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Waimea - Where it All Started

 The year was 1778 and the day was January 18 - a day that shall live in Hawaiian history forever. It was on this day that Captain James Cook of the British Admiralty made his first landing on the Hawaiian Islands
and it happened here in the area near the town of Waimea.

 It was an event that brought native Hawaiians into contact with Europeans and that would change the course of their history in a most abrupt manner.

 As they say, the rest is history.

 Another historical point near Waimea is the so-called Menehune Ditch. It is an irrigation ditch built by ancient Hawaiians. The irrigation ditch was needed for the taro, which, like rice, grows in watery
paddies.

According to information at the Waimea museum, it is the notches in the stones of the ditch that are of
historical significance . This is a design found in the Marquesas Islands and is further proof, if any is needed, that the original inhabitants of Hawaii where blown by the winds north from the Polynesian Islands to their new home in Hawaii.

Legend or myth has it that the Menehune, a dwarf like people, who lived in the dense forest of Hawaii,
built the ditch.

I choose to get excited over the first theory.

 For these reasons, Waimea could truly be considered - historic.

Why Some Roads are Prohibited for Rental Cars

The part about damage to the suspension system is fairly obvious.

The other part about damage to the paint job should have been obvious to us as well. Nevertheless it came as a shock to me when I had a look at the paint job of the rental car and to my dismay it was marked by long scratches running the length of the car .

Considering the meticulous inspection of the car when we picked it up a the airport several days earlier, this discovery was not good news.

After a trip to a hardware store where we bought some car wax, we worked feverishly trying to cover over the scratches as best we could. It certainly was not a 100% restoration but it was the best we could do.

I was relieved that when we returned the car two days later there was such a long lineup of returning cars that there was no time for an inspection of the car.

So why was the paint job so scratched?

The dirt roads were often so pitted that the only place to drive was at the extreme left or right (there was no on-coming traffic to speak of). The edge of the road was usually lined with mature sugar cane plants which scratched along the side of the car resulting in - what else - scratches .

I could hear the sugar cane brushing the side of the car while driving close to the edge but I thought the paint job could take a little contact with sugar canes.

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On our way back to the Kauai Sands Hotel in Wailua we stopped at the Royal Coconut Grove in Waimea River Park to catch a beautiful Hawaiian Sunset.