Waimea Stop

Waimea, a small town on the north end of Hawaii Island. It's up in the mountains, so the air is always crisper than Waikoloa or Kailua-Kona.

It also rains intermittently throughout the day, making for some of the most beautiful mountains you'll ever see.

The Waimea Homestead Farmers Market, on Saturday mornings.

Coconut carving.

The Parker Ranch, which visitors can enter freely. A huge swath of Waimea is owned by this family, and their family history is fascinating. Unlike the oft-told tales of a (white) newcomer coming to an island and taking its land away from the native dwellers, in the early 1800s John Palmer Parker landed on the Big Island and essentially married into a prominent Waimea family.

Their self-guided tour is worth looking into.

Horses on the ranch.