Honolulu, HI
Bob and I traveled to Molokai Monday June 26, 2006 and spent one night. When we arrived, we got the rental car and headed west on highway 460. We stopped at the Big Wind Kite Factory in Maunaloa and did some looking around. There is a shop there and we both bought postcards and other little odds and ends. From there we traveled further west and stopped at Kepuhi Beach. After parking the car, we had to walk a few minutes to get to the beach. When we arrived on the sand, there were only a few other people on the beach, and the beach was huge! From there we headed east on 460, and took 470 to Pala'au State Park. At the park you can go to the Kalaupapa Overlook, and to see the Phallic Rock. We checked out both. Then it was time to head back down 470 to 460 and head east to Kaunakakai. We ate lunch at the Paddlers Inn. I had the daily special Pot Roast - yummy! And Bob got Chicken Cordon Bleu. From there we headed to the Molokai Shores to check in. With plenty of hours left in the day, we continued driving east on 450 (460 becomes 450 just before Kaunakakai) to Halawa Valley. On the way we made a brief stop at St. Joseph Church, one of four churches that Father Damien built in the late 1800s "topside" (only 2 survive today). Around mile 20, you lose the yellow lines on the road, and the road gradually becomes narrower and narrower. And did I mentioned the blind turns? We took our time and just enjoyed the views. When we could we would pull off and get out to take more pictures. We took 450 to the end, and then turned around to get back to Kaunakakai to get something to eat. We checked out the Molokai Pizza Cafe - highly recommend it! The next day, we enjoyed the hotel pool before we checked out at noon. Then we went back to Paddler's Inn for lunch. Lucky for us, the daily special was 2 burgers for $10 (they normally run from $7-9 bucks a piece). I got a mushroom swiss burger and Bob got a bacon and cheese burger. After lunch we headed east on 450 again. This time we stopped at Our Lady of Sorrows Church (another one built by Father Damien). Then we stopped at a beach near mile 20. There were several other people there. Bob and I decided to snorkel a bit. I didn't see too many fish but Bob saw some great coral. After we'd gotten out of the water, apparently someone spotted a shark, so everyone got out of the water! We hung out at the beach for the next little bit, before heading to the airport to catch our flight back to Oahu.
