After another good nights sleep, relaxing breakfast and some reading time, it was time to head to the northeast part of the island for our day of surfing. The beach we were meeting our "Learn to Surf" instructor (yes, that was the company's name!) had instructions like "after mile marker 21 turn and then by mailbox 4253 there is a dirt road, go to the end then get out and walk down the hill to the beach".  

The traffic going through Lihue was quite heavy and we were glad we started a few minutes early. There was a fruit stand that was recommended in our guide book (at mile marker 17) and since we were both ready for a snack we stopped.  The fruit was great and we split a tuna sandwich to give us an energy boost for the afternoon.

We found the dirt road and the beach, which was an amazingly beautiful turquoise blue. Our instructor Cliff, had the boards ready and after getting some safety tips we did some practice board moves on the beach. Then, it was out to the water!!

Ken seemed to get the hang if it quite quickly, where I took a bit longer. But, we both made it up quite a few times and had a great time! Cliff was very patient with both of us and gave good tips to keep us standing. We were out for two hours and by the end, we were both worn out and sporting some visible body trophies from our efforts. I had some board burns, while Ken had some blisters from the strap.  

After surfing, we took a walk past our beach to an area with lots of lava rock and pools. The area was truly beautiful with lots of surf breaking over the rocks. On the way back to the car, Ken spotted a rope swing over the river that runs into the beach. And of course, like anyone from the male gender...he couldn't resist! It ended up being a beautiful area with the clear river, green hills and the  turquoise beach in the background.   

We headed back to Poipu, but stopped for a light meal in Kapaa at Chicken in a Barrel, a little shack that smokes chicken in a barrel (of course). We took our chicken and sat overlooking the ocean, which made for a wonderful way to end the afternoon.

The evening was spent relaxing with beverages overlooking the water and an early bed time. 

Before I wrap up for the day, Ken tells me I must write a bit about the toilet. Yes, the toilet. It is automated, with a remote. You can have a heated seat, bidet functionality aimed at several different areas, plus other important actions you never thought your toilet should do. The only thing missing is the music or light show when you sit down. I, of course had to play with it to see how it really worked.   So, I pushed the buttons and declared "it doesn't work". Well, as soon as I said that, streams of water shot out of the toilet from different directions and I got soaked as I wasn't sitting on it...just standing there. Ken got a great laugh out of it and I had to admit that it really did work.