March 17 - Along the Hamakua Coast

Aloha and on the road, north out of Hilo. We turned off the highway to head up to Akaka Falls for a walk in the jungle. Flowers blooming, vines growing, bugs biting, water falling.

It’s a paved trail with handrails, reminding me of Huangshan. Drippy sky.

Akaka Falls looked taller than its 420', according to Chunlin.

We headed back down the hill and on the road. I pulled off the highway briefly in Hakalau looking for a taro-chip store, but we didn’t find it. I think I should have turned left, not right. We ended up on the old highway under the new bridge above.

We turned back up the hill to the new road. Down the highway, we stopped in the town of Laupahoehoe for gasoline. While I filled the tank, Chunlin went to the next-door farmers market and bought some macaroni with olive oil and cheese, and a pita sandwich of zucchini and other veggies. We ate it at Laupahoehoe Point. To get there, you take the highway down into the gorge and back up the far side, then turn off onto the old road and head back down the hill into the gorge and out to the sea.

Waves crashed and crashed and crashed. I could watch them forever.