The State Formerly Known as "Ohio"...DAY 4

Day FOUR was a BEAUTIFUL day...(mostly...OF COURSE there was rain involved...).  We started with a trip to the Tip Top Cafe.  Our friend Vickie recommended this place, and we're GLAD she did.  It was a very non-descript cafe, attached to a rundown, dated motel, on a back street downtown. We wouldn't even have glanced at it twice, if she hadn't recommended it.  I had my FIRST (of several) encounters with macadamia nut pancakes.  OH MY!!!!  Light...fluffy...INCREDIBLY tasty!!!!

 

After the Tip Top, we headed to Waimea Canyon.  On the way, we stopped at the Glass Beach again...to get pictures while it was sunny.  TOTALLY worth the stop...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Glass Beach we headed up the road that led to all of the AMAZING views of Waimea Canyon.  There were MANY "pullouts", and we stopped at most of them...from the red rocky "Mars-like" early ones, to the deep majestic "canyon-y" ones further up at Pu'uokila Lookout.

 

It rained on us.  The sun shone.  There were chickens everywhere.  It was BIZARRE...and BEAUTIFUL...and UNFORGETTABLE...!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After the canyons, we headed further north on the highway at Waimea.  We drove to the end of the road (it end in a little "hunter's pulloff"), turned around, then tried to find the beach at Kokole Point.  Our guidebook was VERY exact ("turn right at the dirt road just beyond mile marker 21"), but we still go lost a couple of times.

 

The beach was TOTALLY worth the effort.  There was hardly anyone there.  The surf was big.  The beach was pristine.  The sun was shining.  It was lovely!

 

You could see Niihau, the "island of yesterday", very well from the beach.  Native Hawaiians

still live as they have for hundreds of years, with Hawaiian being the native language...!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a "feral coconut" along the high tide line!

 

 

 

 

I tried to get it back to Minnesota via ocean current.  But neither the coconut...nor the ocean current...cooperated.

 

 

 

 

After spending a DELIGHTFUL bit of time on the beach, we headed back into Waimea, and stopped for shave ice at Jo Jo's...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and I found a possible new place to work!!!

 

 

After shave ice, we headed (briefly) to Fort Elizabeth, the remnants of a Russian fort.  I didn't take any photos, because it was, basically, the outline of an old wall.  We walked down by the water nearby, but it was full of trash, and seemed "not so safe", so we continued on down the road to Poi'pu, and had dinner at an AWESOME little Tapas Bar called Josselin's.

 

 

 

 

What a cool place!  We had roast chicken, pumpkin ravioli, roasted feta salad, pulled pork steamed dumplings, and, JOY OF JOY'S they had a sangria cart (!?).  I had a DELIGHTFUL lychee fruit sangria.  YUMMO!!

 

 

 

 After dinner, we headed back to Poi'pu beach for sunset...GORGEOUS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the sun set, we headed back to Lihue, stopped at Long's for a few more souvenirs (and more macadamia nuts!).  We then went to the hotel, firmed up plans for the next night with Pat, and went to bed!