Friday, December 21, 2012

On Friday we completed a loop drive by going north to the end of the road at the north end of the island and then over the hills to Waimea and back down the middle of the island back to Kailua-Kona.

Our first stop was at Hapuna Beach, which some claim, is the nicest beach on the island. We will return here before we finish our trip.

The next stop was at a roadside barbecue where we had the pork ribs..Excellent, just Excellent!!

We were quite surprised at the many different ecological systems on the island. You would go over a hill and change from heavy vegetation to bare and dry land, followed over the next hill back to basic green pastures.

The area became quite windy and I had just said to Shirley that I am surprised that there were no wind generators around here. And then over the next hill we came upon a wind farm with around 20 generators.

And if there is any question about how windy it is out here at the north end of the island check out these two tree pictures.

This truck was certainly decked out for the holiday season.

We arrived in Hawi to see the famous Cuban leader getting a fresh touch.

A friend had mentioned that she had a good friend who owned a gallery in Hawi. We stopped and met Richard, an enjoyable person who used to live in the Seattle area.

This Episcopal Church caught our eye as we drove through the little town of Hawi. A local resident opened the door for us and we enjoyed the beauty of the windows.

Pololu Beach and the end of the road.

A hitchhiker

Thee is no question about this area around Waimea being cattle country, especially with the local Parker Ranch, which at one point, was one of the largest private ranches in the United States.