Hawai`i 2009: Day 18

Today we set out to take the "Upper Road" across the island to see the Hamakua Coast and then the northwest pocket. The day began, not surprisingly, with a stop at Sirius Coffee in Pahoa for my iced coffee.

We then hit the Pahoa post office to mail something. The parking lot was packed when we got there and moments later completely empty. I guess locals are efficient with their errands.



Fueled and ready for take-off, we headed up the road to Akaka Falls. Remarkably larger than its down-the-road neighbor Rainbow Falls, Akaka is worth the trip not only for its own majesty but also for its verdant surroundings. The park has an easy paved walkway for visitors to view the lush scenery.




We enjoyed the stroll, and spotted a couple rainbows on the falls.



On our way back, we stumbled across a pleasant surprise: the little strip of town known as Honomu. Somehow this hamlet was completely off my radar, but the main drag has a host of shops, galleries, restaurants and a delightful bakery. I had a difficult time choosing, but I went with a cream bun - sweet bread pastry with bavarian cream filling. Yum.



I later read in a guide book that the pastries were poor tasting. I disagree.



The next town on the highway was Laupahoehoe, the once seaside village destroyed by the 1946 tsunami. Now a small, mauka (mountainside) town, Laupahoehoe has just a few buildings (including a train musuem, which we saved for a future visit). Instead, we continued past town a few miles to Laupahoehoe Point - the northernmost point on the island. Once the town's center, the area is now both a park and monument to those teachers and school children who lost their lives in 1946.



The park is well maintained, with a large grassy area, beach volleyball pit and barbeques. The scenery is quite breathtaking, too.



From Laupahohoe Point, we continued on our journey through another small town, Honoka`a. Most people whip through this town on their way to view Waipi`o Valley (aka Valley of the Kings). Once past town the regular road ends at a lookout. For those whose cars can handle it, there is a 25% grade steep road leading down to the valley. The valley was once thriving, home to many Kings and an agricultural paradise. The tsunamis obliterated the crops, though, and only recently has there been a movement to re-settle the valley.



The community who lives there currently are off the grid, supposedly unfriendly to tourists and solve all disputes themselves rather than involve the local authorities.



Just back Honoka`a, there is a shopping center with Tex's Drive-In. The food is said to be mediocre, but their malasadas (Portuguese donuts) are famous all over the State. So we just had to try one!



The place was bustling at lunch, with people gathering at the outside tables enjoying the food and sunshine.



With only donuts in my system, I was beginning to crave real food. We drove through the manicured and lively town of Waimea - home to Parker Ranch. However, we decided to keep pushing through to the Kohala Coast as we had our hearts set on Tommy Bahamas Cafe at the Mauna Lani Shops. The town, at a higher elevation, is misty and cooler than much of the island. I was surprised by its sprawl. I can see why people choose to spend an entire day exploring it. It is unlike any other place on the island. With all the ranch lanch and rolling hills, it feels like you're in central California.

We made our way to Mauna Lani shops only to learn that Tommy Bahama would not be open until 4pm. For the first time on the trip, we really felt the drought of tourism in this shopping center. Or else maybe they just generally are quiet on Tuesday afternoons.



We used our handy Big Island Dining guide and spotted a Mexican place opened for lunch in the town of Kawaihae. Kawaihae, just up the coast, is a small harbor town. It features the original Cafe Pesto, an art gallery, a restaurant/music venue called the Blue Dragon and Tres Hombres. It was a nice setting for a relaxing lunch.



After lunch I dropped into the gallery to learn that all the artists featured lived on the Big Island - pretty cool. We then backtracked a bit to visit the Pu`ukohola State Park



Free of charge, the park is a well-run operation on the grounds of three important heiau (ancient Hawaiian temples built for spiritual purposes). The most famous of the three, Pu`uokohola was built by Kamehameha the Great. He was told if we built this great heiau, then he would unify the islands. Ultimately, this became true.



The other visible heiau was used a fort during battle, while the other is now underwater but served as a temple to the sharks. The park is set up against a beach that was known to be frequented (and still is apparently) by sharks. Some Hawaiians revered sharks and believed them to be aumakua (spiritual ancestors).



Next we needed to cool off, as we were traveling through the hottest and driest part of the island. Dan spotted a great little spot for swimming and snorkeling called Kapa`a. We enjoyed the refreshing water and saw some kids fishing.





Refreshed (and a bit salty), we headed north to the quaint towns of Hawi and Kapa`au. Both towns have been experiencing a bit of a renaissance lately, with many artists and small businesses moving in. I was impressed by how tidy the main streets were, with freshly painted facades and well-kept sidewalks.

The second town, Kapa`au has one of the Kamehameha Statues.



We took many mental notes of places to come back to some day in both of these towns.

Just past Kapa`au the road ends at the Pololu Valley lookout. While not as epic as Waipi`o, this valley is impressive and lush all the same.





Today we also visited the fourth (and westernmost) compass point of the island, at `Upolu Point. Just like at South point, we saw huge windmills.



On our journey back to Kapoho, we took Highway 250 to cut back to Highway 19. It was a windy, but scenic route through the Kohala Mountains.

By the time we reached Pahoa it was nightfall and we were just in time to grab a bit at the Pahoa Village Cafe (now our third restaurant in Pahoa). It's a large venue, with the usual local fare on the menu. I had to have chicken katsu (a craving I'd had since this morning). They have local beers on tap, a stage and dance floor and a variety of entertainment. Tonight was a mellow night, which was probably for the best as we were pretty wiped out from our long day. We have now seen the entire island!

Hawai`i 2009: Day 17

Early this morning we returned to Ahalanlui for some more soothing water and to hopefully see turtles. While we did not see turtles, we enjoyed having the pond almost all to ourselves.





Dan wasn't feeling well later in the day so we spent our last Monday on the island having a resort day of sorts. The sun was shining bright so I caught some rays, read a bit about Physics while Dan did some palm frond weaving indoors. He perked up in time for dinner, and should be in fine shape for tomorrow's trip across the upper road of the island.

Hawai`i 2009: Day 16

This morning Dan did a little snorkeling while I watched. I get a little nervous when he goes too far out, but he assures me it's all safe. After he showered up, we headed to Pahoa for another stop at Sirius Coffee. I guess the service - and iced coffee - was just that good!



From there we drove up the road to the Sunday Farmer's Market. Just as we pulled in to park our car, it started to pour rain. As we were in tank tops, we were startled and for the first time on this trip, a bit chilly! We cut the trip short after picking up some food items we needed, and this t-shirt I spotted last Sunday and decided I needed:



Since we didn't stop at the farmer's market food court this time, we were famished by the time we got home from all our grocery shopping. We wolfed down some hot dogs and then settled in to another sunny afternoon in the yard.

Three essentials for survival on the Big Island: sunscreen, insect repellant and water.



We have been visited by a mongoose several times, and this morning Dan spotted this neighborhood cat.



After the usual reading/running/swimming it was a tasty dinner and more True Blood. We are down to the last three episodes. We are enjoying the show very much, but it leaves us a bit spooked as we go to bed--especially with all the strange noises we hear.

Hawai`I 2009: Day 15

We got ourselves out of bed fairly early this morning, and were on the road by about 7:30. Instead of making coffee at the house, we stopped in Pahoa at a little coffee shop/internet cafe called Sirius Coffee. The barista was exceptionally warm and friendly, and poured me one of the best cups of iced coffee I've ever tasted. She tried to tempt me into some "toddy" concoction that they are known for, something that cold brews overnight and is extra powerful. Maybe next time.

From there we got in our little PT Cruiser rental car and headed off to the "Lower Road" (aka Highway 11). We passed through several small towns and Volcanoes National Park before stopping at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach. The beach is 60 miles from both Kona and Hilo so is often less crowded than some of the other island beaches. The main attraction of this beach, though, is the sea turtles. They like to rest on the black sand beach and munch on the seaweed close to shore.





They did not disappoint. We say about 8 of them in total, either on the beach or in the water.



It's a nice spot, a bit windy. We saw some folks fishing with a hukilau and it looked like there were some people camping.



After taking countless photos of the beautiful honu, we got back in the car and headed further West, to Pu'honua o Honaunau National Park. We visited the park last year, and enjoyed the self-guided tour of the replicated Polynesian Village and the Place of Refuge itself. The grounds are considered sacred, as they used to be used as a "honaunau" or "place of refuge" during the kapu years in Ancient Hawai`i. If you broke a kapu (tabu, law), then your only option to avoid death was to find the nearest honaunau.



The park is a beautiful setting, with coconut palms swaying amidst wood-carved ki`i and grass hales. The other side of the park is also a great snorkeling and swimming spot.



Today and tomorrow, the park is host to the 48th Annual Hawaiian Cultural Festival. Dan and I both spotted this in the local papers and wanted to make it a priority for this trip. The festival had no cover charge, and featured mostly Hawaiian ancient crafts and demonstrations. We got to see kapa (bark from mulberry trees) being soaked and pounded out before it later becomes clothing. There were also lauhala and palm frond weaving, bamboo flute making, canoe rides, lomi lomi massage, and gourd painting. In fact, we got to meet the guy we saw in a video at the Hawaiiana Live show in Hilo who has resurrected the ancient art form. He has a studio in the Holulaloa area and was very friendly. I also received a bookmark made for me from one of the stations that featured dyes and templates (though I doubt they were called 'templates.')





After perusing the grounds for a spell, our appetites got the best of us and we decided to drive into Kona for lunch at one of our favorite spots - Huggo's on the Rocks.



After spending some time at the Royal Kona on our last two trips to the Big Island, it felt a bit strange to be looking for parking. While Hilo is the largest city on the island, Kona is the commercial hub and home to the tourist. That means a lot more traffic and congestion, though nothing compared to Honolulu.



We enjoyed our lunch on the water, and then poked around town. Our ice cream cones almost melted immediately in the humidity, but were worth the mess. A few stores have closed, a few new restaurants have opened, but Kona remains pretty much the same as it did a year ago. I do love how walkable it is, and the energy is always up. If you stay close to town, you almost wouldn't need a rental car unless you planned to do outside exploring.



But we had more on our agenda this trip so we'll have to wait and spend more time in Kona the next time. We got back in our car and headed north up Highway 190 to reach Saddle Road. Saddle Road used to be off-limits to any 2WD vehicle. But thanks to some hard work and pressure from the citizens, the road is on its way to being more navigable. It's also a bit of a short-cut through the island, as it weaves between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and eventually ends up in Hilo after 53 miles of winding road.



Along the way, the terrain changes from barren lava rock with cacti growing to grassy pasture lands. The construction is working East-West so the early stretches were pretty bumpy. I believe this has caused some friction across the island as people on the West side feel snubbed as the East side holds the county seat and thus seemingly gets preferential treatment.



It was a long day of driving, putting us back at the house just before 6pm. Still some sun left, I went for a quick jog before relaxing for the night. We made due with food we had in the house, and enjoyed seeing the first starts appear while in the hot tub.

Hawai`i 2009: Day 14

Tomorrow we are taking a big road trip over to the other side of the island so today we decided to take it easy. We began the day with some snorkeling at the tide pools, and this time I did much better.

We spent the rest of the day at the house, reading our books (we both finished another one), snacking, getting a little sun and spotting geckos (and their eggs!).



As evening fell, we couldn't help but utilize the hot tub as it had warmed considerably in the afternoon heat. It was a cooker today. We ate our dinner outside. The dining area has mosquito netting all the way around it so if we ever get tired of the bugs we can just zip ourselves up into our own little bubble. The owners also supplied us with candles. There have been few mosquitoes at this house, but the flies and ants are everywhere.



Because we awoke a bit earlier than usual, and plan to wake up early for our road trip tomorrow, we pushed everything up to make for an early night's slumber. We'll see how successful we are in waking up at dawn, though.

I have also discovered another Big Island blog. I saw a sticker for it in Pahoa and decided to check it out. It is called Big Island Chronicle. The author, Tiffany Edwards Hunt, is an accomplished journalist as well as the former legislative aide to the Puna Councilwoman. The writing is sharp, information current and updates often. We've added it to our list of favorites!

Hawai`i 2009: Day 13

This morning we ventured about a mile from our house to Ahalanui Park, where we enjoyed another volcanic-heated swimming pond. This one made Champagne Pond seem chilly! The water, at low tide, was bath-tub warm, and we found it difficult to pull ourselves out. It's also much easier to get to than Champagne Pond - just a drive-in county park. There was even with a lifeguard on duty.



This spot seems to be quite popular with the locals, and we can see why. What better way to soak away one's stressful day - or even not so stressful!





We had not yet been to a beach so we headed to Kehena Beach next - a black sand beach with high surf near the vacation rental we stayed at in 2007. It's a slight hike down, but a pleasant spot with plenty of locals and usually some naked people/hippies. We brought some snacks and our books and were all set to camp out when the rain came. That, and the tide was starting to come in and possibly force us out of our spot.





Our abbreviated beach time was made up for by a delicious lunch in Pahoa - and not at Luqin's this time! We finally tried a different restaurant--the Thai place called Ning's. In the pouring rain, it seemed appropriate to eat one of Seattle's most popular cuisines. We were both impressed, and having worked up an appetite swimming and walking, inhaled our food.

After lunch it was back to Malama Market and then our first gas station stop. Not bad for almost two weeks of driving. To fill the tank it cost just over $40. Gas is a bit over $3 a gallon here, so a bit more than Seattle. And how do food costs stack up? Well, some things really are as expensive as people say - like jars of salsa, milk, six packs of beer. However, local produce is cheap and plentiful. And sales tax is just a little over 4%. We find we spend a bit more than in Seattle on average at the grocery store, but about the same at most medium-range restaurants.

This doesn't necessarily mean Hawai`i is moderately priced, but when comparing to the fairly high cost-of-living in Seattle the difference isn't quite as shocking than, say, if you were from Little Rock.

More of the same in the late afternoon and evening: reading, lounging, eating, running, drinking, relaxing, True Blood.