Day 2—Waipi’o Lookout…and beer.

A healthy(?) breakfast.
OK, we know some people hate food pictures,
but Theresa said yes, and, well, she wins!

After a leisurely morning, we finally got going enough to find breakfast.  We found a little spot a few minutes away, and tried the local fare.  A Loco Moco, and a waffle.  Loco Moco is usually white rice, with a hamburger, covered in gravy, and an egg on top.  But this one had fish instead of the hamburger patty.  It sounds REALLY strange, but it was actually very good!!  The waffle…well…topped with bananas, covered in macadamia nuts, shredded coconut, then whipped cream, served with coconut syrup.  Wow!!  Being one that loves coconut and macadamia nuts, this was GOOOOOD!!!!

We then packed up the car for a little road trip.  Having a few notions, but no certainties, we seemed to be bringing everything we had EXCEPT the suitcases!!  Hiking shoes…just in case.  Bathing suits…just in case.  Towels…just in case.  We were short of nothing except a bag to put it all in.  The drive across the northern tip of the island was very interesting.  We started on the western side, which has lots of old lava fields, with little to nothing in them, which progressed to more grass, and eventually rough grasslands.  It made sense why there is so much cattle ranching here…the land is just not arable, but cattle will find enough to graze upon.  As we crested the center of the island, it became more lush and even had groves of trees.

Waipi'o Bay and Valley from Waipi'o Lookout.

We made it to Waipi’o, where there is a high lookout over the mouth of the valley, and a steep road into the valley.  We enjoyed the views, and debated hiking down into the valleys.  Since we had little edirect knowledge of the hike, other than it was “arduous, long, hot, wrenching” etc, we ultimately decided to sample just a few hundred yards.  We were not sure if it was an hour hike down and 2, 3, 4, or more back up, or what.  It was quite steep!  Just the little bit we did, it felt like a stair master coming back to the top.    They had “tours” (riding a van down) but they were on the odd hours, and it was just turning 1, and the 1:00 was full.  

A sample of the hike.  It is steeper than it looks!

We decided not to wait for 3, but headed in to a little town we came through earlier with “Grandma’s Kitchen”, which had very good ratings.  I’m sure it was spectacular, but it was also closed.  So, we tried another spot well reviewed.  Also closed.  Finally, we made it to a place that was open.  Eh…I’d have been happier at the Burger King 100 yards away.

Heading back, we stopped off at the Big Island Brewery, the “highest brewery in all of Hawaii”, at 2764 feet elevation.  We got two flights of beer, and proceeded to sample away!  It was the best brewery we have ever been to at that altitude in Hawaii.  35 oz of beer later, we headed home for a simple evening. 

We wrapped up the evening watching the sun set, and then a movie and get to bed early, as tomorrow is a long day!!