I was determined to wake up early to go see the sunrise. I checked the time and the weather app said that 6 am is sunrise time. I took my sister’s small basic grey Honda fit and drove it to Kapa’a Beach Park. I saw the shades of light purple and orange emerging from the mountains and ocean but the sun was hiding behind huge billowy clouds. I stood out there with the light ocean breeze for 15 minutes. I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t witness the dramatic rise of the sun and became a bit obsessed with either catching a sunrise or sunset during the rest of my trip. Since it was still early, I drove to Pono Market since they opened at 6 am to pick up local deli treats and poke. I wasn’t sure what I was buying but I filled my arms with trays of rice and local sausage, fried chicken bites, and a bowl of tuna poke. I do tend to get overzealous and want to try everything even if I can’t finish it. Pono Market also opened a new coffee shop/bakery next door. I picked up a local macadamia latte but it was too sweet for me. I headed back to the listing and had a very hearty carb heavy breakfast with my sisters. We also still had tubs and tubs of poke we had purchased the night before at Foodland and took advantage of the July 4th holiday poke sale. Our spread consisted of spicy tuna, seaweed tuna, scallop, and spicy crab poke. It was a delightful and satisfying breakfast.
After my sister ran a few errands in Lihue, our brunch spot was to visit this diner inside the Tip Top Motel. It was a bustling rustic restaurant. It was a mix of locals with tourists. We ordered their signature Oxtail soup and pineapple pancakes. I restrained myself and we shared the two items. I did naively order the passion fruit juice but it turned out to be the canned Hawaiian Sun POG drink. I couldn’t finish that since I already hit my sugar limit with the latte earlier in the morning. We ordered a large Oxtail soup and the huge bowl was brimming with large chunks of oxtail and rice noodles. It came with a plate of accouterments consisting of grated garlic, ginger, and cilantro. I poured the entire plate into the soup and with every sip I can feel the spice of the garlic and ginger dancing on my tongue. We also had a huge stack of pineapple pancakes and I smeared a huge slab of butter. We devoured both rather quickly. Amy noted this as a go-to spot to return to.
We headed back up north to catch the Farmers’ Market near Hanalei. I was enamored with all the colorful tropical fruits. I loaded up on white pineapples, sunrise papayas, red dragon fruit, 2 types of mangos, huge creamy avocados, and longans . It did cost me a small fortune but it was all worth it. I did intend to do a hike at the very northern tip, but I didn’t know I had to reserve in advance to park. Oops. Amy turned around and we decided to just take it easy back in Hanalei and stroll along the beach and try to catch the sunset again. We put our names down at this fancy restaurant called Bar Acuda . The wait was an hour or so. I found the dishes to be very pricey for very small portions. The beet salad with hazelnut, clams, patatas bravas, padrons, skewers, and tuna were all fine but it was a bit generic and spendy for me. It may be that I’m spoiled being in Portland, Oregon and have enjoyed better tapas home. I was more proud of my investment in the assortment of fruits I bought earlier from the farmers market. I laid out all the fruits and started to cut them up for our late night dessert and breakfast the next morning. I cheerfully slurped up the juices between my fingers from cutting all the mangoes. I looked forward to my fruit buffet the next morning and visiting more fruit stands the next day.
Travelogue 