Day trip to Hawi and Waimea (Honolulu, Hilo: house, school, restaurant)

[JoDan]

Any thoughts on the "don't miss this" places?

[hotzcatz]

Pololu Valley at the end of the road up past Hawi is really scenic. You can also hike down to the valley below but there's no amenities once you get there so pack your own food and drinks for a picnic. It's also a very steep trail and takes a lot longer getting out than getting in.

One of the King Kamehameha statues is there, you could have a photo op there, then catch the other one in Hilo and if you drop over to Honolulu sometime you could complete the triptych.

The mountain road up to Hawi is really scenic, there's a scenic pull out up near the top where you can see almost all the way to Kailua and see the harbor of Kawaihae. Loads of lovely clouds swirling around up there, too. The drive itself is quite scenic once you get to the upper portion of the island.

[HonuMan]

What Hotzcatz said.

Also, when my wife and I went last August, a Hilo friend said that we absolutely had to eat at a restaurant in Hawi called Fig's. Knowing the friend and her tastes, we were on the lookout for an artsy, trendy place like Merriman's that served nouveau Hawaiian cuisine and had a fig leaf as its logo. We drove up and down the main drag and couldn't find the place, so we called and got directions, and still couldn't find the place. Finally, we saw it: an unprepossessing burger joint that we'd already driven by twice. When we went in and asked to use the restroom, they said they didn't have one, and we'd need to go to the public park down the street. So we did, and we came back, because we were famished by that point. Suddenly, my wife, who is half Portuguese, got it: "Fig's... Figueroa's... Oh my gosh, they're Portagee!" Once we got over our cognitive dissonance from what we'd originally been expecting, we enjoyed some of the best burgers we'd ever had, made from beef from one of the nearby ranches. The two ladies who were working were very nice, and "talked story" with us while we ate. It was like a trip back in time for my wife, who is from a nearby cattle ranch.

So if you're hungry for burgers, check out Fig's!

[hotzcatz]

We used to go to Auntie's Place up there, but they closed. Now we usually eat at a small place across from the school, but it's a local kine plate lunch place. Where is Fig's at? What's it next to?

[cynmkolohe]

You might want to consider stopping in for a tour at Anna Ranch on Kawaihae Road in Waimea. The house and grounds are located at the base of the Waimea pu'u (hills) and the tour gives you a good background about the history of ranching on the Big Island.

In Hawi, there's a "new" restaurant called Zest Kitchen. I've only been there once, but the food was great, plus they do a "farm-to-fork" menu, sourcing most of their ingredients from local farms, fishermen, etc...

[JoDan]

Originally Posted by HonuMan

What Hotzcatz said.

Also, when my wife and I went last August, a Hilo friend said that we absolutely had to eat at a restaurant in Hawi called Fig's. Knowing the friend and her tastes, we were on the lookout for an artsy, trendy place like Merriman's that served nouveau Hawaiian cuisine and had a fig leaf as its logo. We drove up and down the main drag and couldn't find the place, so we called and got directions, and still couldn't find the place. Finally, we saw it: an unprepossessing burger joint that we'd already driven by twice. When we went in and asked to use the restroom, they said they didn't have one, and we'd need to go to the public park down the street. So we did, and we came back, because we were famished by that point. Suddenly, my wife, who is half Portuguese, got it: "Fig's... Figueroa's... Oh my gosh, they're Portagee!" Once we got over our cognitive dissonance from what we'd originally been expecting, we enjoyed some of the best burgers we'd ever had, made from beef from one of the nearby ranches. The two ladies who were working were very nice, and "talked story" with us while we ate. It was like a trip back in time for my wife, who is from a nearby cattle ranch.

So if you're hungry for burgers, check out Fig's!

Oops! I read this after we returned. I saw Figs as we drove out to the end of the road and a great view of the coastline. We ate lunch at Luke's. Pretty good.