March 17 - Hamakua Coast

Breakfast of fruit, bread pudding, fruit smoothies, and a hula, shared with a family just in last night from Boston. Chunlin and I then watched a volcano dvd. Kalapana, Pu‘u O‘o and all that jazz. 9 a.m., time to pack.

We drove north from Hilo along the coast, turning off the main highway at Pepe‘ekeo for a curvy drive through the jungle -- similar to the Puna coast, but a steeper hillside.

At Akaka Falls, we took a little walk through the forest.

My neck was sore from the night. My whole back felt tight. Not fun. But the scenery was nice.

At a fruit stand in a farm near Akaka Falls park, we got fresh coconut chopped open for us. Drink and scrape. Fresh papaya, also. Exorbitant prices. We must remember to ask the price before we eat. Although if the food's already eaten, you hold a negotiation high ground for the price, don't you?

Next stop, Laupahoehoe Point. Teenage boys played in the waves in the semi-sheltered boat launch. It’s a picnic park. Cloudy by warm.

At Pa‘auilo, we turned up the hill to the vanilla farm, but it’s closed on Sundays, apparently. We took a break there, anyway. I wrote while Chunlin listened to NPR. Roosters crow, birds chirp, someone washes a car (or so it sounds), and insects chirp, too.

In Honoka‘a, we stopped for lunch at a place called Jolene’s. Many shops were closed for Sunday on the old main street. I ordered loco moco -- hamburger, egg, and rice dominated by brown gravy. Chunlin had mahi and short ribs, grilled. Okay, she said. Mine was as expected. I fought the ATM across the street to pay for lunch in cash. Cash-only town. Plenty of people stopped there on the way to Waipi‘o Valley, it seemed. Like us.

A few miles west, Waipi‘o Valley, the Valley of Kings. Now, not so much. Big, though.

Since the road doesn't continue along the coast across the valley (and the numerous ridges and valleys beyond), we drove inland toward Waimea/Kamuela. I took the old highway. Forest, houses, winding road with big trees at the lane’s edge. The wet forest turned to foggy, rolling pastures. Cows, horses. The road keeps roller-coastering up the hill.

We returned to Highway 19 before I saw the horse ranch on the old road that we were thinking of stopping at. Oh well. Too wet for a ride.

Soon we entered Waimea/Kamuela, got a hotel room, and went for a walk around town.

Just another day in paradise...