"Drive" he said

 When a day starts out as glorious as this, anything wonderful can happen.  Kyle and I jumped into the car to drive to Waiamea Canyon. We left the top down and laughed and talked and savored the views the whole way.

This is the bottom end of the canyon.  That red volcanic soil is so striking.  But by the time we had driven to the top of the canyon, the clouds had set in, and we were muffled in cold clammy fog.  No view what-so-ever.  We put the top up and turned the heater on.

So we decided to try the other side of the island.  We drove over to the Kiluea lighthouse.  It is also a sea bird sanctuary and a monk seal sanctuary. (Oh, I forgot to tell you - a monk seal has been pulling himself out onto the rocks in front of the condos and taking long naps.  He's silvery and blubbery and about 8 feet long.  Way cool!)

This is the endangered Hawaiian state bird, the nene goose.  Knowing they are protected has given them a bit of an attitude.  We watched as one took up a space in the parking lot and defied any car that wanted to park there.  A glare from a haughty goose carries a lot of wattage.  She could have fried the tires on a Morris Mini.

This is a young wedge tail shearwater.  They dig holes in the ground for their nests and feed the chicks until they are grown.  Then the parents quit feeding the chicks.  At that point, the chicks have to get out of the nest, figure out how to fly and how to feed themselves before the flocks migrate to Costa Rica for the winter.  This youngster is doing some wing exercises and trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing.

 This is the ocean at the foot of the point where the lighthouse sits.  That's a long, long drop to the rocks!

After enjoying the birds and the lighthouse, we drove further North to Princeville, had lunch at CJ's Steakhouse (Kyle had Prime Rib Sandwich au Jus and I had caesar salad with grilled ono.  We enjoyed both.)  The we turned around and headed for home.  We stopped at Coconut Experience (I should have gotten photos) - a ramshackle little fruit stand.  The guy running it was a very tanned middle-aged Haole wearing a sarong around his waist.  He had the most gorgeous fruit and veg!  We bought two ripe papayas, a star fruit, a couple of local tomatoes and a Kauai onion (not as sweet as a Maui onion, but still delicious) He also had mangoes, guavas, japanese cucumbers, coconuts, eggs, and a thing that looked like fuzzy green grapes and was supposed to taste like lychees. If you get up to Princeville, stop at the Coconut Experience.

On the way back to the condo we stopped at a little grocery store and bought a bit of tenderloin steak. When we got back to the condo, we had a marvelous salad and Kyle and Harry barbecued some kebabs and some chicken.  What a delicious end to a delightful day!