when I think I’ve seen all the fish I could possibly see and they all start to look nearly identical, suddenly I spot a new fish I’ve never seen before, so I can’t stop snorkeling. The water was warm and welcoming, the temperatures in the low 70s. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Mele Kalikimaka from Kailua-Kona on Christmas Day!