A respite from the yo-yo weather

Compared to the rest of the country, we really don't have too much to complain about in terms of the weather...not that we don't still try.  It has been bitterly cold here (yes yes, nothing like you've experienced, Minnesota-Wisconsin-Chicago, got it) at times, but mostly the weather has just been a tease.  Take the last week, for example.  It was 55 on Saturday, 65 and sunny on Sunday, and then 25 on Monday with an overnight low of 0 degrees Fahrenheit.  We're teased with lovely Southern weather, the promise of spring, only to be spanked back into the cold.  It was actually colder here than in Madison, Wisconsin for a few hours this week!

We took advantage of the absolutely beautiful weather to take a walk at Lake Wedington on Sunday afternoon, a new walking/hiking spot for us.  We got kind of a late start, and had limited time because I had to be back to go to a prospective graduate student dinner, so our walk wasn't as long and luxurious as I'd have liked.  Also, Lake Wedington was further away than I thought it was, which also cut into our time.  I keep telling people that everything in Fayetteville is a 15 minute drive, which is pretty much true....but I forgot that Lake Wedington is not really in Fayetteville.  Still in the county, but not in the town (at all). 

We got out to the lake in the warm afternoon with the sun sparkling on the water, and it was quite pretty:

We then walked about a mile, passing a cute little waterfall:

Our favorite part of the walk, though, was being right up next to the lake, which tinkled like chimes because the top layer of the lake was still icy, but the ice was breaking up and knocking into nearby pieces.  It was neat to look at

and was neat to listen to.

We made it back to town in enough time for me to get ready for my dinner, with a shorter walk than originally intended, but "better than nothing!' as my dear husband pointed out.  Hopefully we can make it out to Lake Wedington again when we have more time to linger and explore. 

Well, that and when the weather decides to yo-yo back again from the frigid to the moderate, as we've become spoiled to expect of Arkansas winters.

A quiet Hawaiian food return

I have no excuse for not writing for the last nine months, and no real reason to start up again except that I want to.  Because rehashing everything we've been doing for the last nine months is daunting and part of the reason I haven't written a word since April, we'll just skip over that.

We discovered a new tasty place to eat this week.  Or, to be clear, we finally tried a place that's been around for awhile now, called Hawaiin Brians.  It has what might be the worst website of all time, but the food was so good that the web travesty is forgiven.

The restaurant itself is the first success story for the Fayetteville "Yacht Club" which is basically a parking lot with a bunch of airstream trailers.   Pretty sure I posted about it a ways back, when we had some homemade pie from one of the trailers (that place, sadly, is long gone....though an internet search tells me there is a NEW dessert place there now!  Hopefully a forthcoming post will review that one!).  It's a nice way for new businesses to try things out without having to rent a whole building or store.  Some of the trailers serve food, some have clothing, and unless you visit regularly, there's often something new.

Hawaiian Brians was a trailer there for awhile, developed a following, and then rented out a brick-and-mortar store over a year ago, where it appears they have been successful.  It's in a strip mall near the awesome vintage Arcadia Retrocade (a vintage arcade), and when you walk in, the dulcet tones of Hawaiian music are playing, with tropical decorations, and a projector of waves on one wall.  It's a great environment, and different than any other place in town we've been.

I tried the Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken, which was absolutely delish.  Tender meat, soaked in some kind of soy-sauce-plus-other-stuff sauce, it had a familiar taste that I couldn't quite place...and I loved every bite.  Served with white rice and a big spoonful of cold macaroni salad, I devoured every morsel.   My husband ordered the Kalua Pig, also tender shredded pork in some sauce (I think it might have been the same sauce, but it didn't taste the same).  I think he might have licked his plate when I wasn't looking.

Then for dessert we had the Kings Gelato, which was a dessert-y french toast topped with salted carmel gelato.  Yes, it's absolutely as good as it sounds.

Only downside about this place is that it's so meat-based it ain't great for the vegetarians...but as we're not vegetarians that isn't a big downside.  Now we have to go back for breakfast and try the Portuguese sausage!