This was day 3, after the Hamakua and Kohala legs.
This was yet another puzzle as I traveled around the Big Island. I never seemed to call at the right time — turns out the folks who run Kailua Candy Company in Koloko are busy with customers, I saw later — so I wasn't even sure that a post office actually exists here. A few friends confirmed it for me, but even then, do the Candy folks simply gather mail, i.e. the chocolate and other products being sent out by tourists? Or does Kailua Candy actually have its own postmark.
To my great delight, they do. It reminded me of a postmark of a post office in a drug store I visited last summer outside of Chicago. In this case, the product looked incredible. Everything made in shop. Plenty of variety, too. I wasn't flying home for two more days, so I didn't want to carry any chocolate in the car, in the 90-degree heat of the Kona Coast.
But I did get mac nut brittle. And I did get my letter postmarked. And the book.
This was a makeshift, patchwork tour day. I began by heading out to Hawi, which closed early on me the day before. From there, on to Kukuihaile, and then back to Kona's industrial area in Koloko. I asked the owners about having a post office. Robin said it was so he wouldn't have to keep taking packages to the Kailua-Kona Post Office. Understandable. But Cathy the chocolatier, and original owner (Robin's wife), said she doesn't want to see people come in just for a postmark. I don't think they have a problem. This stuff is just too amazing not to take home.
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