Exploring Moloka`i
Will and I are doing our best to not only explore our own island of Oahu, but also get out and explore the outer islands as well! If you remember from back in February, we were visiting Maui and as we sat along the western shore, we gazed across the ocean to Moloka`i, dreaming of what amazingly beautiful adventures it must hold. So when we came back from that trip we started planning a weekend on Moloka`i. We figured, what better reason to go than for our wedding anniversary!
Fast forward six months (gosh, time sure does fly!) and our weekend getaway was finally here! Will and I had a 12:55pm flight to Moloka`i, so we had a nice relaxing morning at home and headed on our way.
The flight to Moloka`i is only about 20 minutes! On many occasions the island of Moloka`i can be seen from Eastern parts of Oahu such as the Diamond Head lookout and Lanikai Beach, among others. Needless to say, it's very close, so we just took a little propeller plane over. I think it's kinda fun to be able to walk along the tarmac and board the plane from there!
The thing about Moloka`i that is so wonderful is that it is like what Hawai`i used to be. At the Moloka`i Airport, only one plane comes and goes at a time. There are two gates and one bench for baggage claim. And yes, that is correct, bench. Will and I sat on this bench after our plane landed, and then we had to get up once the baggage carriers had brought our luggage over.
After gathering up our luggage it was time to find our car! Rental cars can be quite expensive and sometimes in short supply on Moloka`i, so I was pleasantly surprised as I was searching for a place to stay and found a couple who was offering their condo and allowed use of their car as well! Because Moloka`i is small, friendly, and safe, nobody actually locks anything. So the couple told use which car to look for and then the key was placed under the floor mat. Pretty handy! Then all we had to do was be sure there was as much gas left in the car when returning it as there was when we picked it up. So away we went walking through the couple of isles of cars, and we found it! It was just what we needed for this trip. By driving a local car we didn't scream tourist, which got us a little cred during our trip.
Our first stop on the island was the Kumu Farm Stand. Kumu Farms is a local farm on the island that has now also spread to Maui due to its success! They even sell their produce at Whole Foods here on Oahu. They are only open Tuesday - Friday, so if we didn't get there today, we wouldn't get there at all. We picked up some apple bananas and strawberry papayas for breakfast.
The next stop was "town," Kaunakakai. Mind you that only 8,000 people live on the entire island, so it was a very little town! Our visit to Moloka`i felt very much like the trips we used to take to Northern Minnesota. Like we were going to the country, and the town had that small town, country feel to it. We stopped for lunch at the Pizza Cafe, and mosied around town, looking at the couple of shops, and we stopped at the Spirits and Liquor store to get some wine and beer to enjoy during the weekend at our condo. Later in the evening the Hotel Molokai hosts Kupuna Night every Friday. From 4-6, local elders gather to play ukulele and guitar together. Every once and a while a lady or a couple would get up to hula along with a mele (song). We enjoyed a couple of drinks, a beautiful ocean view, and even a triple rainbow (a double rainbow and another one next to it)!
We asked for the check and this is what it read:
Unfortunately the kitchen and dining room for the Hotel Moloka`i was under going renovations, so we couldn't enjoy dinner here tonight or any other night during out stay. But Paddler's Inn was hosting music and had awesome firecracker Mahi Mahi (not really actually spicy, just delicious). It was so fun that I forgot to take a picture! shucks!
After dinner it was time to head to our condo. We still hadn't checked in yet! The condo was on the West side of the island, about 25 minutes from town. We arrived, unpacked a few things, and went to walk around a bit. During the evening it had been raining on and off a bit, and while we were enjoying our surroundings we noticed a moonbow! Have you ever seen one of these? I never had, but I'd heard about them before. They happen at night when the moon is almost full and very bright and there is rain, and it has to happen at just the right angle. But there it was, what appeared to be a white rainbow, full, all across the Western sky, right over the ocean. It stuck around for a really long time, and Will and I watched in amazement. As if we hadn't already believed it, we knew that Moloka`i was a very special place, and that this was going to be an incredible weekend.
Here's a pic from google to give you an idea of a moonbow.
Fast forward six months (gosh, time sure does fly!) and our weekend getaway was finally here! Will and I had a 12:55pm flight to Moloka`i, so we had a nice relaxing morning at home and headed on our way.
The flight to Moloka`i is only about 20 minutes! On many occasions the island of Moloka`i can be seen from Eastern parts of Oahu such as the Diamond Head lookout and Lanikai Beach, among others. Needless to say, it's very close, so we just took a little propeller plane over. I think it's kinda fun to be able to walk along the tarmac and board the plane from there!
The thing about Moloka`i that is so wonderful is that it is like what Hawai`i used to be. At the Moloka`i Airport, only one plane comes and goes at a time. There are two gates and one bench for baggage claim. And yes, that is correct, bench. Will and I sat on this bench after our plane landed, and then we had to get up once the baggage carriers had brought our luggage over.
 |
| Sitting on the bench. |
 |
| And just like that, the bench becomes Baggage Claim! |
Our first stop on the island was the Kumu Farm Stand. Kumu Farms is a local farm on the island that has now also spread to Maui due to its success! They even sell their produce at Whole Foods here on Oahu. They are only open Tuesday - Friday, so if we didn't get there today, we wouldn't get there at all. We picked up some apple bananas and strawberry papayas for breakfast.
The next stop was "town," Kaunakakai. Mind you that only 8,000 people live on the entire island, so it was a very little town! Our visit to Moloka`i felt very much like the trips we used to take to Northern Minnesota. Like we were going to the country, and the town had that small town, country feel to it. We stopped for lunch at the Pizza Cafe, and mosied around town, looking at the couple of shops, and we stopped at the Spirits and Liquor store to get some wine and beer to enjoy during the weekend at our condo. Later in the evening the Hotel Molokai hosts Kupuna Night every Friday. From 4-6, local elders gather to play ukulele and guitar together. Every once and a while a lady or a couple would get up to hula along with a mele (song). We enjoyed a couple of drinks, a beautiful ocean view, and even a triple rainbow (a double rainbow and another one next to it)!
We asked for the check and this is what it read:
 |
| Go ahead, add it up yourself and you'll see why this was funny. Molokai` math?! |
After dinner it was time to head to our condo. We still hadn't checked in yet! The condo was on the West side of the island, about 25 minutes from town. We arrived, unpacked a few things, and went to walk around a bit. During the evening it had been raining on and off a bit, and while we were enjoying our surroundings we noticed a moonbow! Have you ever seen one of these? I never had, but I'd heard about them before. They happen at night when the moon is almost full and very bright and there is rain, and it has to happen at just the right angle. But there it was, what appeared to be a white rainbow, full, all across the Western sky, right over the ocean. It stuck around for a really long time, and Will and I watched in amazement. As if we hadn't already believed it, we knew that Moloka`i was a very special place, and that this was going to be an incredible weekend.
Here's a pic from google to give you an idea of a moonbow.
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