It wasn't much of a road. It, in fact, was really just a path formed out of the lava rock and was completely unpaved. We slowly inched the car along, bumping and jolting and vibrating for what seemed like ages, hoping the tires could take it. Eventually, we got to a little paved parking lot so we got out and explored. We found a small beach with few people around. The most interesting thing there was a sign on a palm tree that read "Caution falling coconuts." I took off my shoes for a moment to wade in the water.
We saw a sign to what was supposed to be a trail, but as we walked, all we saw was more lava with the occasional green plant sticking up. The lava was brittle. It felt like walking over slabs of plaster. It amused us for a bit, and we found some funny places to pose Stitch, but it didn't take long for us to get our fill.
We drove the car back through the rocky road and returned to the main highway. A little farther down, we found another inlet. This time a parking lot and visitors center were clearly visible from the road. We talked briefly with the ranger then headed down a paved path. This trail was much nicer. Instead of resembling the surface of the moon, it actually had plenty of plantlife- flowers, fruit, grass, etc. Nothing amazing, but it was a nice walk. We even passed through a boardwalk area where you could see some ancient drawings on the rocks.
After a while, we reached a little beach area. It had a recreation of a native council house. We paused there for a while and watched a sea turtle swim at the edge of the tide. Then we walked back through the trail and returned to the car.
We continued down the main highway until we arrived at the same area we had found the day before. We wanted to visit some of the places that had been closed for the day last time. Having a guidebook helped us find a place to eat. We chose a place called Annie's Burgers where I, oddly enough, ordered a chicken sandwich. We also had an order of their signature onion rings- so good!
Because we had an earlier start this time, we had the chance to go on a tour at one of the local coffee plantations. We ended up at a place called Greenwell Coffee where we arrived just in a time to join a tour group. It was just a small group with a handful of couples. We were by far the youngest. The guide told us that their particular coffee farm had existed since the 19th century. Many coffee farms exist in that area because it is one of the few areas on the island with just the right amount of rain. They showed us how the coffee beans were still handpicked to make sure they only used the best ones. Coffee fruit before the bean is removed looks a lot like cherries. We saw huge surfaces covered in beans being dried out in the sun.
When we returned to the little shop at the beginning, they had several stations of free samples. I tried them, but all coffee tastes bitter and gross to me- even ones marked chocolate flavored!
After our tour, we drove back to the strip of shops we had stopped by the day before. This time, it was early enough that they were all open. One of the shops was called Just Ukes, and that is exactly what it was- a shop full of ukeleles and everything that goes with them- including real life versions of the hula outfit American Girl made for Kanani, big full skirts made from layers of colorful fabric. I was tempted to buy one, but they were not cheap, and where on earth would I wear it? I did buy a little wooden ukelele shaped magnet.
Soon we needed to head back because we had tickets for that night's luau at the hotel. I think if we return, I'd like to try a less touristy version, but this was fine for an introduction. We followed a path down to the staging area where they threw leis and a uke at us for the mandatory photograph they try to sell you later. We didn't even get to keep the leis! They tried to sell them to us.
The luau was in a big courtyard filled with rows of picnic tables with a stage at the front. Everyone sat together family style. Buffet tables were set up in the back and included a full roasted pig. Our show tickets included two alcoholic drinks, but our server never showed up a second time for another order! I had a strawberry swirled pina colada.
The tables were called up one row at a time to start the buffet lines. They had a lot of good items at the salad bar- I jumped at any chance for coconut! I finally tried poi which looks like purple pudding but has more of a vegetable taste- not my favorite. I did try the poke too which is raw tuna, but not surprisingly, I didn't care for that either.
The other food included pork, purple sweet potatoes of some sort, chicken, yummy sweet bread, etc. I, of course, favored the dessert table with even more coconut in the form of cake and flan. And there was no absence of chocolate either.
At first, they just had some random Hawaiian people singing in the background or a woman teaching everyone a little hula, and I thought- this *can't* be it! It wasn't....once everyone was eating, the real show began. It was everything you'd expect- hula, high energy Tahitian dancing, fire dancing, etc. It made you want to get up and try it.
We didn't interact a whole lot with our table mates. We found ourselves in the middle with conversations on both sides of us and no one making any effort to bring us in. The two of us both being shy didn't help.
After the luau, it wasn't too terribly late- I don't think it was even 9pm. So we spent the rest of the evening strolling around the resort. The wind whipped around us, and some of the pathways were surprisingly dark. The next day we would finally leave the resort and see the other side of the island.
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