Ono Day.... starting in Volcano

Yesterday was an Ono (Hawaiian for good) Day! It started off with Wes, Valentine (our dog) and I driving up to Volcano at 6 am in order to get to the farmer's market there. It opens at 7 and Connie warned me that you have to get there early because it is composed of many small farmers instead of a few large ones and they sell out early. Most everything sold there is local and organic. There were lots of people there when we arrived and with Connie's advice, we drove through the first lot and into the second lot. As we drove in, there was a "No animals allowed sign" so we took Vali for a walk and then put her back in the car. Luckily it was a chilly morning up in Volcano, as you can see by the way people are dressed in the pictures. Speaking of the pictures, I had to use my cell phone camera because I left the Sony at home, so they are not the best quality.

The market was amazing and really fun. We will drive up there about one Sunday a month. There were several booths with prepared food, about 5 Thai booths, a Chinese Booth, A Japanese Booth and three or four bakers with incredible things. There were some booths selling teas and coffee and Wes bought a cup of coffee from one of them, but I did not get beans as my favorite beans are grown a few miles North of us from Hilo Sharks Coffee.

They also have a rummage sale going, which was fun. I found a fantastic German Mandoline (that is the kind you slice with, not a musical instrument) for 75 cents. I have a Swiss one on it's way in our container, but this was a nice one to use in the meantime.

The market has expanded and now is in two parts with one of the parking lots dividing it. All of the booths are under cover, so there is no need to worry about weather.

There were all kinds of ono produce for sale. We bought a few kinds of bananas, long slender green onions, beautiful baby kale, sweet onions, hard neck garlic, a white pineapple, purple shallots, deep red Roma tomatoes (picked the day before), yellow squash, spring lettuces with edible flowers and some stringless green beans. There were tons of flowers for sale and many plants and herbs too. We filled three of my Harrod's Shopping Bags and drove back home by 8:30 so Wes could go to his Yoga class.

More coming about the rest of our Ono Day... Gleaning the Sweet Potato Fields!