One of my favorite Hawaiian treats are chocolate covered macadamia nuts, and even though we witnessed a horrific crime scene back in our hotel room, I still wanted to try some. I actually had totally forgotten about the Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Outlet located on Oahu until we drove past and decided to stop.

I had visited Tropical Farms (49-227A Kamehameha Highway, Ka’a’awa, HI 96744) back on my trip in 2006, so seeing it again, only this time with my family, was like returning to an old friend.

The Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Outlet started in 1987 as a small roadside stand operated by Steve and Chrissy Paty. Today the farm has grown into the only operating macadamia nut farm on Oahu.

The first documented macadamia was planted in 1892. On the grounds surrounding the outlet store were macadamia nut trees, as well as coffee plants, both major crops grown within Hawaii.

While I enjoy a good macadamia nut or two, I am one of the few people on the planet that does not drink coffee, which is grown plentiful on the islands.

What you can not enjoy in a cup of java, you can more than make up for with the beautiful backdrop of the mountains…

…and some baby birds. The boys were more interested in chasing around the chickens throughout the property though and picking up the macadamia nut shells than anything.

Inside the store at the Tropical Farms Macadamia Farm are wonderful, locally made products that were great for sampling. The employees were also delightful and loving to our boys as they wondered the property. There is something wonderfully genuine about visiting a shop that carries locally supplied and manufactured products.

Unfortunately, we were not able to purchase much due to very limited luggage space. When the travel industry puts more pressure on the airline industry as a whole, maybe then people will be more inclined to spend the dollar on gifts. I digress.

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