March 9 - North Kohala Coast Drive

A bit more rainy today but that wasn't going to dampen our spirits. Time for a road trip to see some of the island!

A statue of King Kamehameha, the most powerful and influential king in the state's history. He was the first to rule all of the Hawaiian islands. 

This is Polulu Valley Lookout, quite reminiscent of the Napali coastline on Kauai. In the far distance there are huge waterfalls plummeting into the ocean! 

After a short hike down a muddy trail to get this view, it was back to the town of Hawi for some lunch. Here at this ramshackle BBQ stand, I had one of the best bbq pork sandwiches of my life. They also had this amazing roasted corn on the cob with a decadent butter/mayo/Parmesan/ Lawry's seasoning (Laurie got the chef to divulge this much anyway). 

THEN, based on a recommendation in our guidebook, I had to visit Tropical Pleasures for what was arguably the best ice cream of my life! Chocolate Pecan Praline was the flavor. 

Who would have thought that I would have found such great food in this quirky little town on the far north end of the island?

After lunch we headed south along the coast and Laurie spotted breaching whales left and right. We even had a few glimmers of sunshine!  

Now back at the resort it's time to go for a run to burn off some of these calories...