We had a fabulous day! After lazing around in the morning, we headed south to Lihue, the county seat, where there was Pizza Hut for lunch (a pizza buffet!) and also a farmer's market. Found that Tahitian Lime curd, unusual and delightful and got some for my Mom. They had free taste samples (on a cracker) and it was delicious. I was really impressed. Also found some nice goat's milk products - hand cream and shampoo/rinse - that was reasonable, and some local honey. As well, there was a home made mango and lilikou (passion fruit) pie. It ended up being delicious, with a very, very good crust. It's was a splurge worth the calories! A good shopping adventure. Then, further south around the southern tip of the island (location of the blow hole) and up the west side.

The grand canyon of the Pacific was magnificent! We've flown over it in a helicopter and also have driven up before, but I had forgotten how good it is. Going up, you're on a ridge line that can be scary with precipitous drops. You go from sea level to about 3,500 feet. The canyon overlook is at the top, but you get glimpses as you ascend. The colors of the deep reds and golds is amazing. There are pinnacles in the canyon itself and we a very clear day, so quite impressive. We drove three miles further on to an overlook of the Kalalau Valley, which is known to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Again, we've seen it from the air, but the steep na pali drops, the sheer cliffs and the valley out to the sea is indescribable. At the overlook we met a British couple. The young man was brilliant - a post graduate scientist in Kauai to present two papers at a convention next week about specific aspects of radar. There are several "off limits" areas in the vicinity where you can see military, so I think he's somehow part of that activity. He was born in Wales and he and his wife (who is from Yorkshire) now live in the Bath area. We had a nice conversation and traded taking pictures of each couple. Nice time!

The drive down was a little scary, but uneventful. We drove back around to our home base in Kapa'a, made dinner and ate on the lanai overlooking the ocean. Ahhhhhhh.... great day!