Waimea, Saturday, January 19, 2008
The first photo is of Ali'i Drive by the seawall in Kona, another cute little town, and a little more upscale than funky old Hilo. Not that there's anything wrong with funky old towns. After all, I'm madly in love with Tucson, so funky towns speak to me.
Yesterday was spent on logistics, and then we tried to get to a beautiful beach that is in some of Bruce Ho's photos. He said it was the most beautiful beach on The Big Island. Unfortunately, we ended up at the beach to the south of the one we were aiming for, and the shore was too rocky for swimming. But I did get a pretty good shot of the sunset over the lava field. 
Lee and Tracy left for Hawai'ian Acres as Tracy has to leave today. Now Steve and I are spending a couple days at the Kamuela Inn in Waimea while we check out the northern part of the island. Room 20 isn't bad for $109 including tax. A two room suite with a queen bed, twin bed, dining area and kitchen on the second floor. It would cost a lot more 10 miles down the road at Honoka'a, which is on the ocean.
Waimea is a surprisingly pretty town. Because it's surrounded by cattle ranches, Steve told me to expect it to be ugly, but it's actually like a quaint California town. At 2,400 feet amls, it has brisk air and a stunning view of the snow-topped Mauna Kea. A health food store, Korean and Thai restaurants and fancy clothing and jewelry stores indicate this is no cow town.
