Day 101: the end of the road west

Polihale beach (state park) is as far as you can get on land before encountering the impassable Na Pali cliffs that dominate the west side of Kauai. This west end of the road anchored my penultimate day on Kauai of this trip. For my last full day this trip I was tempted to sneak in one more hike at Koke'e - with the variable winds it was a lovely day for it - but I decided that visiting my friends here was clearly the way to plan the day.

With fresh fruit from my pineapple farmer friends I played Santa Claus handing out rambutan to the guys at the Kalaheo Cafe breakfast club I have now joined a few times, the owner of the place I stayed in Kalaheo most of the time here, and to my "Hawaiian grandmother" at the Waimea visitor center.

The end of the road west

The road out to Polihale is greatly improved since I was last out there but it's still a bear: 4.8 miles of dirt road, rock, and sand (actually sand on dirt, not driving on pure sand). The beach here on the other side of PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility) is much like Kekaha beach but the waves are bigger, coming from open ocean as this is around the bend. Most people were on the sand: only experienced people who know the area should be in the water here. The waves were breaking big and well out there.

In Waimea the dining choices are limited, especially if you don't eat meat. My "regular" meal for lunch or early dinner (they close at five) was Seared Wasabi Ahi fish taco at Island Tacos. At this point I walk in and just confirm that I want "the usual". I left them rambutans instead of dessert.

I wanted to get a pineapple history book I had seen at the Talk Story bookstore, but when I went back I couldn't find it again. The lady was helpful (she hadn't been there when I had seen it before) and, after helping some visitors call to find a place to stay, she looked but couldn't find it either in "History" or "Kauai". Just as I was about give up the lady of the couple looking for a place overheard us and said she had just seen that book and went and grabbed it. The Talk Story bookstore folks got a big bag of rambutan. They offered to give me a book, but it was better to just give since Kauai has given me so much I can't possibly lose out giving wherever and however I can here.