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| Breakfast in paradise |
We fell asleep last night to the sound of the wind wailing and whistling past the window.
We woke suddenly at midnight when the alarm by the bed went off with a shrill buzz…courtesy of the previous guest maybe?
We woke again at 12.09am when the alarm went off again… I’d only hit the snooze button the first time. Aargh!
I don’t know if it was the jetlag ,or the wind, or the midnight wake up call but we both slept in this morning , which is pretty unusual for us on holidays. We enjoyed our breakfast on the lanai but were both a bit appalled that we didn’t head out for our day’s sightseeing till 11am… half the day gone already! I guess we’re now on Island time…
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| At Waimea Canyon |
From Poipu we drove westward along the coast past Hanapepe ( the “Biggest Little Town in Hawaii”) to Waimea where we turned inland and took the steep drive up into the centre of the island towards Waimea Canyon. When Mark Twain first saw the canyon he described it as “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific” and I have to say I think he was spot on. It can’t compete with the sheer size of the one in Arizona but Waimea is a spectacular sight. Certainly the hordes of Thanksgiving day trippers were all very impressed, every lookout parking lot was chock full of rental cars and tourist buses, but Neil worked his usual magic and found us a spot in all of them bar one.
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| At the Kalalau lookout |
Neil had also worked his usual musical magic and kept me entertained with a playlist of Hawaiian themed music. The theme tune from “Hawaii Five 0” was no surprise but did you know that Johnny Cash sand a Hawaiian song? ( Actually Johnny Cash seems to have sung something about every single state in the Union! He’s a regular guest on our American driving playlists.)
The weather was bright and sunny in the morning but as we climbed higher into the mountains the clouds rolled in and I really needed the cardigan that I’d thrown into the car at the last minute. It was 31 degrees at sea level but at the high lookouts it was 18 degrees and the wind chill factor must have been considerable – ’cause I was freezing! The views from the top of the road in the Koke ‘e State Park were back towards the coast and over the beginning of the rugged Napali Cliffs. The only access into the cliffs is via rough walking tracks so this was the closest we could get to them via a car – tomorrow we’ll be taking a sunset sailing tour and hope to see more of them.
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| Waterfall in Waimea Canyon |
The drive back down was spectacular as stopped a couple more overlooks of the canyon and this time we were facing the ocean this time but the rental car wasn’t too happy about the slow speed and steep descent… it remained stubbornly in low gear the whole way down. It cheered up back at sea level though and it wasn’t long till we were back in the pretty little town of Koloa to stock up on provisions for our Thanksgiving feast – cold sliced turkey and bubbly – I was very tempted to buy a pumpkin pie but as Neil wouldn’t share it with me I decided it was just too much of a good thing.
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| Hanalei Bay |
We stopped back at the resort to eat a quick lunch and then hopped back in the car – this time we were heading north to the opposite side of the island and the iconic Hanalei Bay. Have you seen the TV series “Stephen Fry in America”, where he visits all 50 states? When he went to Hawaii he rode an outrigger canoe in Hanalei bay and was hosted to a BBQ Pork dinner on the beach there by a long term resident. We arrived not long before sunset and wandered out on to the pier to watch the local kids jumping off and surfing back into the beach.
Hanalei is just down the road from the plushy Princeville Resort area, home to some very upmarket hotels and a couple of top notch golf courses – however it’s a longish drive from the rest of the island sights and the airport so we’re happy we chose to stay on the south side instead.
We were driving back past the main town of Lihue just before 6pm and as we drove past Walmart and Macy’s we were reminded that the huge Black Friday ( Thanksgiving day) sales were starting this evening. The parking lot was bursting at the seams but we resisted the temptation to go in and take our chances with the crowds… we’ll hit the stores first thing tomorrow instead!
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| Thanksgiving Dinner! |
We couldn’t be bothered with a hot meal or eating out but we figured you can’t spend Thanksgiving in the USA and NOT eat Turkey so for dinner we tucked into cold roast Turkey Breast, salads, cheese and bread on our lanai, washed down with another nice bottle of bubbly and the sound of the waves hitting the shore. I REALLY could get used to this…