Another thing that we did while in Hawaii was go to the “swap meet.”  The swap meet is a conglomeration of souvenir peddlers, fresh fruit stands, and people running miniature garage sales out of their vans.  It wraps all the way around the stadium.  We were only there for a few hours but I gathered that you could easily spend all day there wandering around.  I got almost all of my Christmas shopping done and ate some delicious fruit. Pretty good start to our Sunday morning off of work!

So I had no idea what the little head with the feathers in the above photo was all about… There were tons of them for sale.  So, of course, I googled it:

Most people call these Hawaiian warrior helmets but they are really called Makaki’i or Makini. The full size versions were worn by some priests during various ceremonies and also by ocean canoe paddlers.

Long ago during a visit by Captain James Cook to Kealekekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii, the ship’s artist John Weber saw and sketched men paddling canoes wearing gourd masks and feathers. These men were members of a warrior society called makini and were intrusted with the protection of their high chief.

Today miniature warrior helmets can be found on car rear view mirrors and over home doorways not only as decorations but a symbol of safety and protection.

…and on that last note, we had mango that was sprinkled with some sort of red powder.  No idea what it was, but man was it tasty!!! A bit more googling (ok, maybe Pinterest was used…) and it’s apparently Chile powder, lime, and salt. I will be experimenting to try and get the correct proportions of the seasoning because I want this again! (and if it’ll keep me eating fruit instead of those chocolate covered macadamia nuts I brought back with me, even better!)