Enjoying the fireplace.
Our house for the week.
Wow, what a great vacation! We had such a good time in Hawaii and really didn’t want to leave!
We spent the last week in Upcountry at Waiki’i Ranch, in a house we rented. It was so quiet I couldn’t believe it. Sunday evening, we met Mary and her cousin Mary for dinner at Merriman’s in Waimea (excellent food), then went to a Marcia Ball show at the local theatre – she was so fun and reminded us of seeing “long, tall Marcia Ball” back in our old Juanita days in Little Rock. I don’t know how exactly to describe her music – kind of Cajun honky tonk. She’s in her 60s now but still can play the piano like nobody’s business!
Tuesday morning we got up before dawn and drove an hour or so down to Kona for a whalewatching trip – it was overcast and a bit rainy, but still fun to get out on the water and see the whales splashing around! Afterward we went back to Daylight Restaurant for another excellent breakfast and did a bit of shopping before heading back up the hill.
Whalewatching!
Mary came over Tuesday night for dinner – John built a fire in the fireplace and cooked us up some great grass-fed Hawaii steaks.
Thursday we went exploring – we first drove up over the mountain to the north side of the island – beautiful views and topped off by a gorgeous look over the Pololu Valley – the road ends there, so we backtracked back to Waimea and went east to see the Waipo Valley – lovely!
Pololu Valley
John at Waipo Valley Overlook.
Friday was too much fun – I went on a cattle drive at nearby Dahana Ranch! There were four of us plus the woman who owns the ranch – it was my favorite thing from vacation. It was a beautiful day and we herded our 100+ head of cattle into a pen, then we learned how to sort and move some cows out while leaving others in the pen – a great way to end the vacation!
Fun!
End of the ride
Ranch puppy
Click to see all of our photos from vacation. Here’s a quick list of things I loved:
1. Daily walks in Upcountry to see cows, horses, baby sheep, baby goats, wild turkeys, owls, grouse, quail, and pheasants – and I loved that they all just stopped to look at you – very curious.
2. Not checking my Blackberry.
3. Grilling almost daily.
4. Peace and quiet. Quiet. Dead quiet.
5. Coffee ice cream.
6. Being in a place that’s sort of like being in a foreign country but still being in ‘Merica.
7. Seeing our good friend Mary, and OMG those chocolate caramel dipped shortbread cookies that Mary brought for dessert.
8. Playing cowgirl.
9. Pancakes the size of plates at Hawaiian Style Cafe in Hilo.
10. Dreaming about retiring there!
Curious dog – it was very misty and he was so quiet, it was kind of spooky!
Curious sheep
Baby sheep!
Wild turkey
Curious cows
Pue’o Owl on fencepost