After the pouring rain last night, we woke up to more of it this morning. Very unusual. We decided to use the delay to go eat pancakes. Why not? We had some delicious pancakes – I tried the banana – at the Oki Diner in Lihue. They also had homemade vanilla syrup and coconut syrup. Keith says it was more like icing. Icing – Syrup – it’s sugar no matter what you call it! It was yummy.














It was still raining when we left, but we headed back to the area of Glass Beach in ‘Ele’ele. There was a really fascinating hike off the beach, where the weather was cloudy but dry. The shoreline is lava that has been carved and sculpted by years of waves. Many of the small craters on the lava shelf were filled with water and different types of sea creatures – sea urchins, mollusks, crabs, and small fish. There was so much to look at, including keyhole caves and some interesting trees. The kids loved looking in the different tidal pools and searching for unusual rocks. Like most kids, they get along much better outside than they do shut into a room or car together. Kyle is so excited to show Carson different things and to help her across rough spots.

We were still full of pancakes when we left and headed back to Po’ipu to Shipwreck Beach. Some sandstone cliffs carved out by the wind and sea made for another neat hike. These are the cliffs that Harrison Ford and Anne Heche jump from in the movie 6 days/ 7 nights. There were 2 guys checking out the water to make a jump later in the week when it isn’t so rough. Better them than me! It was a long way down.









It was a harder hike than this morning, but just as beautiful. We saw a couple of surfers waaay out in the water. When they caught a wave,

they could ride it for quite a ways because they were so far out to sea.

It was after 2 when we came down for lunch. Tom Kats Grille offered good food and a cat, of course, which the kids found quickly. Lucky for us, our gelato place was not too far away. After all the hiking, we earned it, I think. I went for more Belgian Chocolate with some Key Lime. I was happy to confirm - it was still good.


















Well, in 9 days, we had yet to see a waterfall. It wasn’t the best time of day, but we stopped at Opaeka’a Falls along the Wailu River. The Wailu leads up to the top of Mount Wai’ale’ale (wettest spot on earth) and is dotted with sacred places of worship used by ancient Hawaiians. I hope we get the chance to explore it further.