While visting on the Big Island of Hawaii, be sure to stop in the sleeply little town of Mountain View. Mountain View is the home of the famous stone cookies. 
Stone cookies are just what the name implies, hard, stale, bland cookies . It's an island craze! Be sure take a few bags of stone cookies back home to your friends and relatives. It's a local tradition to bring back gifts to your friends and family. These treats are called omiyagi. They will just love them for dunking in coffee or with tea as a biscotti.
If by any chance you eat all of your stone cookies before leaving back to the mainland, no problem since most Hawaii airport gift shops sell stone cookies.
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If you looking to buy a home or sell a home in Sun City Grand in Surprise AZ, please contact me or visit my website at www.LEOLINDA.com.
I am a year-round Sun City Grand resident and a full-time Associate Broker Realtor®.
Leolinda Bowers
Associate Broker
Ken Meade Realty
Cell (602) 403-6865
Business (623) 937-5701
Sun City Grand ~ I live here, I work here, I know this community!
© 2009 Leolinda Bowers (Arizona Retirement Communities Sun City West & Sun City Grand Real Estate). Unless otherwise noted, the content, both pictures and written, is the property of Leolinda Bowers. Reproduction in part or whole without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Leolinda Bowers TM
Associate Broker
Ken Meade Realty
Cell (602) 403-6865
Business (623) 937-5701
http://leolinda.com/
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in any Phoenix Arizona retirement community, consider hiring me as your Realtor®. I am the 2011, 2010 and 2009 Top Producing Agent in Ken Meade Realty. In 2011, I successful closed 71 transactions. As a year-round Sun City Grand resident and full-time Associate Broker Realtor®, I am familiar with Phoeniz AZ retirement communities Sun City Grand, Sun City West, Corte Bella, Arizona Traditions, Sun Village, Pebble Creek and Trilogy at Vistancia.
The highway from Waimea Hawaii to Kailua Kona in the Big Island of Hawaii is a scenic route that is traveled by residents and visitors from all over the world. The black lava next to the white sands and glistening water in the background is just spectacular.
Over the years people started to write in the black lava by using large white rocks retrieved from nearby ocean beaches. Periodically a Hawaiian flag would be protrude from the middle of the bed of molten lava rock.
The key is that the rocks cannot be spray painted. The lava cannot be painted nor defaced. Evidently this is totally legal and may be considered legalized grafitti. It's everywhere along the 25 mile stretch of highway. 
the anticipation makes it feel like 20. There are certain landmarks that quite identifiable from the airplane. I know I'm home or close to home whenever I see Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea from the air. If measured from the ocean floor, Mauna Kea, would be the tallest mountain in the world.
It's a quick 50 minute trip from Oahu to the Big Island. When leaving Oahu, Diamond Head with its majestic splendor, dominates every-ones attention.
My husband who is a chow hound followed us knowing that he would be well-fed during our entire trip. Portugese malasadas was devourded before we got home. 
Owner Connie Tedford is known for her numerous St. Bernard rescues. The La Grande's isolated setting in the outskirts of Surprise is conducive to the large canines. It occupies five acres of running space, a large wading pool and several general socialization areas. 
My Pekingese was abused and is quite anti-social. Both dogs entered the massive front doors at the La Grande and were greeted with loving arms by their hostess and the welcoming ambiance demonstrated by several friendly St. Bernard's. It took only a few minutes for my dogs to warm up and forget me. Vacationing dogs are not stuck in a kennel. 
At the La Grande, they are truly on vacation. Connie takes the dogs out several times a day to run, play, swim, sunbathe or just pal around. Each dog has its own bed and are served their favorite meals.