We went into Kaunakakai today and wandered around again. It has one main street and is a reminder of small town America. The pedestrian is king here and the little bit of traffic around always seems to stop well away from us as we cross the street.
We ordered some bread at Kanemitsu’s Bakery & Coffee Shop with a special surprise inside. You can pick it up early in the morning or order it later and pick it up when you come into town the next day. It sells out quickly so get there early if you want it for breakfast We are on vacation and are sleeping in this week for a change. Go around back and look at the old buildings when you are there.
Across the street is the Molokai from the Heart Art Gallery. Ann Van Eps has her paintings and many others for sale there. It is a nonprofit gallery and worth stopping in when you come to Molokai. We purchased a vase there to add to our collection. Every time we look at it in the future we will remember Ann, the gallery and Kaunakakai on Molokai.
We next drove north of town and went to the Molokai Plumerias. It is acres upon acres of Plumeria trees and very interesting. The gentleman running this beautiful place is friendly and eager to talk about his trees. He let us walk among the them and take phots before answering all of our questions.
It is a labor intensive process filled with his love of this land. As with all farming, it is a difficult process, is labor intensive, the results are uncertain and the work difficult and time consuming under the best of circumstances.
The price of water has increased a great deal here just to make matters more difficult for him. Buy all the Plumerias that you can find.
We then took the 450 road down the coast to its end. There are many wonderful views along the way. The vast ocean sends its waves crashing against the shore in every color blue imaginable.
The highway winds it way along the coast, sometimes crumbling into it and sometimes only one lane wide, but don’t be afraid. The journey is worth a little excitement and rewards you over and over again with magnificent views. The ocean is breathtaking and seems to go on forever. We are truly alone on this island.
The topography and the vegetation change as you travel down the narrow road and around the many blind curves and then up into the mountains. The islands mountains are much taller than one assumes when flying over it. The road ends down at the sea again.
The weather is perfect, if not a little blustery, due to the trade winds. The trade winds are what keeps the climate so wonderful. Of all the places in the world that we have been, we find this climate our favorite.
We had lunch on the highway and shared a few bits with the chickens and resident rooster. By the way, can’t we genetically improve the rooster so he can’t crow until around 10:00 AM?
On the way back we noticed a white sign and a dark plaque on the top of a rock marker on the west side of the road. It is a reminder of the famous plane “The City of Oakland,” which crashed into the tree tops here in1927 with no injuries.
Read the original story by David H Grover published in the September 2005 issue of Aviation History or just Google it. Please read this if you are interested in the history of the islands, aviation history or history in general, it’s an amazing story for many reasons.
